'iPhone 12' will use magnets to simplify charging positioning, leak claims

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2020
Photographs purporting to be of the inside of an "iPhone 12," and Apple's official cases, show a circular arrangement of magnets, possibly related to charging.

Purported images of the interior components of an
Purported images of the interior components of an "iPhone 12" showing a circle of magnets


Following previous reports that the "iPhone 12" chassis may feature smaller batteries than the iPhone 11 range, a new leak claims that there will be a series of magnets which may be related to wireless charging. Photographs show a circular arrangement of batteries within the chassis, and a seemingly identical one in what's claimed to be Apple's official "iPhone 12" case.

Magnets.. inside the iPhone 12's chassis pic.twitter.com/0eJ7HRZjpW

-- EverythingApplePro (@EveryApplePro)


The images were reportedly first seen on Weibo, and then posted to Twitter by EverythingApplePro. This account has previously claimed details about the "iPhone 12," and also broke an iPad Pro in order to prove it could be broken.

While the original tweet only says that there are magnets inside the forthcoming iPhone's chassis, EverythingApplePro followed that with a second leak. This image is purportedly of an official Apple case for the new phone and shows the same circular arrangement of magnets.

Yup. Official iPhone 12 cases will also have this magnet system built in. Likely for perfect alignment with Apple's wireless chargers. pic.twitter.com/eDEQ474NIX

-- EverythingApplePro (@EveryApplePro)


It's suggested that this circular magnet arrangement may be to do with wireless charging. The new "iPhone 12," or its case, might support charging other devices, in which case these magnets may keep those in place.

Alternatively, the magnets may be there to help with the charging of the phone itself. Apple has reportedly charging other devices">https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/06/18/apple-has-reportedly-solved-the-airpower-overheating-problem on its previously-cancelled AirPower charging mat, and this magnet arrangement may be related.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 968member
    Oh dang. This could be their solution to the AirPower fiasco. 

    What made the old AirPower design stand out was the lack need for alignment. As we all know, that turned out unfeasible… this solution isn’t quite as elegant, but also not bad at all! 
    caladanianwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 11
    hoodjd73hoodjd73 Posts: 16member
    The magnets are there to help facilitate charging Watch directly from iPhone.
    eriamjhwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 11
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 968member
    makes sense! But I'm skeptical… I just can't imagine normals fiddling with their phones and sacrificing battery just to eke out a couple more hours on another device. I would do it, but I'm crazy. Apple tends to dismiss ideas that norms won't latch on to.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    georgie01georgie01 Posts: 436member
    Eric_WVGG said:
    What made the old AirPower design stand out was the lack need for alignment. As we all know, that turned out unfeasible… this solution isn’t quite as elegant, but also not bad at all! 
    Didn’t AppleInsider review a wireless charging pad that successfully implemented a series of overlapping coils and didn’t need alignment?
  • Reply 5 of 11
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 968member
    Just because someone made it work doesn't necessarily make it a good solution. The whole idea is obviously very difficult to do and requires a ton of cooling, so maybe better to just sack it and go with something simpler?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 11
    XedXed Posts: 2,566member
    hoodjd73 said:
    The magnets are there to help facilitate charging Watch directly from iPhone.
    That sounds plausible to me. How big is the magnetic ring?


    Eric_WVGG said:
    Oh dang. This could be their solution to the AirPower fiasco. 

    What made the old AirPower design stand out was the lack need for alignment. As we all know, that turned out unfeasible… this solution isn’t quite as elegant, but also not bad at all! 
    I'm not convinced that it's not feasible. All we know is that they didn't have a solution that they were comfortable shipping.
    caladanianwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 11
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,645member
    Adding magnets to assist in positioning wireless chargers makes total sense.  The Apple Watch charging puck literally snaps into place.  Why not do on the iPhone? 

    An equivalent version for the iPhone would avoid the dreaded not-in-the-right-position problem many wireless chargers have.  It will never be off-center or stop charging because it was bumped.  
    caladanian
  • Reply 8 of 11
    dedgeckodedgecko Posts: 169member
    That would add considerable weight to the phone.  Or perhaps not, and this is in conjunction with a breakthrough in their liquid metal concepts and patents.  

    Looks like concepts though, not final release configurations. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 11
    XedXed Posts: 2,566member
    dedgecko said:
    That would add considerable weight to the phone.  Or perhaps not, and this is in conjunction with a breakthrough in their liquid metal concepts and patents.  

    Looks like concepts though, not final release configurations. 
    It would add mass, but we're probably not talking about a very strong magnet, just something to help align an object. The idea that would help a Watch or AirPods case center and hold seems reasonable. That said, the amount of mass is a concern that needs to be considered… but I'm also certain Apple would weigh the pros and cons.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 11
    swat671swat671 Posts: 150member
    Am I the only one who thought of this?


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 11
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,420member
    "Photographs show a circular arrangement of batteries within the chassis"

    or magnets rather.
    watto_cobra
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