iPhone 7 Rumors, Update and News: Apple’s secret for a new iPhone?

By Ajay Kadkol - 20 May '16 11:52AM

Every week seems to bring another indication from the supply chain about Apple dropping another key feature from the upcoming iPhone 7. With many popular features from rival handsets not expected to arrive until 2017′s presumptively titled iPhone 8, it's nice to read about one technology that I hope Apple will bring to the iPhone 7. With so much 'gee whizz' delayed a year, could wireless charging be the big attraction of this year's flagship iPhone launch?

Apple already has experience with wireless charging - the Apple Watch uses an inductive charging system that removes the need for a wires connection between the device and the charger, although it does require the transmitting and receiving coils to be in close proximity to each other. Beyond the Apple Watch, Cupertino's recent hires show the company is continuing to explore this space. While uBeam's promise of wireless charging at a distance still needs to be commercially validated, my experience of wireless charging through charging pads and embedded coils in my office furniture has convinced me that this is a technology every smartphone would benefit from.

Looking back through my mobile history, the Nokia Lumia 800 was the first smartphone I had that embraced wireless charging. it used the popular Qi standard and worked not only with Nokia's own charing pads, but any pad that used the Qi standard. It untethered me from the USB cable, and meant that the phone was always charging when sitting on my desk. Whenever I picked it up, I was good to go with the most charge possible in the handset. While a number of other smartphones added wireless charging over the years, it didn't really hit the mainstream public until last year's release of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. With compatibility for both wireless standards in the device, a significant volume of devices that accessory manufacturers could rely on as a target market, and Samsung's marketing machine pushing the message, wireless charing became a mainstream feature.