Next-gen iPhone may charge itself through Wi-Fi signals

Apple Inc is working on technology that could change the game in wireless charging. The US Trademark and Trademark Office has recently published an Apple patent application describing a method that could let you charge your iPhone using wave signals from a Wi-Fi router rather than the wireless charging pad that has become common enough now.

According to the patent application, first spotted by Apple Insider, Apple would use wireless bandwidth across cellular and Wi-Fi to charge an iPhone. This could mean that in future Wi-Fi signals will charge your phone at the same time as they deliver internet access. Apple is proposing a way to boost those signals and convert them into energy. So plugging your phone into a wall socket could become a thing of the past.

Long-range wireless charging isn't a new concept and the company has been working on the technology for quite some time. In fact Apple first filed a patent to wirelessly charge an iMac at a distance of one meter way back in 2010, notes The Telegraph.

Back in 2016, Bloomberg reported that Apple was developing long range wireless charging tech for iOS devices. The report said Apple could introduce the new charging tech with the release of the next-generation iPhone in 2017.

Notably, Apple earlier this year joined the Wireless Power Consortium, the organisation behind the Qi wireless charging platform. More recently, reports surfaced indicating that Apple has been working with Broadcom on a wireless charging solution.

It has been reported that the upcoming iPhone would not feature short-range ''inductive'' wireless charging technology used on the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+. Basically, inductive charging requires a charging pad. More and more rumours are pointing to the iPhone 8 going a step beyond this.