Massive iPhone 11 leak spells bad news for Apple fans

With the Apple iPhone 11 set to be announced in the next few hours, the final leaks of the handset are spilling in. While most of the information is already available, the latest bit of information could disappoint Apple faithful who are hoping that the iPhone 11 would compete with Android flagships on all fronts.

As per a research note by Ming-Chi Kuo, the upcoming Apple iPhone 11 may not come with bilateral wireless charging, a feature that was tipped to be on the handset from the very beginning. A report by AppleInsider states that Apple has ditched this feature due to “inadequate charging inefficiency.” As of now, the specifics haven’t been shared but Kuo believes that the system "may not meet Apple's requirements."

The report states, “The TF International Securities analyst was first to predict integration of the wireless charging feature in February, a position he maintained in subsequent reports leading up to today's revision. According to previous notes, bilateral wireless charging would allow users to charge iPhone wirelessly via a coil array, then juice up other gadgets by laying them on the phone. A similar system is in use by Samsung in that company's Galaxy smartphone line.”

Having used the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10, we were left quite impressed with the handsets’ ability to wirelessly charge other devices. So, if Apple did decide to ditch it, it may be because it did not live up to Apple’s high standards.

Several other Apple insiders had also chimed in earlier when the bilateral charging rumours started to gain momentum with reports suggesting that both AirPods and the Apple Watch would be able to get charged using the iPhone. Bloomberg went so far as to state that the Apple logo on the rear had been repositioned to the centre to act as a placement marker for charging these wireless accessories.

Kuo has quashed another exciting rumour by stating that the iPhone 11 would not come with Apple Pencil support. The report stated, “Rumblings of stylus integration date back to October 2017, when reports claimed Apple engineers were working on a solution for the iPhone platform. Subsequent reports in mid-2018 assumed support would arrive alongside this year's refresh, while analysts echoed those claims in July.”

The analyst went on to detail that the handsets will stick to the Lightning connector and not make the switch to Type-C this year. The higher-end OLED handsets such as the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro are tipped to come with USB- C 18W power adapter, meaning Apple is likely to include a USB-C-to-Lightning cable in the box. The LCD model, the iPhone 11R will feature the usual 5W USB-A adapter.