With a number of reports coming in that Apple is looking at wireless charging for the iPhone 8, is the time finally approaching when a useful charging solution can arrive fully formed on iOS? Is 2017 the year I can ditch my smartphone cases, remove the soldered circuit patch, and start charging my iPhone wirelessly without any awkward peripherals or additions to the case?
I hope so.
If you've been reading my column for any length of time you'll know that I regard wireless charging as one of the most useful bits of magical technology to grace the smartphone world. A number of third-party cases allow me to add Qi charging to Apple's smartphone (and it's possible to MacGyver your own Qi case with some subtle charging pads under your own favourite case).
That's an okay solution, but as handsets with built-in wireless charging such as the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have shown, an integrated system is more efficient, more stylish and makes for a much better handset.
There were a number of indications that Apple was looking into wireless charging into 2016's iPhone. This did not happen, but it would not surprise me that there were a number of internal iterations that looked at the technology. Given Apple's push towards a wireless world starting with the dropping of the 3.5 mm headphone jack, being able to remove the need for a physical power cable would be another step towards this vision.
Indications such as that from Nikkei Asian Review on the potential inclusion of the technology on the tenth-anniversary iPhone give me personal hope that wireless charging is on the way. It also gives me hope that Apple does have a vision on how it can make the next iPhone be more than an iterative update of the specifications, chipsets and storage options.
It also offers a worry that Apple will tweak the now-established wireless charging standards so the new iPhone would be incompatible with the vast majority of the world's chargers in favour of pricey MFI-licenced models, forcing another unnecessary standards war.
Still, it's time that Apple picked up on wireless charging and gives it the legitimization it deserves.
Now read why Apple might remove the lightning port from the iPhone 8...
