iPhone 8 Rumors: Wireless Charging On 'iPhone X' Gains Traction After Apple Joins Wireless Power Consortium

Apple often likes to keep its moves under wraps, but it may have just given away a new feature of its upcoming iPhone. The company has joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), lending credence to the rumor the next iPhone will feature wireless charging.

Apple’s name just recently joined the list of 213 members involved in the WPC, joining the likes of Sony, Samsung, LG, Verizon and others. The Cupertino company’s name does not appear in a cached version of the page from several weeks ago.

The WPC is a group of leading electronics manufacturers dedicated to developing wireless charging technologies. The group is designed to help guide investment in research and development of wireless charging and create standards across the industry for the function.

By grabbing a place at the table of the WPC, Apple may have also tipped its hand about the possibility of wireless charging making its way to the iPhone 8 (or iPhone X).

iPhone 8 rumors have swirled about Apple finally giving the iPhone the ability to charge wirelessly, with the idea really heating up after a Taiwanese company reportedly received orders from Apple for pieces that would be required to produce the wireless charging functionality.

It’s believed Apple has held out on introducing wireless charging, a feature that is now somewhat commonplace in Android devices, because it wants to offer a long-range charging solution rather than sticking with the current standard that requires users to set their device on a charging pad that itself is still wired.

The version of the charging technique Apple is hoping to introduce would allow users to charge their iPhone at a range of around 20 feet. The system would charge any device within that range, allowing people to move freely within that radius while their phone battery gets refilled.

There are several examples of a true wireless system like the one Apple is hoping for, including a system called WattUp from Energous Corporation that uses radio frequency to charge devices at a distance. After the company announced it was delaying its release of the technology following a ‘key strategic partnership,’ speculation of a partnership with Apple began to swirl.

Apple isn’t a total stranger to the world of wireless charging itself; the company introduced the feature for the Apple Watch, which uses a modified version of the wireless technology promoted by the WPC.