Apple reportedly working on new wireless charging tech for iOS devices
As soon as next year, we may be able to say “good riddance” to Apple’s fraying-prone iPhone and iPad charging cables.
According to a new report by Bloomberg, Apple is developing a new wireless charging technology that could be integrated into new iOS devices as soon as 2017. The company is said to be working on the technology with its partners in the U.S. and Asia.
Apple’s competitors, most notably Samsung, have long been selling smartphones that have wireless charging capability. But these devices need to be put near or on charging mats.
Small wonder, then, that Apple has been dissatisfied with the minor convenience afforded by charging methods that still require proximity to charging mats or plugging into a wall socket. So, Apple is said to be working on enabling wireless charging over longer distances and allowing iOS devices to be, as Bloomberg puts it, “powered from further away than the charging mats used with current smartphones.”
To that end, Apple is likely to incorporate concepts from its previous patent applications relating to wireless charging, including a technique called near-field magnetic resonance, and from the inductive charging method it currently implements with the Apple Watch.
The implementation of wireless charging for iOS devices has been suggested in recent reports claiming that as early as with the so-called “iPhone 7,” Apple will be ditching the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. In lieu of the headphone jack, the Lightning cable port will serve as the available socket for conveying sound output into wired headphones.
The Lightning cable port has been primarily used for data transfer and battery charging. But what if the port is being used for audio output? Would that mean that the device could no longer be charged at the same time? Well, in that case, battery charging is expected to be taken care of by wireless means.
See also: Apple may be tweaking the 3D Touch sensor on the ‘iPhone 7,’ Will your next iPhone repair itself while you sleep?, and The ‘iPhone 7’ could feature the the best camera to date.
