In just a few hours, Tim Cook and Phil Schiller will grace the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater and officially take the wraps off of the company’s iPhone 11 lineup. And sure, we may see some new hardware in the form of a brand new Apple Watch, but there’s no disputing that Apple’s next-gen iPhone will be the primary focus of the event.
In the buildup to the iPhone 11 release, we’ve certainly seen no shortage of credible rumors regarding what new features we can expect to see. Despite Apple’s best efforts to “double down” on product secrecy, the simple fact remains that there’s only so much Apple can do to keep leaks from its vast supply chain at bay.
With that said, the iPhone 11 will be an incremental upgrade. That, however, shouldn’t be taken to mean that the iPhone 11 will be boring. If anything, Apple has become so adept at rolling out compelling updates year in and year out that we’ve arguably become numb to incremental updates jam-packed with considerable improvements with respect to performance, camera quality, and more.
We’ll get to some of the more exciting iPhone 11 features shortly, but we first wanted to point out that a pair of intriguing iPhone 11 features we were looking forward to might not make it into today’s presentation.
According to a new research note from Ming-Chi Kuo (via MacRumors), Apple’s iPhone 11 models will not feature bilateral wireless charging as previously expected. As a quick primer, bilateral wireless charging would allow users to charge other Apple devices — like the Apple Watch — by placing it on the iPhone. As intriguing as that is, Kuo notes that it likely won’t happen “because the charging efficiency may not meet Apple’s requirements.”
Bolstering Kuo’s claim, Mark Gurman took to Twitter and said that Apple has been having some performance issues with the feature and that it’s been put on the shelf.
Yup, sounds like backside charging is out. https://t.co/8EGrRX1KBA
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) September 10, 2019
Another disappointment, though far less so, centers on wired charging. Despite some rumblings that all iPhone 11 models might ship with an 18W charger, Kuo writes that only Apple’s OLED-based iPhone 11 models will get the 18W treatment with a USB-C connector. In other words, if you want to take advantage of fast-charging, you’ll want to steer clear of the LCD-based iPhone 11.
As for other features, it’s no secret that Apple’s 2019 iPhone release will consist of three successors to last year’s 6.1-inch iPhone XR, 5.8-inch iPhone XS, and 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max. Notably, Kuo relays that both OLED-based iPhone 11 models will boast a triple-lens camera for vastly improved camera performance.
As for other notable tidbits, the iPhone 11 will like be available in a wider assortment of colors than what we’re used to. Additionally, Face ID performance and reliability will likely be vastly improved, though the size of the notch itself will likely remain the same. Further, we can expect to see the iPhone 11 offer up improved shatter resistance, improved video recording, a brand new sensor coprocessor, and a blazing new A13 processor. Lastly, Apple’s iPhone 11 lineup — which will likely hit stores on September 20th — will reportedly ship with bigger batteries, though it remains to be seen the extent to which this will result in improved battery life.
