14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 is likely to come with a reverse wireless charging feature that would technically enable the phone to charge other devices too.
A report from SamMobile indicates that this feature is indeed referred to by Samsung as Powershare, and it should be available at least on the high-end Galaxy S10 models launching next year.
Powershare would basically make it possible for the S10 to wireless charge other devices just like a typical Qi wireless charger. Similar capabilities already exist on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, and Samsung is expected to embrace the idea as well, especially as it’s trying to differentiate its products from Apple’s.
The latest-generation iPhones already come with wireless charging support, and despite Samsung has been offering such features for many years already, the company wants its devices to boast capabilities that would make a bigger difference when compared to iPhones.
Larger batteries required
The bigger challenge, however, is to make Powershare work flawlessly, as the existing implementations have been unreliable, to say the least.
Plus, charging a different device basically involves the phone itself to come with a large battery in the first place, so that it is capable to transfer some charge to another product. While this could make sense for a smartwatch, for instance, it’s unlikely to be very reliable for a smartphone.
The largest battery available on Samsung’s flagships right now is the 4,000 mAh unit on the Galaxy Note 9, so technically, Samsung should equip the S10 with a battery pack that goes beyond this level in order for the reverse wireless charging to make any sense.
It remains to be seen if this feature will be offered on all Galaxy S10 models or only on the high-end configurations, which come with larger screens and therefore there’s more room for bigger batteries, but we’ll find out more in early 2019 when the device is projected to launch.