How Does Apple iPhone 8 Wireless Charging Feature Work?

As we get closer to the Apple iPhone 8 launch, more leaks surrounding the device are surfacing online — the most recent ones seem to have explained the device’s wireless charging mechanism. According to some images that emerged on the Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo on Thursday, the iPhone 8’s internal wireless charging components seem to have been leaked along with a black PCB (Printed Circuit Board).

Long-range wireless charging has been long expected in the iPhone 8. With rivals such as Samsung offering charging pad-based wireless charging for more than a couple of years, Apple is expected to differentiate itself by providing users with a charging mechanism which won’t really need users to place their phones on a pad for charging. But, instead, they could simply be in the range of the charger, expected to be around 10 meters and that would suffice for charging their devices.

The mechanism indicated by these leaked images seems to be the inductive power functionality — an internal charging coil which will receive current wirelessly and fit inside the smartphone. This charging coil will be attached to the rear of the handset with adhesive glue.

Apple is expected to opt for a glass body instead of an aluminum one so that it can maintain the charge on such smartphones.

Going by what the leaks say, the components in the images are large charging pads which will be located on a charging pad that users will get with their iPhone 8.

The images show a charging pad with a connected cable. While Apple has not revealed whether this feature will be included in the iPhone 8, the rumor mill has been buzzing about it since last year and with these images as an additional indication, it seems more probable that the device will come with the feature.

This goes hand-in-hand with an Apple patent from April which explains the mechanism of delivering power to the iPhone using 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands — similar to ones used by Wi-Fi routers for delivering Wi-Fi signals to devices.

Apple also joined the Qi Wireless Power Consortium in February this year, giving indications of its strong interest in the technology.

“Apple is an active member of many standards development organizations, as both a leader and contributor. Apple is joining the Wireless Power Consortium to be able to participate and contribute ideas to the open, collaborative development of future wireless charging standards. We look forward to working together with the WPC and its members,” the company told Business Insider at the time.

According to BGR, the charging pad shown in the images actually fits in most iPhone schematics that have been surfacing recently. But chances are that users might have to shell out extra money for wireless charging accessories apart from the $1,000 plus expected price of the device.

In fact, the regular lightening chargers for the device will still be available, in the form of a USB-C port, according to Mashable.

The iPhone 8 is expected to launch next month, alongside the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus and the Apple Watch 3.