Digitimes has a rumor today that the next generation of iPhone will be charged wirelessly via induction- and that the wireless-charging iPhone will be out this year!
Considering that we already have wireless sync, this would - in theory - mean that our iPhones were finally, completely, free from cables.
A completely untethered iPhone!
But not so fast. 9to5Mac says that, despite Digitimes' rumors to the contrary, we shouldn't expect a wireless charging iPhone in 2013. Or in the upcoming generation of iPhone, whenever it gets released.
As 9to5 notes, 2013 is very, very likely to be an "S" year - and if Apple holds true to form, the iPhone 5S will be a spec bump, rather than a design change.
We'll get some kind of better camera, and faster processor. We may get a fingerprint reader for entering a passcode/unlock.
We may even get some kind of NFC, but that seems unlikely - they would have done it by now if that was Apple's plan - probably when introducing Passbook with iOS 6.
I do, however, think that inductive (wireless) charging is likely in 2014 with the iPhone 6, for a couple of reasons.
Keeping Up With The Joneses
The primary reason - Samsung is going to do it (again, per Digitimes), and there's no way that Apple is going to let such a visible feature go unanswered. If the flagship Galaxy can be charged wirelessly, the iPhone will, too.
A Major Cross-Sale Opportunity
A secondary reason - Apple will be able to tie wireless charging back to their Macintosh line in a big way.
The current iPad has a beautiful, minimalist, aluminum one-piece stand.
That stand looks *exactly* like what an Apple iPhone induction charger would look like.
Adding an induction charger to the iMac is an obvious decision, and a major, major selling point.
It would eliminate the one bit of clutter on our iPad desk - the 30-pin and Lightning cables sticking out of the back. It would add a giant bit of functionality to the iMac... without changing the aesthetics one bit.
I'd upgrade my iMac today if it could wirelessly charge my iPhone. If I could buy the stand separately, I'd pay quite a bit for it.
I'd imagine that the vast majority of new iMac purchasers would pay an upcharge to get the wireless induction stand, too.
Closing the Gap
My favorite reason is that wireless charging would allow Apple to finally close the big hole in the bottom of the phone.
Granted, this isn't as big of a problem anymore, with the Lightning connector. This is more of a legacy complaint. But that 30-pin hole was just massive, and could really fill up with dust and gunk, which would infiltrate the rest of the phone.
My 3G used to get dust all the way up on the screen, and it was incredibly annoying.
I never had that problem with my 4 or 4S, so perhaps that dust issue has been solved. even prior to the Lightning connector making the hole smaller.
But just for piece of mind - it would be great to have the iPhone with no holes - or a Lightning port that could be closed.
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