In February, revered Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities predicted that all new iPhones released this year would let you charge other Qi devices wirelessly, like your new AirPods provided you have purchased the new wireless charging case.
The analyst has now provided specifics, viaMacRumors, saying in a newly issued research note to clients that this year’s 5.8, 6.1 and 6.5-inch phones will both support bilateral wireless charging like the PowerShare feature on Samsung’s new Galaxy S10.
We expect the new iPhone models will support two-way wireless charging. Though iPhone is not the first high-end smartphone to be equipped with two-way wireless charging, this new function could make it more convenient for users to charge the new AirPods wireless charging case and create a better integrated user experience between iPhone and AirPods.
Kuo first mentioned that the 2019 iPhone models would get bilateral wireless charging in a February note to clients. About a week ago, reliable Japanese blogMac Otakaracorroborated Kuo’s information through its own Chinese supplier sources.
To support the feature,Kuo saidthe new phones would have bigger batteries:
Kuo doesn’t provide any specifics for his claims so it will be interesting seeing how precisely Apple’s engineering teams might squeeze a bigger battery into virtually unchanged volume.
For what it’s worth, Apple’s gone creative with the batteries in the current phones, using oddly-shaped cells that maximize every available millimeter of space. As you can see for yourself, the battery is L-shaped, each corner sealed to prevent undue stress from thermal expansion.
According to iFixit, that large notch in the internal corner is to be blamed for the battery’s decreased capacity relative to the X. On the other hand, such as shift in battery design and packaging opens up a lot of design possibilities.
Any further increase in battery capacity could be a result of making the entire device a bit thicker (extremely unlikely, this is Apple we’re talking about after all), using fewer and smaller chips (very likely), shrinking the logic board further (possibly) or dropping 3D Touch and removing its 96-sensor array positioned between the backlight and the display panel.
Getting rid of the battery notch could help, too!
Photo: iPhone XS and XS Max battery, courtesy ofiFixit
