Two major wireless charging standards are to merge

Good news – wireless charging may not end up being a complete nightmare after all! Two industry groups that have been developing standards for wireless charging have agreed to merge – meaning that in the future all of our gadgets will be chargeable with the same charger.

Remember how annoying it was before all of the mobile companies switched to using Micro-USB for charging? You’d have to have separate chargers for each manufacturer – maybe even each model of phone. We could have been facing the same spectre again – but luckily it seems that the tech industry has got its act together nice and early, long before wireless charging becomes commonplace.

The Alliance for Wireless Power and the Power Matters Alliance have finally agreed terms for the merger – and as the BBC reports, the merged organisation now counts amongst its membership the likes of Intel, Qualcomm, Dell, Samsung, LG, Huawei and even Starbucks (!).

It isn’t quite peace in our time yet though, as there is a third big industry alliance – the Wireless Power Consortium which currently uses a different set of standards. Personally, I’m hoping both organisations change their names to the Judean People’s Front, and the People’s Front of Judea.

So today’s news is a step forward, but here’s hoping the industry can work things out so wireless charging becomes even easier for consumers.