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Wireless charging group expands from phones to laptops

The Alliance for Wireless Power is extending its reach from mobile devices to laptops, too. It's not just an idea, either: Dell has joined the effort.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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Stephen Shankland
All of these devices can theoretically be charged in one spot. The Alliance for Wireless Power is now adding laptops to the list too. A4WP

The Alliance for Wireless Power wants to cut another cord: the power cable that lets people charge their laptops.

The A4WP announced Thursday that it's added a new version of its Rezance wireless charging technology that can deliver 20 to 50 watts -- enough to charge laptops. Not coincidentally, it also announced its first PC maker has joined the consortium: Dell.

The alliance will show its technology next week at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona.

Wireless charging promises greater convenience, but it's been slow to catch on, in part because of problems with conflicting standards that mean one device might not be able to use an incompatible charging mat.

Some of those complications are easing, though. Last week, A4WP announced it's joining forces with another effort, the Power Matters Alliance.