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The iPhone 7S may get these two iPhone 8 features

A company in charge of iPhone assembly reportedly "confirmed" wireless charging and waterproofing on the iPhone 7S.

Gordon Gottsegen CNET contributor
Gordon Gottsegen is a tech writer who has experience working at publications like Wired. He loves testing out new gadgets and complaining about them. He is the ghost of all failed Kickstarters.
Gordon Gottsegen
2 min read
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Apple is rumored to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone by releasing three new phones: the iPhone 7S, 7S Plus, and iPhone 8. And while most of the CNET's rumor coverage has focused on the premium iPhone 8, some alleged details have have leaked about the S-cycle (presumably the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus) update to the iPhone 7.

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Would wireless charging make the iPhone 7 even better?

Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET

The CEO of Wistron, a Taiwanese iPhone assembler, reportedly revealed that that an upcoming 5.5-inch iPhone (assumed to be the rumored 7S Plus) will be both waterproof and feature wireless charging, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

Wistron -- which reportedly has been working on assembling the iPhone SE -- was tasked with assembling an upcoming 5.5-inch iPhone. In a shareholders' meeting on Wednesday, CEO Robert Hwang highlighted some new changes for the phone, "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," Hwang told reporters.

Wistron is also said to be only working on the 5.5-inch iPhone, but Nikkei also mentions the phone will come out alongside a 4.7-inch iPhone (assumed to be the iPhone 7S) and a premium iPhone with a slightly curved screen (assumed to be the iPhone 8). The report didn't specify changes for the other two models.

The iPhone 8 is rumored to get a ton of new premium features, like an OLED screen, an embedded fingerprint scanner and AR functionality. But there could be a drawback to adding all these new bells and whistles: reports say Apple is struggling to incorporate the new features and that the phone could now cost over $1,000 There's also now the potential for a staggered launch. Releasing a more modestly upgraded iPhone 7S and 7S Plus first, may appeal to those who still want a new iPhone without having to pay as much money or wait as long.

Reports point to the iPhone 8 getting wireless charging as well. It seems likely, given that Apple recently joined the Wireless Power Consortium and that the iPhone 8 is rumored to get a glass body makeover, which would make the phone more conducive to charging wirelessly. But rumors seemed to indicate the feature would be exclusive to the iPhone 8, at least until now.

Similarly, the iPhone 8 may have better waterproofing than the iPhone 7 (an IP68 rating instead of IP67).

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.