Intel today announced a new partnership with the Alliance for Wireless Power.
Intel will adopt the A4WP’s Rezence wireless charging standard and is working with a handful of device makers to bring wireless charging to public spaces, such as restaurants, hotels, and airports. Intel is initially looking to deploy A4WP across China. The company didn’t immediately say if it plans to expand its A4WP project to other countries.
Rezence is one of two major wireless charging standards in use by mobile devices, the other being the Wireless Power Consortium’s Qi standard. In the U.S., Starbucks is adding Rezence to the tables in some of its coffee shops.
Intel also announced that its Thunderbolt 3 cable will use the USB Type C connector, which is reversible and supports power flow in both directions. Google is adding support for USB Type C to Android M, due to arrive later this year. Intel didn’t say if it would offer Thunderbolt speeds to mobile devices.
