According to Wistron, one of Apple’s suppliers, the new state-of-the-art iPhone 8 will be the first in the range to feature wireless charging.
With wireless charging, iPhone users will be able to simply put the phone down on an inductive surface and it will start charging without any need for a plug-in charger. Apple’s latest smartphone will also boast more sophisticated waterproofing technology, a feature which the iPhone 7 lacked.
The leaks about the new iPhone came from Taiwan-based manufacturing firm Wistron. The company was originally appointed by Apple to make components for the iPhone SE in India. This was revealed by Nikkei Asian Review.
Speaking at the company’s yearly shareholders meeting on Wednesday, Wistron’s CEO, Robert Hwang, said: “New features like waterproof and wireless charging now require some different testing, and waterproof function will alter the assembly process a bit.”
The latest report confirms earlier claims that Apple was investigating wireless charging for the new iPhone. The technological giant joined the Wireless Power Consortium industry group earlier in 2017 and also registered patents about how to charge phones and other devices utilising Wi-Fi signals.
The iPhone 8 would, of course, not be the first water-resistant phone or the first to offer wireless charging. More than one of Samsung’s top models already boast these features, including the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S8.
The new iPhone will reportedly also feature an edge-to-edge screen without any home button. It is anticipated to come in both 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions and will run on iOS11, Apple’s new mobile operating system.
Apple has launched a new iPhone around a week or so after the IFA technology conference in Germany on more than one occasion before, which could mean the latest model will be released between September 15th and 22nd September 2017.