Kuo: Apple to Launch 'Completely Wireless' iPhone Without Lightning Connector and 'iPhone SE 2 Plus' With Touch ID Power Button in 2021

[paul4339]

Magnetic contacts a bit like what they have on the side of the iPad today for the smart keyboard... or maybe magnet contacts similar to AirPod.

 

[yurc]

When it needs DFU access, good luck then.

 

[Abazigal]

No. The article clearly states Kuo's prediction that the LACK OF PORT means even USB-C will be completely absent. No Lightning. No USB-C. No cables. No ports. Just all wireless.

It's a wild prediction. Like what happens when you need to charge your iPhone in the airport or plane?

Just like what happens when Apple removed the headphone jack and people wondered how one might use wired headphones while charging their phone at the same time.

You adapt and move on.

 

[Ghost31]

uh considering hardly any cars have wireless Apple CarPlay and that this is a huge feature for a lot of people, I really don’t think they’re going to do this. It’s not like switch the USB-C or something we can use use it adapter. If it is totally wireless how am I going to hook up to my car

 

[vipergts2207]

Just like what happens when Apple removed the headphone jack and people wondered how one might use wired headphones while charging their phone at the same time.

You adapt and move on.

You adapt by being inconvenienced in this particular case? Without the headphone jack there were reasonable alternatives with adapters. What do you do without being able to plug in for CarPlay? What do you do when you’re at the airport or lying in bed trying to charge your phone and use it at the same time? Hold a charging puck to the back of the phone the whole time? Such innovation. Much convenience...

 

[44267547]

I don’t buy this rumors at all. How would you be to manually reboot/restore the iPhone without the lightning port? Plus, so much can change between now and 2021, Kuo has no idea what Apple may/may not do with this long of a timeframe in over two Years.

 

[Ghost31]

Whoa you guys. I was just searching around because I was concerned about carplay being killed off by this move in many cars and saw this. What do y’all think? Looks like they’re saying it adds wireless carplay to your car

https://carplay2air.com/

 

[retta283]

I have a very hard time taking this seriously considering Kuo's spotty track record and that we are almost 2 years away from the release of these phones.

Any phone without a way to restore or operate when failures or glitches occur is useless in emergencies. Does having a small port on the bottom bug you that much? Make it USB-C, fine, but don't remove it.

 

[Abazigal]

You adapt by being inconvenienced in this particular case? Without the headphone jack there were reasonable alternatives with adapters. What do you do without being able to plug in for CarPlay? What do you do when you’re at the airport or lying in bed trying to charge your phone and use it at the same time? Hold a charging puck to the back of the phone the whole time? Such innovation. Much convenience...

Platform shifts are never fun or easy (especially when you are already heavily invested in the old way of doing things), but I find that we more often than not tend to over-estimate platform shifts in the short term but under-estimate them in the long term.

For example, while the headphone jack was first removed with the iPhone 7, what the critics could not have foreseen then was how this move was integral towards enabling the form factor for the iPhone X.

I think it helps to think not just about what we stand to lose from the iPhone not having a charging port, but what we may stand to gain from whatever succeeds it. Is Apple really going to just remove the lightning port, expect us to use wireless charging and call it a day? Or do they, as was the case with AirPods, already have a better alternative planned and are just waiting to show it to us?

I am not yet willing to bet my last dollar that Apple will in fact go so far as to remove the charging port altogether, but if they do, I still wouldn’t panic.

As with so many things that Apple does, the takeaway often ends up being related more to how Apple is setting the stage for the future. Certain announcements and features make much more sense when thinking about what Apple will likely unveil in the following years.

 

[pcd213]

Honestly, the only legit reason that I can think of for Apple moving towards a portless iPhone is to block jailbreaking / hacking.

But is that really so much of an issue?

 

[Alx9876]

What am I supposed to do about Carplay then? Its not wireless in my new vehicle.

 

[bodonnell202]

Wait... Am I reading this right? "The notch area will be smaller because of no Face ID support." So no Face ID, but still a notch? Isn't one of the benefits of having no Face ID, having a display with no notch? Well, Tim Cook is the CEO, and he's a clueless MBA suit who cares more about making maximum profits rather than making maximum quality products, so it shouldn't be too surprising if an iPhone with no Face ID still has a notch.

Well if you want to actually use it as a phone it does need some kind of ear speaker no? That and the Facetime camera.

 

[Ntombi]

Sucks for me my CarPlay is dependent on my lightning cord.

I just got a new head unit a couple of weeks ago, and wireless CarPlay was a must, because I thought this was going to happen relatively soon, and I wanted to future-proof the system.

I’m feeling relieved that I didn’t decide to save my money!

 

[bodonnell202]

I can see this happening.
We have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for connectivity along with wireless charging.
There really isn't much need for any kind of port.

CarPlay? I finally upgraded to a vehicle with CarPlay this year and unlike iPhones which I tend to upgrade every 2-3 years, I tend to hold onto vehicles for more like 10 years. If this rumor is true I may have to buy the last iPhone that I can actually connect to my car and keep it for years...

Also, while I use a wireless charger bedside at home, when travelling it's still far more convenient to just bring a lightning cable...

 

[vipergts2207]

Platform shifts are never fun or easy (especially when you are already heavily invested in the old way of doing things), but I find that we more often than not tend to over-estimate platform shifts in the short term but under-estimate them in the long term.

For example, while the headphone jack was first removed with the iPhone 7, what the critics could not have foreseen then was how this move was integral towards enabling the form factor for the iPhone X.

I think it helps to think not just about what we stand to lose from the iPhone not having a charging port, but what we may stand to gain from whatever succeeds it. Is Apple really going to just remove the lightning port, expect us to use wireless charging and call it a day? Or do they, as was the case with AirPods, already have a better alternative planned and are just waiting to show it to us?

I am not yet willing to bet my last dollar that Apple will in fact go so far as to remove the charging port altogether, but if they do, I still wouldn’t panic.

As with so many things that Apple does, the takeaway often ends up being related more to how Apple is setting the stage for the future. Certain announcements and features make much more sense when thinking about what Apple will likely unveil in the following years.

Considering that Apple couldn’t even get AirPower to work and gave up, I’m highly skeptical that they have some mythical new way to charge your phone while using it that is more convenient than just plugging it in. Holding a puck to the back of the phone here we come. What a brave new world.

 

[Irock619]

This would suck as I load my photography into Adobe Lightroom while on the go with the lightning port.

 

[x-evil-x]

“Love” seems a bit strong...
I personally don’t harbor any romantic feelings whatsoever towards my wifi, bluetooth, usb, lightning, et al.

That being said... I enjoy my iOS/iPadOS devices wirelessly syncing to my Mac & agree w/ the poster @cocky jeremy, that it’s unnecessary to use a cable to be secure.
My backups are encrypted via wifi, the same as via cable. Where does the security scare enter the equation?

There are PLENTY of reasons that I’d like a port (even if primarily unused) to stick around on Apple devices for a while yet, but fear of my backups being intercepted & decrypted while syncing via my LAN, to me is a level of paranoia not in line w/ the actual “threat level” of that happening.

I’m not worried about backups I’m worried about losing functionality of having a port. Fast charging. Carplay. Charging in your car while driving and playing music not in Bluetooth. accessories for audio. No wired headphones will work again. No audio inputs in cars will work again. That’s what im worried about.

 

[Starfyre]

Fully wireless is just unrealistic. Wireless charging tech just isn’t there yet, it runs hot, charges slower than plugged in, and reduces overall battery life. No cable less wireless charging in 2021, I am sure... though open to be proven wrong. AirPower being discontinued does not help with that either, unless Apple got so confident with their AirPower charging mat that the secret sauce they want to save for 2021... that I can understand.

 

[goobot]

I hope not. Please just usb c next year.

 

[Solomani]

I just got a new head unit a couple of weeks ago, and wireless CarPlay was a must, because I thought this was going to happen relatively soon, and I wanted to future-proof the system.

I’m feeling relieved that I didn’t decide to save my money!

Fair enough. But (wired) CarPlay has only started reaching popular acceptance (both by Apple consumers as well as auto manufacturers) only within the last 2 years, and the default had been wired (USB) CarPlay connections. As of early 2019, you still had top-brand car manufacturers making them available for the first time. As you have attested, Wireless CarPlay is still a niche high-end option for most.

I do buy the eventuality that Apple will transition to wireless iPhones. But IMHO neither the market, nor the mass of Apple customers, are ready for that transition yet. Give it another 3+ years, and then maybe the migration towards 100% wireless will be more feasible.

In any case…. I'm not panicking anyways. This is Kuo, and it's just under rumors so far. Kuo predictions have been wrong as much as he has been right.

 

[code-m]

the board has a hard on for USB-C but the millions of users with existing lighting docks and/or accessories will be pissed beyond belief.

Same sentiment was expressed when moving to Lightening from 30-pin connector, news flash most have moved on.
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Fair enough. But (wired) CarPlay has only started reaching popular acceptance (both by Apple consumers as well as auto manufacturers) only within the last 2 years, and the default had been wired (USB) CarPlay connections. As of early 2019, you still had top-brand car manufacturers making them available for the first time. As you have attested, Wireless CarPlay is still a niche high-end option for most.

I do buy the eventuality that Apple will transition to wireless iPhones. But IMHO neither the market, nor the mass of Apple customers, are ready for that transition yet. Give it another 3+ years, and then maybe the migration towards 100% wireless will be more feasible.

In any case…. I'm not panicking anyways. This is Kuo, and it's just under rumors so far. Kuo predictions have been wrong as much as he has been right.

Bi-lateral MagSafe type charging on the wireless iPhone 2021. Looking forward to it. Goes inline with Apple's vision of having a truly wireless device when it announced the original AirPods. Possibly linking other devices such as Apple Pencil 2, and who knows what else. Lightening and USB-C ports on an iOS device should give way for MagSafe.
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I hope not. Please just usb c next year.

What if future Mac hardware had a two bi-lateral charging MacSafe strips, who cares about USB-C when iPhones have been able to wireless connect to a Mac. Bring truly wireless iPhone to Mac laptop and it snaps via magnets on the side of the base of the laptop. Now one can either charge both devices by connecting the power adapter to the iPhone or Mac laptop via passthrough. SideCar will truly resemble its name.

 

[Costino1]

The only way this'll work is if they include a wireless charger. Not a pad - but a small, AirPort like device that charges it within a 5ft radius. If so, count me; but it feels like this is 10 years away, not 2.

 

[travelsheep]

Not sure the world’s ready for a completely wireless experience tbh

It's called the ultra dongle experience... always bring your bag of dongles with you, including a phone size charging pad including a hub connector

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

I’m not worried about backups I’m worried about losing functionality of having a port. Fast charging. Carplay. Charging in your car while driving and playing music not in Bluetooth. accessories for audio. No wired headphones will work again. No audio inputs in cars will work again. That’s what im worried about.

All valid.

Personally, when (and I don’t believe it will be in 2021) they do axe the iPhone charging port... I hope they replace it with a few of those metal “dot” connectors that iPad Pro has.
Hopefully by then wireless charging will be as fast as quick charging w/ the 18w is today, & they have a few magnetic adapters for headphone & the like.
I see it as an inevitability, but am in absolutely no rush to get there, myself.

 

[MacBH928]

Weren't they like "USB-C EVERYTHING!!" ?

dropping the ports mean that you mobile phone will not be compatible with other accessories devices when you are on the go. Also, does wireless give speeds as fast and as stable as USB-C for syncing?

Also people are worried about 5G wave signals coming from towers, but are not worried about wireless electricity in their bedrooms?