IKEA’s new $40 wireless charging pad mounts underneath your desk or table

If you’ve ever thought, “hey, it would be great if I could charge my phone or tablet just by laying it on a regular desk,” then IKEA has the gadget for you. It just unveiled the Sjömärke, a $40 wireless charging pad that’s designed to work with nearly any desk or table, as The Verge has reported.

The concept is pretty clever. Sjömärke is a Wireless Qi charging pad, but you don’t place it on your desk. Rather, it installs underneath your desk and is held in place either by double-sided tape (included) or 18mm x 6mm screws (not included). Your desktop needs to be made of something like wood or plastic that won’t block the magnetic field, and must have a minimum thickness of 8mm (5/16th of an inch), and a maximum of 22.2mm (7/8th of an inch), according to the manual.

Once you install the pad, plug it in with the six-foot power cable and mark the charging point on your table with the included “X” shaped sticker, you’re ready to charge your phone or other device. With Qi 1.2.4 charging, it should supply about 5 watts for decent but not super fast charging. IKEA notes that it also comes with temperature and power monitoring so it won’t overheat — important, since it will be placed against wood surfaces. 

For $40, this might prove to be an attractive option for folks who don’t want to mess up their décor with an unseemly plastic pad. Sjömärke will arrive in IKEA’s stores and website in October 2021.