One down side to wireless charging is that you can't pick up the phone and use it while charging. Might be convenient for cars that offer that capability because you are not supposed to pick up the phone while driving anyway, but I'd rather just have a battery that lasts all day under heavy usage so that I only need to charge at night where plugging it in is no big deal. I imagine a wireless charger is going to be a bit bulky, so not really that convenient to carry around.
Apple is working with 2 different companies to release a wireless charging capable of using radio waves and not the induction method. Rumor has it you will be able to charge your phone with in up to 15 feet of the charging plug.
Is this using a rumor in support of another rumor? Has this rumored technology been demonstrated publicly anywhere?
waverboy said: This isn't induction charging, this is actual wireless charging that works from a distance of at least a few feet.
I doubt it. Too much power required, slow charging times, bulky, not very portable, expensive, electronic interference, potentially dangerous levels of RF.
This is my thinking as well, but supposedly there is a lot of research here with device location detection and beam forming, to at least reduce the power loss for a short distance. I am skeptical that this is ready for "prime time" in an iPhone that - even if it starts at $1K - would still sell 10's of millions of units in a year. Who knows though...maybe Apple does have a "one more thing..." to reveal in this area.
Without knowing specifics, it *seems* like putting a furnace outside and trying to direct enough air into the house to keep it warm. In other words, horribly inefficient. It seems like a lot of the power will simply be dissipated into the air. Like @volcan I wonder if it will be significantly slower than charging with a cable.
My present state of mind on this is the same as yours, @brucemc -- skeptical, but open-minded. Like you say, maybe Apple has something clever up its sleeve.
In my work as a noise practitioner my rule of thumb has been to avoid using wireless anywhere a perfectly good wire will do because wire is more reliable and less susceptible to interference. These days the balance is shifting as wireless is to the point where it generally doesn't cause many more problems than connector failures do, but good wireless is still WAAAY more expensive to implement than wire. Like everything else, the value of wireless charging will come down to reliability, efficiency, and cost.
Wireless charging is a huge, big, waste of time, IMO.
But I'll trust Tim Cook's judgement in the end.
I mean, how much effort is it to plug my iPhone? 1 second?
What if the iPhone X doesn't have any ports? Why would you need a port if you can wirelessly charge it? I'm tell ya people this is coming soon...as soon as Apple gets wireless charging down, that lighting port will be a thing of the past. You can sync it wirelessly, connect bluetooth devices to it (wirelessly)such as EarPods and now charging wirelessly. No need for a lightning port anymore. I know this will piss people off just like the headphone jack, but people will get over it just like they did with the headphone jack missing.
Sorry, but wifi sync isn't ``down pat.'' The direct sync to Mac with iTunes will always be around.
I don't see why we need to improve 3D that would cost so much to the cost of manufacturing. I don't recall anyone having an issue with 3D Touch. It works as expected.
It's funny the excuses people come up with to justify hanging on to the past.
You seem to be confusing the past with the present and foreseeable future. In order to completely replace wired charging (and remove the lightning port,) Apple needs to provide wireless solutions to ALL of the current functions of the lightning port. Many of these have been listed above. Add charging at the airport and charging speed to the list of reasons to keep a wire.
Am I the only one worried about breakage with a glass iPhone? I know they want a shiny design, but metal just makes sense in so many ways. It seems like they would be compromising function and durability in the name of style. Not something I'd pay $800 for
"If Apple didn't laminate an additional graphite sheet with the new design, the high-end iPhone could become prone to malfunctioning due to overheating."
Make up a bunch of possible features and assert them as facts, assume you know how they would be implemented, and then infer the technical solution to this imagined problem. "Graphite!" Being an analyst must be fun.
Guys, one question I have about this whole wireless charging thing is what happens if let's say my niece and nephew come over to my house and they bring with them their iPhone 8/X's and I have mine too. We come home after a long day together and now we all want to recharge our phones...does my wireless system charge everyone's phone? Or do they bring their own little wireless charging doo-dat and well, I don't know? I really say that because that very thing happens when they come to visit. I'll charge mine downstairs, and the kids usually take their chargers upstairs and charge them in the spare bedroom. There are plenty of outlets every where. So that is how it is now...just wondering how it will work in the wireless charging world.
I don't mean to be a negative nanny here or someone not about technological progress but wireless charging doesn't exactly seem like a huge winner to me only because its not that big of a deal to charge my phone in the traditional manner. I'm used to it and everyone else is too. Its like plugging stuff into the wall to use it. We just do it and don't really thing twice about. I guess it would be okay to have it charge wirelessly but again not that big of a deal.
Hey there is one other thing I hope Apple has thought about is that is what happens when the electricity goes out? Today we had some serious bad weather and I saw the lights flicker. If the power would have gone out for a few days it would have been okay because I do have a power brick that could charge my phone...but alas what to do with this Wireless Charging thing?
One down side to wireless charging is that you can't pick up the phone and use it while charging. Might be convenient for cars that offer that capability because you are not supposed to pick up the phone while driving anyway, but I'd rather just have a battery that lasts all day under heavy usage so that I only need to charge at night where plugging it in is no big deal.
This isn't induction charging, this is actual wireless charging that works from a distance of at least a few feet.
How do you know when the phone isn't out yet? What you're talking about is a few years away and only makes sense to me if it works at greater distances than 'a few feet'. As for induction charging, if it's done very well it can be nice. Just look at MagSafe. I'd prefer a magnetic cable to a mat, myself.
Wireless charging is a huge, big, waste of time, IMO.
But I'll trust Tim Cook's judgement in the end.
I mean, how much effort is it to plug my iPhone? 1 second?
What if the iPhone X doesn't have any ports? Why would you need a port if you can wirelessly charge it? I'm tell ya people this is coming soon...as soon as Apple gets wireless charging down, that lighting port will be a thing of the past. You can sync it wirelessly, connect bluetooth devices to it (wirelessly)such as EarPods and now charging wirelessly. No need for a lightning port anymore. I know this will piss people off just like the headphone jack, but people will get over it just like they did with the headphone jack missing.
you are going to still need at least 1 port. You cant rely 100% on wireless
It's funny the excuses people come up with to justify hanging on to the past.
Some advantages of wireless charging:
1. Only requires one hand to set the phone on the charger. Wired charging requires one hand to hold the phone and another hand to insert or remove the Lightning connector.
2. Although the Lightning connectors themselves are fairly robust, cables tend to wear out. Wireless charging eliminates that wear.
We will NOT be seeing a wireless charger that works over distances of anywhere near "a few feet" with current technology. Even the most sophisticated wireless chargers costing thousands of dollars for electric vehicles can only work with an air gap of a few inches at most. Because physics.
It's nothing got to do with physics are everything to do with timing. Solutions are just not there yet. The same reason finger print home buttons weren't around in 2008. As for two hands v one—hardly worth mentioning. Wear and tear of cables is certainly worth mentioning though. I do hope that Apple will open source their long range wireless solution when it is ready though: a few years away. That's the last thing we need to be proprietary. We need ubiquitous, long-range wireless charging that works for Android and Apple devices, very much how WiFi does. Greed will try its best to prevent this of course.
One down side to wireless charging is that you can't pick up the phone and use it while charging. Might be convenient for cars that offer that capability because you are not supposed to pick up the phone while driving anyway, but I'd rather just have a battery that lasts all day under heavy usage so that I only need to charge at night where plugging it in is no big deal. I imagine a wireless charger is going to be a bit bulky, so not really that convenient to carry around.
Apple is working with 2 different companies to release a wireless charging capable of using radio waves and not the induction method. Rumor has it you will be able to charge your phone with in up to 15 feet of the charging plug.
One down side to wireless charging is that you can't pick up the phone and use it while charging. Might be convenient for cars that offer that capability because you are not supposed to pick up the phone while driving anyway, but I'd rather just have a battery that lasts all day under heavy usage so that I only need to charge at night where plugging it in is no big deal. I imagine a wireless charger is going to be a bit bulky, so not really that convenient to carry around.
Apple is working with 2 different companies to release a wireless charging capable of using radio waves and not the induction method. Rumor has it you will be able to charge your phone with in up to 15 feet of the charging plug.
Is this using a rumor in support of another rumor? Has this rumored technology been demonstrated publicly anywhere?
Yes, but not in a way that inspires confidence in the current iterations.
netrox said: I don't see why we need to improve 3D that would cost so much to the cost of manufacturing. I don't recall anyone having an issue with 3D Touch.
How else are we going to graph the weight of our testicles accurately over time for the health app.
Guys, one question I have about this whole wireless charging thing is what happens if let's say my niece and nephew come over to my house and they bring with them their iPhone 8/X's and I have mine too. We come home after a long day together and now we all want to recharge our phones...does my wireless system charge everyone's phone?
If that solution exists in a few years it'll charge several devices at once. Currently an iPhone takes just 5 watts, or more. The issue with true across-the-room wireless charging solutions is they currently suck.
Comments
Phil Schiller has openly criticized these implementations as not wireless at all, and more inconvenient than convenient. And he's right.
It doesn't take a genius to realize Apple's implementation is going to be completely different, and redefine wireless charging.
My present state of mind on this is the same as yours, @brucemc -- skeptical, but open-minded. Like you say, maybe Apple has something clever up its sleeve.
In my work as a noise practitioner my rule of thumb has been to avoid using wireless anywhere a perfectly good wire will do because wire is more reliable and less susceptible to interference. These days the balance is shifting as wireless is to the point where it generally doesn't cause many more problems than connector failures do, but good wireless is still WAAAY more expensive to implement than wire. Like everything else, the value of wireless charging will come down to reliability, efficiency, and cost.
Am I the only one worried about breakage with a glass iPhone? I know they want a shiny design, but metal just makes sense in so many ways. It seems like they would be compromising function and durability in the name of style. Not something I'd pay $800 for
"If Apple didn't laminate an additional graphite sheet with the new design, the high-end iPhone could become prone to malfunctioning due to overheating."
Make up a bunch of possible features and assert them as facts, assume you know how they would be implemented, and then infer the technical solution to this imagined problem. "Graphite!" Being an analyst must be fun.
I don't mean to be a negative nanny here or someone not about technological progress but wireless charging doesn't exactly seem like a huge winner to me only because its not that big of a deal to charge my phone in the traditional manner. I'm used to it and everyone else is too. Its like plugging stuff into the wall to use it. We just do it and don't really thing twice about. I guess it would be okay to have it charge wirelessly but again not that big of a deal.
Hey there is one other thing I hope Apple has thought about is that is what happens when the electricity goes out? Today we had some serious bad weather and I saw the lights flicker. If the power would have gone out for a few days it would have been okay because I do have a power brick that could charge my phone...but alas what to do with this Wireless Charging thing?
I vote for both port and wireless charging.
Apple Watch
It's nothing got to do with physics are everything to do with timing. Solutions are just not there yet. The same reason finger print home buttons weren't around in 2008. As for two hands v one—hardly worth mentioning. Wear and tear of cables is certainly worth mentioning though. I do hope that Apple will open source their long range wireless solution when it is ready though: a few years away. That's the last thing we need to be proprietary. We need ubiquitous, long-range wireless charging that works for Android and Apple devices, very much how WiFi does. Greed will try its best to prevent this of course.
Yes, but not in a way that inspires confidence in the current iterations.
It also doesn't take a genius to wait and see what's announced.
How else are we going to graph the weight of our testicles accurately over time for the health app.