According to the reliable iPhone info leaker Sonny Dickson, Apple’s iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max feature the hardware required for bilateral charging, but it is currently disabled in iOS.
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
For months ahead of their unveiling, the latest iPhones were rumored to feature a Qi-based device-to-device charging feature, allowing for an Apple Watch, AirPods, and other accessories to charge on the back of the iPhones.
Just hours before Apple’s event this week, however, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said the feature appeared to have been canceled. In a note seen by MacRumors, Kuo said the feature was possibly abandoned because “the charging efficiency may not meet Apple’s requirements.”
MacDailyNews Take: Which means, if it can be improved enough to meet Apple’s exacting standards, the bilateral charging feature could possibly be turned on with an iOS 13 update!