News

Will There Ever Be A Wireless iPhone Charger?

by Elizabeth King

Apple unveiled a handful of sparkling new products at its annual September event Wednesday, showing off updates to the Apple Watch, the new iPad Pro, and the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Fans of Apple were excited to see the newest version of the iPhone, and many are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Sept. 25, when it will become available. Others are looking forward to getting their hands on a new iPhone 6S without needing to roll out the dough for a new charger as well — a new charging dock will be available for the iPhone 6S, though the old charger for the iPhone 6 will still work just fine. And since decent battery life is always a concern for iPhone owners, iPhone users are already wondering what the iPhone 7 charger will be like.

It's been a while since purchasing the newest generation of an iPhone also meant that you had to ditch your old charger in favor of a completely new charging cable. All of the models of the iPhone 5, as well as the iPhone 6, have used the same smaller Lightning charging cable.

While there's no official confirmation about the iPhone 7 charger will look like or how it will work, there are rumors swirling on tech blogs that Apple might finally give us wireless charging for the iPhone 7 (and other Apple devices as well). The UK-based tech site Expert Reviews wrote that it would be logical for Apple to come out with a wireless charging solution for the iPhone 7, given that competition such as Samsung already has wireless chargers on the market. Expert Reviews also noted that the trend in wireless charging extends beyond just tech companies; even Ikea is now manufacturing furniture that holds built-in wireless charges for compatible devices.

Tech site BGR has also theorized that Apple isn't using wireless charging for one reason: iPhones are now made with metal casing. The metal material interferes with the phones' ability to charge using wireless charging technology, but BGR reports that there is a solution to this problem that might allow for wireless charging on the iPhone 7.

Tech innovation company Qulacomm has created technology that can be built into metal-cased smartphones in order to enable the phones to charge using a wireless charger, BGR reports.

JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

Whatever the answer, we'll have to wait another full year to find out for sure whether or not the iPhone 7 will have wireless charging capabilities, or if it will have some other reinvention of a charging cable.

Images: Wikimedia