Samsung's decision to support multi-standard wireless charging straight out of the box for the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge is going to do wonders to increase adoption of wireless charging technology. Currently there are two major wireless charging standards, Powermat and Qi, championed by Power Matters Association and Wireless Power Consortium respectively. Compatibility has always been the issue. Powermat charging pads don't support devices that opt for the Qi standard and vice versa. Samsung went around this problem by including support for both Powermat and Qi in its latest flagship smartphones.
Powermat CEO Thorsten Heins, who was in the same position at BlackBerry a couple of years ago, has said that Samsung is going to support the Powermat standard in any of its future devices that feature wireless charging. Wireless Power Consortium, which backs Qi, isn't that sure. John Perzow, vice president of market development for the group, believes that while Samsung will incorporate wireless charging into future products the company is “open to using whichever standard is most effective.” The WPC has already confirmed that all existing Qi wireless chargers are going to work with the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge.
A Samsung spokeswoman declined to comment, when contacted by CNET, on the possibility of future devices coming with wireless charging out of the box.
