iPhone 8 is expected to support inductive charging however, it might not be functional at launch. It might be enabled later with the release of iOS 11.1, as per blogger John Gruber’s sources. As Gruber is a respected name in the Apple blogging community, this news carries a lot of weight.
Gruber says that inductive charging will be enabled at a later date, after the release of iPhone 8, with a software update. Similar to how Apple enabled Portrait Mode in iPhone 7 Plus after launch. This is unheard of as charging is a hardware feature and should work right out of the box. When inquired, Gruber said that he was not sure whether the hold up is because of hardware or software and things might change leading up to the launch.
I’ve heard that inductive charging will (a) be sold separately, and (b) might be late, waiting for iOS 11.1 (a la Portrait mode last year). https://t.co/N65dHMNQIJ
— John Gruber (@gruber) July 8, 2017
I’m not sure if the holdup is hardware or software. And they could catch up in next three weeks.
— John Gruber (@gruber) July 8, 2017
The inductive charging (or wireless charging as it has become popularly known as) accessory for iPhone 8 will be sold separately. This is similar to how Android OEMs sell their smartphones – the wireless charging accessory is always sold separately or as a bundled deal which costs more than just the smartphone itself. Apple is expected to use Qi technology for charging which would make the iPhone compatible with third party charging accessories too.
Gruber also posted on his blog about how expensive the iPhone 8 might be. Since it is going to have state of the art tech which might not be possible to mass produce (as KGI Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also predicted) like the other iPhone models, he believes that it might cost around $1,200 which of course, is very expensive. It takes the iPhone price to a whole new level (as expensive as a MacBook), similar to what top Apple Watch tiers cost. Considering that the inductive charging accessory will be sold separately, it becomes a difficult purchase due to the price.
The beauty of Apple’s products has always been that new iPhone features have never been tied to just certain tiers, just to make the device a premium variant. If you buy an iPhone 7 Plus, the main difference is the screen size and dual camera, compared to the iPhone 7. These differences are based on the physical dimensions for the devices as the larger one can accommodate a larger display, larger battery and has more space for the camera module. With a premium iPhone tier, this will not be the case.
With Edge-to-edge OLED display, 3D face scanning, Apple Neural Engine and other tech, the new iPhone will have a lot going for it. But Apple has surprised us in the past with product pricing. iPad was speculated to cost $1,000+ too but it started from $499. Here’s hoping that the new iPhone also comes at a cheaper-than-expected price.
Check out our ongoing coverage for iPhone 8:
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