Apple’s 2017 iPhone models might not feature inductive charging after all.
Per a tweet by Mac guru John Gruber, a tipster has indicated that that the new charging technology “might be late” and not launch until iOS 11.1 is released.
Gruber has likened the delay of wireless charging to the delay of Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 plus. While Apple demonstrated Portrait Mode when the handset was being unveiled, the feature wasn’t made available to the public until iOS 10.1, a month after the device’s release.
It’s also been rumored that the next-gen iPhone could include a form of “long-range” wireless charging, although recent reports have stated this might be an inductive charging feature. Leaked schematics have hinted that the iPhone 8 will include wireless charging capabilities based on the Qi technology.
CEO Robert Hwang of Wistron, Apple’s primary iPhone manufacturer in India, let it slip last month that the iPhone 8 will include wireless charging, while Powermat CEO Lead Dubzinski also said that wireless charging will become a “standard feature in the next iPhone.” A separate report claimed that Apple will use the Smart Connector for wireless charging.
Other sources have purportedly stated that the wireless charging feature will be exclusive to the higher-end models of the next-gen iPhone, while a report from KGI has stated that all three new iPhones will adopt the technology.
It’s believed that wireless charging will be sold separately from the iPhone devices themselves, something that Gruber today corroborates.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.