Apple will add support for wirelessly charging accessories to the iPhone 14, according to a tipster. iPhones already have limited support for reverse wireless charging, but the capability is supposedly being expanded.
This would make a range of third-party MagSafe accessories more useful.
iPhone users can now download iOS 14.7. The update, released Monday, adds reverse wireless charging to the iPhone 12 series, albeit in a limited way. It also includes some promised improvements to the Apple Card, and allows users to manage timers on a HomePod.
In addition, Apple released watchOS 7.6.
Turns out the iPhone 12 could do reverse wireless charging all along — Apple just didn’t talk about it until this week. And now that the cat’s out of the bag, Apple should embrace the capability and let iPhones wirelessly charge any other compatible device.
A teardown of the iPhone 11 finds Apple’s less-expensive handset lacks any sign of inverse wireless charging. iFixit did discover hardware possibly related to this rumored feature in the iPhone 11 Pro series, however.
An X-ray of the iPhone 11 does turn up evidence of ultra-wideband support, however. That will prove important if Apple launches the item-tracking tags that also showed up in many rumors.
Buried in the iPhone 11 Pro Max are hardware quirks that iFixit suggests might be for reverse wireless charging, a feature reportedly planned and then dropped from this model.
Watch a video of techs from this repair company carefully disassembling Apple’s new flagship smartphone:
Apple’s press event today included the iPhone 11 series as well as updated iPad and Apple Watch versions. However, some rumored devices, features and accessories failed to materialize.
Most notably, the company didn’t announce a line of item-tracking tags, and the latest iPhones can’t wirelessly charge other devices. And there are other predictions that didn’t come true.
The Apple logo on the back of this year’s iPhone 11 lineup will shift to make way for a brand new feature, according to a new report.
The logo won’t disappear, but it will be perfectly centered for the first time in the iPhone’s history. The change will allow for a huge upgrade in wireless charging functionality.
