Apple Watch to supercharge use of wireless charging
Wireless charging of mobile devices has been slow to take off, but Apple’s (AAPL) upcoming smartwatch could change that. Market research firm IHS (IHS) says global sales of wireless power receivers and transmitters in wearable applications will surge to $481 million in 2015, up from $14.5 million last year. The release this spring of the Apple Watch will spur the market, IHS predicted in a recent report. The market for wireless power and charging wearables could approach $1.2 billion in 2019, IHS said. “Growth this year will be remarkable for wireless charging in wearable electronic devices, even if in reality the overall penetration of wireless charging into wearables is relatively low given the billions of wearables that are shipped into the consumer market every year,” IHS analyst Vicky Yussuff said in a statement. “Still, interest in the use of wireless charging remains high on the part of wearable technology providers…