Next year is the iPhone’s tenth anniversary and the world is watching to see what Apple pulls out of the bag for its most successful product line. According to recent reports, that could be wireless charging.
It’s not the first we’ve heard about wireless charging for the iPhone, and the removal of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 which prevents users from charging their device while using the bundled Lightning EarPods could be seen as a stepping stone towards this wireless charging approach.
However, a report out of Japan has said that Foxconn, long-term Apple manufacturer, is in the process of developing wireless charging modules, which is said to be for the iPhone 8 – intended for a 2017 launch.
But it’s not cut and dry enough for us to take it as any kind of confirmation – the report’s sources say: “Whether the feature can eventually make it into Apple’s updated devices will depend on whether Foxconn can boost the yield rate to a satisfactory level later on.”
This could refer to the module’s capacity, speed, reliability and comparison to current charging methods, but also whether they can be manufactured fast enough to meet demand. By the sounds of things there’s a lot more work to do before Apple will make a decision on whether this technology will reach its next flagship device.
Rumors surrounding next year’s iPhone have been circling since before the release of the iPhone 7. Once it became clear that Apple’s 2016 device would have the same form-factor as its previous two iterations, speculation began to arise as to the following year’s device, likely to be a full redesign. Reports currently suggest the 2017 iPhone will feature a glass-centric design with metallic chassis, and a curved OLED display (potentially only on the Plus model).
The all-glass design also points to wireless charging intentions as the iPhone’s current aluminum body wouldn’t allow for this technology to work.