Intel shows off new 'Skylake' platform with wireless charging, docking

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited June 2015
Semiconductor giant Intel on Wednesday put its next-generation "Skylake" platform on display, demonstrating an integrated system of magnetic resonance charging, wireless video, and cable-free peripheral connections that could make its way into future Macs from Apple.

Intel's Skylake roadmap | Source: VR-Zone
Intel's Skylake roadmap | Source: VR-Zone


Skylake, the next "tock" in Intel's tick-tock architectural strategy, is designed as a feature expansion of the 14-nanometer architecture the company is moving toward with the oft-delayed Broadwell. Skylake is set to adopt the WiGig standard -- a technology that enables gigabit-speed communications without using wires -- which will form the basis of the wireless docking capability, according to CNET.

At the annual Computex show in Taiwan, Intel demonstrated a proximity-based system that automatically creates a WiGig wireless connection with peripherals, such as keyboards, mice, and monitors, when they are within range of a device. The device returns to standalone mode once it leaves the area.

The wireless charging features, meanwhile, were powered by the Rezence standard. Intel is a member of the Alliance for Wireless Power, the organization backing Rezence.

Rezence transmits power via magnetic resonance. This provides a number of advantages over traditional inductive charging, not the least of which is that Rezence systems can project power over a much larger distance. Intel demonstrated this capability by charging a laptop through an unmodified table, about two inches away from the charging pad.



Apple has shown interest in magnetic resonance charging in the past, notably filing a number of patents surrounding the technology. Apple's implementation would deliver power up to one meter away, which the company calls "a realistic and practical approach" to wireless charging.

It is not yet known whether Intel plans to bundle Rezence support into future Skylake chips or leave it as a separate technology. The company generally allows manufactures to mix-and-match platform components like processors and communications chips, and it is possible that they may add wireless charging to the parts bin in the future.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    moxommoxom Posts: 326member
    Great - now hipsters can spend even more time sitting in Starbucks hogging all the tables... :P

    Just kidding - looks fantastic.
  • Reply 2 of 42
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Huh; I was just looking up Haswell and Broadwell stuff not five minutes ago and twiddling around looking at the future of their lineup.

    It’s astounding to me that in just 20 years we will have gone from 180nm down to 5nm. Moore was dead on.

    Thing is, once we get there, there’s not much elsewhere to go. Eventually transistors get so small that quantum effects take over and electrons jump the gap spontaneously.
  • Reply 3 of 42
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Huh; I was just looking up Haswell and Broadwell stuff not five minutes ago and twiddling around looking at the future of their lineup.

    It’s astounding to me that in just 20 years we will have gone from 180nm down to 5nm. Moore was dead on.

    Thing is, once we get there, there’s not much elsewhere to go. Eventually transistors get so small that quantum effects take over and electrons jump the gap spontaneously.

    To paraphrase Back to the Future II: "Gaps? Where we're going we don't need gaps."
  • Reply 4 of 42
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post



    Huh; I was just looking up Haswell and Broadwell stuff not five minutes ago and twiddling around looking at the future of their lineup.



    It’s astounding to me that in just 20 years we will have gone from 180nm down to 5nm. Moore was dead on.



    Thing is, once we get there, there’s not much elsewhere to go. Eventually transistors get so small that quantum effects take over and electrons jump the gap spontaneously.

     

    We have a long way to go before that happens. 5nm is already being worked on and then we start into the picometer range. The laws of physics don't break down until we scale down past Planck's Constant and that won't happen until this species has mastery of the Laws of Physics, on a galactic scale.

  • Reply 5 of 42
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    .
  • Reply 6 of 42

    I was reading Broadwell will essentially just be another energy improvement - will Skylake actually be a processor speed/power improvement? I probably won't be able to wait to get a new laptop until then anyway, though.

  • Reply 7 of 42
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post

    The laws of physics dont break down until we scale down past Plancks Constant


     

    Yes, but I’m not discussing planck-scale effects. That’s a little over fifteen orders of magnitude smaller than an electron! I’m just saying that smaller a transistor gets, the more likely electrons will jump across it at the same voltage unless you lower the capacitance. What was it… applied voltage > abs(q/(2C)) where q is charge and C is capacitance? 

     

    Oh, wait, no, you’re right; not quantum, then. Just… subatomic, I guess. It’s the electromagnetic force, so still one of the 4 Fundamentals, but also it operates on scales larger than what we’re discussing.

     

    But even single nanometer applications will be difficult to wrangle. A carbon atom is roughly a third of a nanometer across! Seems big in the perspective of 14, 7, and 5nm architectures.

     

    …and that won’t happen until this species has mastery of the Laws of Physics, on a galactic scale.


     

    I’m 100% in favor of starting research on plancktech engineering, though. Heck, nanoweave clothing will be interesting.

  • Reply 8 of 42

    Whoever crafted that roadmap image seemed to want to convey an early-2000's feel.  Or maybe mid-90's.  I'm not sure.  Something about it almost reminds me of the Win 3.11 UI design language.  Can't quite put my finger on it.

     

    That may seem snarky (and I'm not a graphic designer), but in all reality, if a future-facing roadmap announcement is what we're looking at, this piece seems to be fighting rather than fitting that message.

  • Reply 9 of 42
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member

    Now to re-engineer this for long-distance wireless power transmission... :smokey:

  • Reply 10 of 42
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post



    It’s astounding to me that in just 20 years we will have gone from 180nm down to 5nm. Moore was dead on.

    And yet the new Mac Pro is not much faster than the Mac Pro of 5 years ago.

  • Reply 11 of 42
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Cpsro View Post

    And yet the new Mac Pro is not much faster than the Mac Pro of 5 years ago.

     

    Seems to me it’s quite a bit faster than the Nehalem model, but I get what you’re saying.

  • Reply 12 of 42
    boredumbboredumb Posts: 1,418member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post



    Thing is, once we get there, there’s not much elsewhere to go. Eventually transistors get so small that quantum effects take over and electrons jump the gap spontaneously.

     

    Not to worry:  Apple has plans to redesign the electron anyway.

  • Reply 13 of 42
    iaeeniaeen Posts: 588member
    We have a long way to go before that happens. 5nm is already being worked on and then we start into the picometer range. The laws of physics don't break down until we scale down past Planck's Constant and that won't happen until this species has mastery of the Laws of Physics, on a galactic scale.

    Without doing the math, I would expect quantum tunneling to become in issue before we get too much smaller than 5nm. You wouldn't have to go very far into the picometer range before the "gap" becomes smaller than the crystal structure of the metal and the transistor behaves like a closed circuit regardless of quantum effects.
  • Reply 14 of 42
    smallwheelssmallwheels Posts: 584member

    There is already evidence that high frequency radio waves in close proximity to the human body cause biological disruption. In Europe it is already recommended that children twelve years old and younger not use cell phones beside their heads. In not too many years the effects will have been studied enough to prove that all wireless home electronics cause harm to us.

     

    I believe the electronics industry will continue to fight this knowledge getting out for fear of losing money and being sued. That is why scientists in the USA have been thwarted from studying this. Only in Europe are some of these studies being conducted. Even there it is difficult for them. 

     

    This wireless charging really increases the strength of these transmissions. I wouldn't own one and don't want to be around them. I hope this doesn't become the standard way for small devices to be recharged. 

  • Reply 15 of 42
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Smallwheels View Post

    There is already evidence that high frequency radio waves in close proximity to the human body cause biological disruption.

     

    Source?

     

    In Europe…


     

    Never mind.

     

    In not too many years the effects will have been studied enough to prove that all wireless home electronics cause harm to us.


     

    Sure they will. :rolleyes:

     

    I believe the electronics industry will continue to fight this knowledge getting out for fear of losing money and being sued.


     

    Rather, out of common sense.

     

    I wouldn't own one and don't want to be around them.



     

    I bet Wi-Fi gives you headaches, too.

  • Reply 16 of 42
    smallwheelssmallwheels Posts: 584member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

    Source?

     

    Never mind.

     

    Sure they will. :rolleyes:

     

    Rather, out of common sense.

     

    I bet Wi-Fi gives you headaches, too.


     

    Read a little. Learn something you didn't know about. Then get back to us. 

     

    http://www.bioinitiative.org/

     

    http://emfsafetynetwork.org/wireless-devices-potential-cancer-risk-says-world-health-organization/

     

    http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20050207_israel.pdf

  • Reply 17 of 42
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Smallwheels View Post

    Read a little.


     

    I’ve read a lot. This is complete pseudoscientific hokum.

  • Reply 18 of 42
    smallwheelssmallwheels Posts: 584member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

    I’ve read a lot. This is complete pseudoscientific hokum.


    Holy cow. You are a super duper speed reader. You read all of that in just five minutes. </sarcasm>

  • Reply 19 of 42
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Smallwheels View Post

    Holy cow. You are a super duper speed reader. You read all of that in just five minutes. </sarcasm>

     

    I’m sorry that you refuse to believe speed-readers exist. I don’t see how that’s my problem.

     

    And no, the scientific process does not mean you test a bunch of times until you get the result you want, after which you pretend that result is legitimate.

  • Reply 20 of 42
    benjamin frostbenjamin frost Posts: 7,203member
    Commenting on the wireless charging video—no. People are not going to plonk their phones in a cafe in the middle of the table. They want to be able to use them. Apple will never use a wireless charging technology unless you are able to use the device at the same time.
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