After years of rumors, it appears that wireless charging will finally be coming to the iPhone once Apple releases the iPhone 8 later this year. While wireless charging is far from a new technology, there will be a lot of interest in seeing what Apple’s implementation looks like. After all, Apple’s bread and butter doesn’t lie in introducing new technologies, but in refining existing ones.
With iOS 11 already out for a few weeks now, one developer was busy digging around and stumbled across a sound file which seems to confirm that wireless charging is on the way. Originally posted to Reddit (via MacRumors), the sound file in question is dubbed “engage_power.caf” and will presumably be used to signal that wireless charging has commenced.
At this point, it remains to be seen who Apple has partnered up with for its wireless charging solution. Earlier this year, Reuters relayed a report claiming that Apple was working with “at least five different groups working on wireless charging technology.” More recently, reports have surfaced indicating that Apple over the past few years has been busy working on a wireless charging feature with Broadcom.
At this point, it’s a safe bet that wireless charging will, in fact, be coming to the iPhone 8. Indeed, the one unanswered question is whether or not Apple’s iPhone 7s models will include the same feature. While early reports indicated that wireless charging will remain an iPhone 8 exclusive, more recent rumblings from the rumor mill suggest that both the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will support it.
