Apple Patents MacBook With Wireless Charging Feature

Reports reveal that Apple hasn't given up on wireless charging technology and is continually looking to add the feature to its devices, particularly future MacBooks.

A new patent published recently by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reveals that Apple is still working on giving MacBooks and other iDevices the ability to charge other iDevices wirelessly like a charging pad. This new patent, titled “Inductive Charging Between Electronic Devices,” is worth noting for a few reasons.

First, Cult of Mac noted that this isn't the first time Apple tried to patent such a technology. The new patent actually serves as a continuation of a similar patent filed in March 2018, which was a continuation of a patent filed in June of 2015, which is a “non-provisional patent application of and claims the benefit” to another patent filed in September 2014.

This string of similar patents indicate that Apple has been trying to develop the technology for years, and is serious in looking for ways to make it work.

Second, it appears to offer the same features as that of the AirPower charging mat which was canceled in 2018, but was silently revived and is now “back on, internally,” previous reports reveal. The AirPower was supposed to have the ability to charge several Apple devices, such as an iPhone, an Apple Watch and the AirPods, all at the same time, placed anywhere on the mat.

The technologies described in the new patent allows the MacBook to charge several iDevices regardless whether the Apple laptop's lid is open or closed. Patent illustrations reveal that when the MacBook is open, users can charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch by placing them on the left and right palm rests and the trackpad. When closed, the devices can be charged when placed atop the lid.

The MacBooks decribed in the patent also have the ability to charge compatible iPads when placed on the closed lid.

Interestingly, the patent also describes iPads and iPhones as having the same wireless inductive charging embedded on the MacBook. The technology allows users to stack these devices on top of each other atop the MacBook so that all of them can be charged simultaneously. It's like this: a MacBook charges an iPad, which charges an iPhone, which charges an Apple Watch.