Apple is working on wireless charging for iPhones, iPads

According to a new report by Bloomberg, Apple is developing a new wireless charging technology that could be integrated into new iOS devices as soon as 2017.

The new charging tech would allow users to juice up devices without fiddling with wires or charging mats, and it could work over relatively long distances, sources told Bloomberg.

Companies such as Ossia, Energous and uBeam demonstrated uncoupled technology at CES, and Green expects at least one OEM partnership between a handset supplier and an uncoupled-technology company to be announced this year.

Energous mentioned during CES 2016 that it has a contract with “one of the top five consumer technology companies in the world”.

Apple could be following the likes of Samsung and Sony by putting wireless charging in its next generation of mobile devices. It should not come as a surprise if Apple introduces wireless charging capability in its tablets and phones as it will help the company stay at par with existing technology and remain in stiff competition with its rivals.

“The iPhone maker is looking to overcome technical barriers including loss of power over distance”, the story read.

The unnamed sources say that while the technology won’t be available this year, we’ll see it in iPhones coming out in 2017.

Apple could build the charger point into Macs so your iPhone charges whenever you sit down at your computer.

In October 2015, Apple was granted a patent it had filed the previous year regarding “Inductive Power Transfer Using Acoustic or Haptic Devices”. Apple is according to Bloomberg working on making wireless charging over a distance as efficient as possible.

At the moment, any device that uses wireless charging usually has to be touching a pad.

Apple followed up in 2013 with an application for a patent for an aluminum phone casing that would allow radio-frequency waves to pass through via a small window, which would be conducive to better transmission of signals.

Headphones: More evidence suggests Apple (AAPL) is going with Lightning-based headphones in the iPhone 7, reports Business Insider.