KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims next year’s “iPhone 8” will feature an all-glass casing in order to offer support for wireless charging. The chargers will be made by Apple production partner Pegatron.
We believe one of the reasons why new iPhones will switch from metal casing to glass casing is to support wireless charging. In order to ensure a superior performance, we believe it is most appropriate for EMS suppliers to develop and make the wireless charger because then a comprehensive test can be conducted. As Hon Hai needs to deploy most resources to develop and produce OLED iPhone, we expect Pegatron will be the exclusive supplier of the wireless charger.
Kuo sees the transition to an all-glass case an important piece of the puzzle if Apple expects to offer wireless charging for their flagship handset. While wireless charging solutions do exist for devices with metal cases, they are limited as to how fast charging takes place, due to the wireless frequency tolerances for metal alloys. In addition, Apple designer Jony Ive is said to have wanted to create an all-glass iPhone for quite a few years.
Kuo isn’t sure if the wireless charger will be included in the box with the new devices, or if they will be optional accessories, but he believes a certain amount of bundling will take place in 2017, increasing in 2018.
The analyst has been busy making predictions about next year’s iPhone, even though the recent model is only a little over 2 months old. Last week Kuo predicted Kuo a 5.8-inch OLED iPhone will be sold alongside new 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones that will use traditional LCD displays. Kuo says Apple will pack the latest technology and design into the OLED iPhone, making it the premium flagship model of its iPhone lineup.
(Via MacRumors)
