Ikea’s wireless charging pad charges your smartphone through the table
Charge your cell phone through the table? Ikea makes it possible. (Photo: monofaction / Shutterstock)
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Ikea wants to take wireless charging to a new level. But the new Qi charging hotspot has a small catch.
The Swedish furniture giant Ikea started selling furniture that had wireless charging modules very early on. But not everyone who would like to charge their smartphone wirelessly without having to put an external charging station on a table or shelf, owns such furniture or is ready to buy it.
For all of them, Ikea has a new solution from October. The Sjömärke wireless charging pad costs 29.99 euros * and was specially developed for use with furniture that is already in the house or apartment. The small but subtle difference from Sjömärke is that it doesn’t work like most Qi charging pads, where smartphones or headphones have to be placed directly on the surface of the pad. The seven by three inch charger made of aluminum and plastic charges through plastic or wood. This makes it possible to simply attach the charging pad to the underside of a table or shelf with double-sided adhesive tape, making it virtually invisible.
As long as the device is mounted on wood or plastic, the charging of the devices should be guaranteed. The minimum distance is eight millimeters and Ikea recommends that the surface should not be thicker than between 9.5 millimeters and 22.2 millimeters. The Ikea instructions also show that a 1.80 meter long power cable and sticker are included in the scope of delivery. The stickers are used to mark the later charging point on the table or cupboard.
However, the charging power of Ikea’s charging pad is just five watts. For comparison: Apple’s iPhones now support three times as much with 15 watts. Depending on the thickness of the tabletop, the charging power and thus the speed will also decrease. Despite this possible limitation, a cool development when the phone charges by simply lying on the table where it would otherwise be.
