The standard could work with other NFC-equipped devices besides smartphones, including chargers, PCs, tablets and even gaming controllers — the Wii U gamepad has an NFC chip, for instance.

Apple, Sony and Google are NFC Forum sponsors, Samsung is a principal member and Huawei is an associate member. Apple had reportedly planned to introduce bilateral charging for the iPhone 11 that might have worked with its AirPods earphones, but that didn’t happen (yet). If it does introduce such a feature, it will likely work with Qi in order to be compatible with its Watch and AirPods cases.

Meanwhile, Samsung introduced a form of the tech called Wireless Powershare (based on the Qi charging standard), with the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Buds earphones. Huawei introduced a similar feature on the Mate 20 Pro. Neither of those devices directly use NFC for charging, however.

The new WLC standard may may improve compatibility between devices from different manufacturers while allowing easier charging for internet of things devices. However, the specification has only just been published, so implementation is still some years away.