Apple briefly talked about a new version of AirPods at its presentation today at the Steve Jobs Theater, mentioning that an improved set of earbuds come with a case that supports wireless charging via industry-standard Qi wireless charger.
The new iPhone 8/Plus will be the first iPhone to include wireless charing. Utilizing the Qi wireless charging standard, you will soon be able to charge your iPhone 8 in many places just by setting it down.
An anonymous source who reached out to AppleInsider on Tuesday says Apple is working on a multi-device wireless charging accessory for early 2018 launch.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities believes that Apple's own wireless charging accessory for the upcoming iPhones won't debut at today's event at the Steve Jobs Theater.
Some sort of wireless charging is in tow for Apple's OLED iPhone and now we have learned that the handset will display some 3D animations when connected to a wireless charger.
Following purported production images, technical drawings and sketchy photos depicting an alleged inductive wireless charging coil for iPhone 8, a pair of new images of a fully assembled wireless charging component have been posted to the Chinese micro-blogging service Weibo.
Apple's flagship iPhone 8 model is said to support wireless charging and use a stacked logic board design to make room for an L-shaped battery, with purported new images of alleged production designs taken by a Foxconn employee depicting those purported components.
In what could be our first real iPhone part leak, a pair of images showing a wireless charging component of some sort were published earlier this week on leak aggregator SlashLeaks.
Apple is reportedly in panic mode due to persistent software problems with wireless charging and an all-new 3D sensor, which are increasingly threatening to spoil iPhone 8's launch party.
“June was a tense month for the engineers and designers on Apple’s iPhone team with 'a sense of panic in the air',” a source with knowledge of the situation told Fast Company.
Should engineers fail to fix software hiccups, the Cupertino technology giant may be left with no other choice but to enable these features later on via an iOS 11.1 software update.
“Apple's been working feverishly to fix software problems in its hotly anticipated iPhone 8 that could ultimately cause production and delivery delays,” sources said.
“If the software problems aren’t resolved quickly, the new flagship iPhone could even launch with major features disabled.”
iPhone 8 will use inductive charging similar to Apple Watch, where the phone sits directly on a separate charging device. The wireless charging components provided by Broadcom are not the key issue, claims the publication, it’s the software that’s not ready for prime time.
The company faces similar problems with the new front-facing 3D sensor which will be used for facial unlocking, 3D mapping, augmented reality and other features.
Fast Company's source claims Apple's been struggling to get the sensor to work reliably.
“The sensor hardware is not the problem, but rather the accompanying software,” said the source, speculating Apple should be able to have the 3D software working in time.
“If not, the company could include the sensor in the phone anyway, and turn it on later on with a software update,” reads the article. As for the Touch ID situation, the source says that the fingerprint sensor will be embedded under the display after all.
It wouldn't be the first time Apple shipped an iPhone with inoperable hardware.
Look no further than last year's iPhone 7 launch—the 5.5-inch Plus model shipped with the necessary chips and sensors to support its depth-of-field photography mode, but that key feature was activated only a few weeks later via a software update.
Is Apple running the risk of launching the hotly anticipated OLED iPhone with wireless charging and 3D-sensing functionality disabled at launch, do you think?
Tell us in comments!
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo clarified in a note to clients, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, that Apple's OLED-based iPhone 8 and LCD-based iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus smartphones would ship with the same old 5-Watt power adapter, like prior iPhones.
A USB-A to Lightning cable should be included in the box as a standard accessory.
He reiterated his previous stance that iPhone 8 would include a USB-C Power Delivery chip for fast-charge capability. Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis predicted that iPhone 8 would come bundled with a 10-Watt power adapter featuring USB-C connectivity and fast-charge support.
All new iPhones coming down the pike in 2017 should adopt all-glass bodies with metal frames to support wireless charging functionality said to be compatible with the standard put forth by the Wireless Power Consortium, of which Apple is a member.
The analyst claims wireless charging will require an inductive charger, sold separately.
All new iPhones would use ten to fifteen percent faster RAM than iPhone 7 for better augmented reality performance in apps that use the new ARKit framework.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s Plus may use 3GB of RAM for better dual-camera performance, while the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s should have 2GB of RAM as it lacks a dual-lens camera.
Kuo said yesterday iPhone 8 would come in limited color options and feature 3D sensing for facial recognition and no Touch ID fingerprint scanning, adding that all 2017 iPhone models would have an improved stereo speaker system and come in 64 and 256GB storage options.
iPhone 8 mockup via iDropNews.
Unlike iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, your Apple Watch plays its own charging sound when placed on its magnetic charging disk. Going by same logic, iPhone 8 should play a distinctively unique charging chime when connected to its wireless charger.
Polish YouTube user “MAKS+” claims to have discovered a brand new charging sound file in the latest beta of iOS 11. To be sure, there's no way of telling if it signifies a new wireless charging chime for iPhone 8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAgpgtgrh88
As you can clearly tell yourself by listening to both sounds in the video above, the new wireless charging chime in the file named “engage_power.caf” does sound distinctively different compared to the regular charging sound in the audio file named “connect_power.caf”.
Don't get your hops up high: as noted by MacRumors, there are several other sound files in iOS 10 and 11 that are unused and do not have a purpose.
Put simply, there's really no way to confirm if this particular sound has been added as the new audible indicator that an iPhone 8 has been placed on an inductive wireless charger.
Thoughts?
At least one of Apple's new iPhone models coming this year will be waterproof and have wireless charging capabilities, Apple partner Wistron has officially confirmed.
According to Japanese outlet Nikkei Asian Review, waterproofing will alter the assembly process for the upcoming iPhones a little bit.
Yuanta Investment Consulting and Fubon Securities analysts claim Wistron is splitting orders for the upcoming 5.5-inch devices “with flat displays” with Foxconn, meaning Wistron is probably referring to an LCD-based iPhone 7 Plus model as having wireless charging features.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted a few months ago that all three iPhone models coming this year would comet outfitted with wireless charging modules.
Wistron is an Apple partner that is currently making a small number of the iPhone SE and iPhone 6 handsets in India so it's a bit surprising that they would jeopardize their Apple business by confirming a feature the Cupertino firm has yet to discuss publicly.
Here's what a company official said:
Assembly process for the previous generations of iPhones have not changed much, though new features like waterproof and wireless charging now require some different testing and waterproof function will alter the assembly process a bit.
The iPhone 7 series is splash, water and dust-resistant, rated IP67 under the IEC standard 60529. According to Apple, “splash, water, and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear.”
Wistron is probably talking about increased water and dust-resistance under the IP68 rating, like Samsung's Galaxy S8. The Korea Herald said in January that iPhone 8 would feature IP68-rated dust and waterproofing.
As for the rumored wireless charging features, Reuters recently reported that Apple has been testing at least five different wireless charging technologies.
In February, Apple joined the Wireless Power Consortium, prompting some watchers to interpret the move as an unmistakable sign that iPhone 8 would use the ubiquitous interface standard Qi (pronounced chee) that's being widely used for wireless charging across a number of consumer electronics devices.