Wireless charging today usually involves placing a particular device on a charging surface to draw enough power. In 2017, Apple hopes to change this by increasing the effective charging distance, which may make wireless charging that much more viable and useful, although we won’t be seeing this until next year.
According to a report in Bloomberg, Apple is currently working with its partners in the US and Asia to develop a new wireless charging technology. Currently, Apple is said to be figuring out a method to overcome technical difficulties such as the loss of power over distance – which is why wireless charging today involves a device in direct contact with a charging surface – and the viability of implementing the new technology on its devices.
The official wireless charging dock of the Apple Watch.
While the new feature won’t necessarily make it onto this year’s iteration of the iPhone, it’s definitely an interesting piece of technology that could reinvent wireless charging as we know it. Having a device in direct contact with a charging surface isn’t necessarily more convenient than conventional wired charging, which is even favoured by certain consumers to avoid heating up the device unnecessarily; a common with wireless charging today.
Regardless, it is still too early to know for sure if this new wireless charging technology will make it onto future Apple products. If it does, the feature might just give Apple an edge over its competition.
