Photographs posted on Weibo and Twitter claim to show the inside of Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 12 and Apple’s next-gen iPhone 12 cases with a circular arrangement of magnets, likely related to charging.
William Gallagher for AppleInsider:
Photographs show a circular arrangement of batteries within the chassis, and a seemingly identical one in what’s claimed to be Apple’s official “iPhone 12” case.
Magnets.. inside the iPhone 12's chassis 😱 pic.twitter.com/0eJ7HRZjpW
— EverythingApplePro (@EveryApplePro) August 4, 2020
It’s suggested that this circular magnet arrangement may be to do with wireless charging. The new “iPhone 12,” or its case, might support charging other devices, in which case these magnets may keep those in place.
Alternatively, the magnets may be there to help with the charging of the phone itself. Apple has reportedly [been working on] charging other devices on its previously-cancelled AirPower charging mat, and this magnet arrangement may be related.
Yup. Official iPhone 12 cases will also have this magnet system built in. Likely for perfect alignment with Apple's wireless chargers. pic.twitter.com/eDEQ474NIX
— EverythingApplePro (@EveryApplePro) August 5, 2020
MacDailyNews Take: Charging à la Apple Watch and/or the ability to charge accessories like AirPods directly from iPhone. According to serial leaker Jon Prosser, Apple continues to work on an AirPower-like wireless charging mat having recently overcome issues with overheating. Prosser shared photos of an alleged prototype codenamed “C68” in June via Twitter (below). We’d expect to see Apple’s AirPower to debut alongside iPhone 12 later this year.
Well, you guys wanted a better picture of “C68”… 😏
Remember how I said that the main problem was that current prototypes didn’t support Apple Watch?
Yeah.
Well.They got the Watch working… 👀 pic.twitter.com/LvBeNAAtt3
— jon prosser (@jon_prosser) June 18, 2020
Oh god I hope so. That would help those who try and plug in their phone in the dark and those with limited mobility (like me!)
The perfect solution for me is a wireless stand. The phone stands on a platter at angle. Perfect for the bedside table. Easy to grab it during the night if needed and no wires to find to plug back in. First I had a stand for just the iPhone but now I have a combined unit for the phone, watch and AirPod case. Never have to worry about the devices not charging now and only cost $30.
The real solution is true wireless charging, not dated stands and magnets.
I had a QI charging device that only worked if I had the iPhone perfectly aligned, which was hard to do, and as a result, the battery often ran down during the night. I threw it away, I bought another brand that constrained the position of the iPhone, so that it always charged. If the magnets are only there for alignment, that solves a major problem.