Wireless PCs, tablet, phones coming next year, Intel says

Laptops that require no wires for charging, display, data transfers or docking will be available by the end of next year, an Intel executive said Wednesday.

The chipmaker expects computers based around its next generation Intel Skylake processors, expected to be in systems before the end of 2015, to eliminate cables for power and peripherals.

Intel informs the design of computers based on its processors by producing reference designs for manufacturers. The firm's reference designs for Skylake-based 2-in-1 computers and PCs will utilise a suite of wireless technologies, Intel's general manager of the PC Client Group Kirk Skaugen said at IDF in San Francisco.

The machine will be able to wirelessly charge when in range of a board emitting power, which could be attached to the underside of the table. Both the board emitting and receiving the charge will comply with the Rezence wireless charging standard.

The chipmaker hopes that people living in cities and towns will always be in walking distance of a wireless charging point, much as is the case with wi-fi in built-up areas today.

Intel started to lay out its vision of wire-free computing at Computex in June. It has since developed a smart dock that both wirelessly charges laptops and transfers data between them and external storage devices. The dock is based on WiGig wireless transfer technology, which is roughly three times faster than the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Intel is developing circuitry for wireless charging. It is also working with PC makers Dell, Lenovo, Asus and Panasonic to put wireless charging into PCs. Intel has adopted magnetic resonance wireless charging technology from A4WP (Alliance for Wireless Power), whose members include Samsung and Qualcomm.

It is also working on wireless charging and docking for smartphones and tablets.