All 2017 iPhones expected to feature wireless charging and glass casing

Posted:
in iPhone edited June 2020
Recent rumors indicate Apple will employ a substantially glass chassis for its next-generation iPhone lineup, with most pundits chalking up the material change to aesthetics. New information from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, suggests Apple is turning to a glass sandwich design to better facilitate wireless charging.




In a note to investors obtained by AppleInsider on Wednesday, Ming-Chi Kuo says he expects all 2017 iPhone models to boast wireless charging capabilities, a feature already seen on competing handsets from Samsung.

According to Kuo, Apple has likely tasked supplier Pegatron to develop and produce the necessary wireless charger cable hardware. By offloading development, or a good chunk of it, to an outside electronic manufacturing firm, Apple ensures the component will undergo comprehensive testing before production.

The job might also go to Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn, but the Taiwanese manufacturing giant is already under pressure to deliver Apple's anticipated top-tier OLED iPhone, Kuo says. With Foxconn resources stretched thin, Pegatron will likely be the wireless charger's sole supplier in 2017.

Whether Apple plans to include a wireless charging cable in every iPhone box is unclear, but Kuo believes production will start at an introductory level next year and ramp up going into 2018.

Beyond wireless charging, Pegatron is expected to win a share of OLED iPhone assembly orders in 2017. In a best case scenario, the manufacturer will supply between 5 to 10 percent of OLED iPhone orders next year, and potentially more in 2018 to offset supply risk by diversifying Apple's supply chain. Pegatron is also anticipated to be the exclusive supplier of next year's 4.7-inch LCD model, bringing the firm's allocation of iPhone orders to 36 to 38 percent, up from 32 to 24 percent in 2016.

Kuo in a separate note says he expects the next-generation iPhone to hit mass production late in the third quarter of 2017. As for sales, the analyst is upbeat on demand, estimating new iPhone shipments of 90 million to 110 million units, up from 75 million in fiscal 2016. Surprisingly, the OLED model is projected to account for 50 to 55 percent of new model shipments, while 4.7- and 5.5-inch variants using older LCD technology should make up 30 to 35 percent and 10 to 15 percent of orders, respectively.

The rumor mill surrounding Apple's first OLED iPhone is already in full swing despite an expected release date at least 10 months away. Last week, Kuo predicted the OLED handset to sport a new form factor featuring a screen measuring either 5.1 or 5.2 inches on the diagonal. Due to constrained OLED panel supply, the analyst predicts Apple to market the OLED version alongside traditional 4.7- and 5.5-inch LCD offerings. Of note, the OLED variant and 5.5-inch LCD unit -- but not the 4.7-inch model -- will sport a dual-lens array similar to the module introduced with this year's iPhone 7 Plus, Kuo said.

Many believe next year's flagship OLED iPhone is being prepped to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Apple's revolutionary smartphone. Reports, including a litany of predictions from Kuo, suggest a monolithic all-glass design that hides key features like the front-facing FaceTime camera, earpiece and Touch ID fingerprint sensor beneath a flexible OLED panel. The radical shift in aesthetics would allow for a completely seamless edge-to-edge display experience.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Beautiful, wireless, cool... smash!
    edited November 2016
  • Reply 2 of 42
    Wow - Now if they make the glass unbreakable, and screen resolution 1080, it could possibly be the perfect phone.
  • Reply 3 of 42
    Will it have a USB-C to Lightning or USB-A to Lightning? Will it even have a Lightning connector, maybe only a USB-C.
    Donglegate!
    edited November 2016 baconstangdoozydozen
  • Reply 4 of 42
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Fatman said:
    Wow - Now if they make the glass unbreakable, and screen resolution 1080, it could possibly be the perfect phone.
    No such thing as perfect. No such thing as unbreakable (and un-scratchable) glass.
    StrangeDaysdoozydozenthinkman@chartermi.net
  • Reply 5 of 42
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Will it have a USB-C to Lightning or USB-A to Lightning? Will it even have a Lightning connector, maybe only a USB-C.
    Donglegate!
    It will have a Lightning port, most likely. It'd be great to see Apple coalesce behind USBc, but that will sadly not happen.
    edited November 2016 doozydozen
  • Reply 6 of 42
    So wireless charging is a good thing now?
    baconstangdoozydozenrezwitsdasanman69
  • Reply 7 of 42
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    So wireless charging is a good thing now?
    It was never a bad thing...just poorly executed. Like many technologies Apple uses. 

    Fatman said:
    Wow - Now if they make the glass unbreakable, and screen resolution 1080, it could possibly be the perfect phone.
    Just don't drop it and it won't break. No such thing as a perfect phone. What you think a perfect phone is might be crap to someone else. 
    edited November 2016 StrangeDayshike1272doozydozen
  • Reply 8 of 42
    williamhwilliamh Posts: 1,032member
    Apple should get rid of the volume controls and the other button and switch.  People don't need that. 
    baconstanglorin schultz
  • Reply 9 of 42
    ireland said:
    Fatman said:
    Wow - Now if they make the glass unbreakable, and screen resolution 1080, it could possibly be the perfect phone.
    No such thing as perfect. No such thing as unbreakable (and un-scratchable) glass.
    Make the screen resolution 1080?  LMFAO.  We do not want that.
    longpathrezwitsthinkman@chartermi.net
  • Reply 10 of 42
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    So wireless charging is a good thing now?
    Not in my case. Not being able to charge while using the phone at my desk is not practical for me.
    bloggerblogbaconstangpscooter63
  • Reply 11 of 42
    Will it allow ONLY wireless charging, or via Lightning too? Many of us have Lightning-based external batteries; it'd be a shame to obsolete all of them by not allowing a Lightning charge in the future.
    baconstanghike1272
  • Reply 12 of 42
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    "Wireless charging cable".

    err, what?
    randominternetpersonhike1272
  • Reply 13 of 42
    spice-boyspice-boy Posts: 1,450member
    Can some one please tell me what the benefit of wireless charging is? I've seen those Samsung ads and there appears to be a small platform thing which does the charging if so how is that an improvement over a small cable and outlet plug?
    baconstangrandominternetpersondoozydozenpscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 42
    appexappex Posts: 687member
    Wireless charging: waste of energy and Earth aggression!
    baconstangdoozydozenwatto_cobrataniwha
  • Reply 15 of 42
    Is this rumour about truly wireless charging like 3G/4G/Wifi or is it more like induction charging like the Apple Watch or Duracell Powermat?
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 16 of 42
    spice-boy said:
    Can some one please tell me what the benefit of wireless charging is? I've seen those Samsung ads and there appears to be a small platform thing which does the charging if so how is that an improvement over a small cable and outlet plug?
    It comes down to ease of use and device integrity, really. If implemented properly, wireless charging is dead simple. Lay it down, magnets automatically align, and charging immediately starts. Even easier than a dual sided cable like Lightning or USB-C because there is no plugging anything in. That also ties into the second advantage, which comes down to wear and tear. Using the lightning port less because you aren't constantly plugging and unplugging a charging cable will make that port last much much longer, and will theoretically increase the lifespan of the entire device.
    paxmandoozydozen
  • Reply 17 of 42
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    Is this rumour about truly wireless charging like 3G/4G/Wifi or is it more like induction charging like the Apple Watch or Duracell Powermat?
    Search the "inverse square law" for power dissipation.  
  • Reply 18 of 42
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    hittrj01 said:
    spice-boy said:
    Can some one please tell me what the benefit of wireless charging is? I've seen those Samsung ads and there appears to be a small platform thing which does the charging if so how is that an improvement over a small cable and outlet plug?
    It comes down to ease of use and device integrity, really. If implemented properly, wireless charging is dead simple. Lay it down, magnets automatically align, and charging immediately starts. Even easier than a dual sided cable like Lightning or USB-C because there is no plugging anything in. That also ties into the second advantage, which comes down to wear and tear. Using the lightning port less because you aren't constantly plugging and unplugging a charging cable will make that port last much much longer, and will theoretically increase the lifespan of the entire device.
    Except that constant micro-charging is bad for the lifespan of the battery. Has anybody ever had a Lightning connector fail in the 1-3 years they've owned a phone? I guess the user just needs to pick their poison.
    baconstangpscooter63watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 42
    So wireless charging is a good thing now?
    Of course it is.  It was even ten years ago, when I loved it so much on my Palm Pre.  An excellent smartphone, except for its crappy keyboard.
  • Reply 20 of 42
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    Will it have a USB-C to Lightning or USB-A to Lightning? Will it even have a Lightning connector, maybe only a USB-C.
    Donglegate!
    If they actually release truly wireless charging next year, the next iPhone will have Lightning, and then the subsequent model will swap Lightning for something like the Smart Connector, and eliminate ports entirely.

    Apple is not likely to ever switch to USB-C on iOS devices.
    edited November 2016
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