The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus may have wireless charging technology sources “familiar with the plans” told Bloomberg News. These sources say Apple is working with partners in both the U.S. and Asia — where much of Apple’s hardware production is contracted out to — to develop the capability to deploy the feature on mobile devices within the next year.
While there is no official word on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus’s release date, Apple typically releases a new generation of the iPhone around September to November every year.
Wireless charging technology does have its limits, with its biggest factor being speed. Currently, the Apple Watch can charge “wirelessly” off an inductive coil inside the device that receives power through a Magnetic Charging Cable. However, the Apple Watch, with its 205 mAh battery, takes roughly the same amount of time to charge itself to capacity as an iPhone 6s, with a 1,715 mAh battery, using a lightning cable.
That being said, wireless charging mats have become commonplace at establishments such as Starbucks. iPhone competitors, like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, have included the feature for quite some time now.
In October 2015, Apple was granted a patent it had filed the previous year regarding “Inductive Power Transfer Using Acoustic or Haptic Devices.” This patent explored the possibility of Apple a mobile device’s haptic engine, or the vibration component, and speaker/microphone coils to transfer power to a device.
iDigitalTimes requested a comment from Apple regarding the possibility of a wireless charging feature for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but we have not received a response yet.
