Smartphones could soon wirelessly charge styluses through NFC

You won’t find too many smartphones or other portable devices that come with a dedicated pen. Active versions of these digital pens allow users to draw and note more accurately, but require regular battery charges between uses. Now a new standard for wireless charging can finally make pens more useful and durable.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) and the NFC Forum aims to open the doors to wireless pen charging. The technology known as WLC (Wireless Charging Specification) uses the same antenna in a smartphone or portable device for communication and energy transfer. Products certified by the USI can use NFC-based charging at speeds of up to 1 W. Traditionally, NFC has been used by OEMs to complete wireless payments or transfer files between devices.

Some companies that make pen-compatible Chromebooks, tablets, laptops, and even smartphones like Samsung, rely on in-house charging to power the pens on their devices. Others, like HP, Microsoft, and Apple, have used external ports and connectors for this purpose as well. Either way, however, the pen must be tucked away or connected to a cable. Passive charging via NFC from a smartphone or other NFC-enabled device would negate the need for a dedicated physical charging solution. It also means that the pen can be charged as long as it is close to the host device, which increases its useful life.

According to USI, the technology is open and not proprietary, so it doesn’t cost a lot for companies to implement. It is unclear whether manufacturers plan to introduce the WLC standard for their upcoming products. In particular, WLC does not appear to be limited to pens in itself either. We wouldn’t be surprised if we found the NFC forum charging technology on other low-power hardware in the future.

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