Did Apple Just Accidentally Leak A Significant iPhone 17 Upgrade?
Updated June 10 with details of more iPhone 17 reports.
A regulatory filing has just happened which, it's claimed, is for two iPhone MagSafe chargers, suggesting that a faster-than-ever wireless charging capability could be coming to the iPhone 17 series when it's announced this fall. However, this is set against a continuingly febrile news environment where rumors of the price of the next iPhones remains uncertain. More on that below.
Will MagSafe charging be super-fast on the iPhone 17 series?
Taiwan's National Communications Commission website shows two MagSafe chargers which Apple has never announced, sighted by 91mobiles. That seems to be the case because, 'Current MagSafe chargers are compatible with Qi 2 and the original Qi standard. While WPC (Wireless Power Consortium), the body behind Qi, incorporated MagSafe's magnetic accessory support into the Qi standard and introduced Qi 2.1, Apple didn't announce a product with that standard. Apple appears to have leapfrogged to Qi 2.2,' the report said.
The site shows images of the chargers and says the model numbers are A3502 and A3503, looking the same but for one having a 1-meter cable, and the other a 2-meter one. The cables are braided, by the way, as the photos clearly show.
Why does any of this matter? Qi 2.2 supports maximum output to 50W and, ccording to the report, it looks like the chargers will support up to 45W charging, when connected to the right wall adaptor. Right now, the most powerful MagSafe wireless charging for the latest iPhone 16 is 25W.
More than that, another benefit for Qi 2.2 it's more efficient, with less power loss or heat generation. Plus, the magnetic alignment 'should ensure the device snaps into the charger quickly and properly,' the report said.
Since the iPhone 17 Air looks like having a smaller battery than other iPhones, to accommodate its super-thin design, fast, efficient charging without unnecessary heat, could be important, especially if it meant that a super-quick top-up could juice your phone for hours.
It looks like the chargers have been tested both with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 11. This wouldn't mean faster charging rates on older phones, but the efficiency element would still be key.
As for the price of the iPhone 17 series, there's no certainty. More reports are suggesting that price hikes, caused by government tariffs, are increasingly likely. The situation remains so fluid that we can't know. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that he thought tariffs would cost the company $900 million in the coming months — which suggests that at least some of any cost increases will be swallowed by Apple.
But things are changing fast. If the tariffs are off again by September, Apple will sigh with relief. If not, or are increased, then the chance of Apple putting the prices up hoves into view.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has plans to raise prices this year, irrespective of tariffs. It's claimed that such increases will not be blamed on tariffs, but suggested by improvements to the hardware.RIght now, it's hard to know how much that might mean.
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