People share photos, texts and videos on their smartphones. Soon, they might be able to share some juice when batteries run low.
Sony recently earned a patent allowing for two consumer devices like smartphones to transfer power between each other, USA Today reported. The patent was reported by tech site What A Future.
The technology would leverage near-field communication (NFC), used in many smartphones to communicate with nearby devices or contact-less payment systems used with mobile payment apps, USA Today reported.
Sony’s patent would allow one phone to transfer power to another one. Users would either touch another device or keep it close enough to transmit data, USA Today reported.
"It can be beneficial in many instances to allow consumer electronic devices to wirelessly transmit and/or share power between two or more consumer electronic devices," according to an excerpt from the patent. "For example, some embodiments allow one cellphone to obtain power from and/or use battery power from another cellphone."
The patent also would apply to transferring data, USA Today reported.
