Apple buys PowerbyProxi

Apple has acquired a little-known wireless charging company called PowerbyProxi. The company founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Fady Mishriki as a spin out venture from the University of Auckland, specializes in small, Qi standard compliant modules that allow wireless power transfer to larger devices like robots, drones and medical equipment.

Wireless charging allows users to recharge devices by placing them on a pad or other surface rather than inserting them in a cradle or attaching a cable. Apple has been slow to adopt the technology, lagging behind its biggest rival Samsung Electronics and other mobile phone companies that have offered wireless charging in some of their devices for several years.

With the introduction of the iPhone 8, iPhone X, and Apple Watch Series 3 this past September, Apple laid out its vision for a simplified form of charging that works with the Qi industry standard and, at least in part, justifies its removal of the headphone jack and its investments in Bluetooth accessories. To that end, Apple is planning to release a charging mat, due out next year, called the AirPower that will simultaneously charge any glass-backed iPhone and Apple Watch alongside the wireless AirPods earbuds.

It is unclear how exactly PowerbyProxi will help Apple in its ambitions, and whether Apple will shut down the company’s commercial operations. But the New Zealand Company does make wireless charging modules capable of 100-watt power transfers, suggesting Apple could down the line integrate wireless charging technology into larger and more power-hungry devices like the MacBook.