In the months leading up to the iPhone 11 announcement, reports suggested that one of its major new features would be reverse wireless charging. That feature wasn't announced during Apple's event, though. Now more info on the matter has come out.
Apple may have included the hardware for reverse wireless charging with the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro but ultimately disabled it. Apple leaker Sonny Dickson reports that that's what happened with the new iPhones, saying that Apple is using software to disable the reverse wireless charging hardware in the new phones.
Reliable sources are saying iPhone 11 and 11 Pro do include the hardware for bilateral charging, but that it is software disabled. Uncertain whether this was removed prior to final production run.
— Sonny Dickson (@SonnyDickson) September 13, 2019
Rumors say that the reverse wireless charging would've allowed you to recharge the Apple Watch and AirPods using your iPhone. We've seen similar features on other smartphones, including Samsung's Galaxy S10 and Note 10, which can recharge a Galaxy smartwatch, Galaxy Buds, or even another phone using the reverse wireless charging feature.
Apple has never said anything about reverse wireless charging on the iPhone 11, but one day before its big event, a report claimed that the feature was being killed "because the charging efficiency may not meet Apple's requirements."
If reverse wireless charging hardware is inside the new iPhones but disabled through software, it'd be interesting to see Apple enable it with a future software update. That's far from a guarantee, but it would be a nice way to add another item to the iPhone 11's feature list.
Right now it's just a rumor that Apple included the reverse wireless charging hardware with the iPhone 11, but we could get a definitive answer soon. The iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro are slated to launch on September 20, and we'll likely see teardowns of the new devices that same day. Given today's news, we're sure that folks who take apart the new iPhones will be on the lookout for evidence of reverse wireless charging hardware.
