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Apple may upgrade iPhones with reverse charging – years after Android phones

Updated on: 07 February 2023

Justinas Vainilavičius
Senior Journalist

iphone_14 — iPhone 14 Pro. Image by Apple.

Apple is famously tight-lipped when it comes to its future products – but features available on devices made by competitors might be a good indicator of what it’s working on.

Hopes are high that the next generation of iPhones may come with the reverse charging function after it was reported Apple planned to debut the feature with the iPhone 14 Pro lineup last year but failed to meet the deadline due to engineering delays.

The company was still pressing ahead with the development of the feature, 9to5Mac reported citing sources familiar with the matter. It means that reverse charging might be introduced with the iPhone 15 due to be released later this year.

Apple may also decide to delay the upgrade further or drop the plans altogether, sources told 9to5Mac. The company is reportedly realigning priorities and focusing on its rumored mixed-reality headset – which has also been delayed multiple times.

Rumors about reverse charging for iPhones have been swirling since at least 2019 when Apple reportedly shelved plans to introduce the feature with the iPhone 11 Pro Max due to it not meeting its efficiency requirements.

It came a year after the first Android phone – Huawei Mate 20 Pro – was released with reverse charging functionality in 2018.

In a further hint that Apple was pushing forward with reverse charging, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing revealed that the iPhone 12 lineup, launched in 2020, included wireless charging hardware. However, the feature was inactive.

If Apple eventually introduces reverse charging, it will be a nice-to-have detail for many users – and a major iPhone update. It would turn the phone into a charging pad for AirPods, Apple Watches, and, perhaps, other phones by just placing them on the back of the iPhone.