KGI: Apple's Own Wireless Charging Accessory Will Not Debut at Today's Event

Apple isn't prepared to debut its own first-party wireless charging accessory for the upcoming iPhones, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus are all expected to support inductive wireless charging when they are announced later today, so in the interim between the smartphones' launch and the launch of a first-party Apple wireless charging pad, users will have to purchase third-party accessories.

Apple isn't ready for the launch of its own wireless charging accessory because it has "higher requirements for wireless charger RF specifications," according to Kuo. This means that there is currently no definite timetable for the mass production of Apple's accessory, and it's unclear when such a device will launch. Apple might even be waiting for certain "technological breakthroughs" before ramping up production.

qi charging

An example of a Qi wireless charging pad

Apple’s own-brand wireless charger is not expected to debut at the media event, which we believe is primarily because Apple has higher requirements for wireless charger RF specifications, so there will be no definite mass production timetable prior to technological breakthroughs. However, the new iPhone models supports the WPC standard, so we think users will be able to purchase and use non-Apple WPC-compliant wireless chargers with the new iPhone models.

In the same report, Kuo said that Foxconn is planning to see a significant ramp-up in production on its 5.5-inch LCD iPhone assembly line, by as much as 70-80 percent. This falls in line with previous reports that said Apple plans to boost production and availability of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, while the OLED iPhone X will be particularly difficult to come by early on.

We're now just a few hours away from the official unveiling of the tenth-generation iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, Apple TV 4K, Apple Watch Series 3, and more, all taking place at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. MacRumors will follow all of the stories and news coming out of the event today with a live blog, articles, video recap, and more. Follow our @MacRumorsLive Twitter account ahead of time to see live tweets as Apple breaks news during the event.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. At the time,...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
apple unsold web store

Retail Accessories Apple Won't Sell You Now Available via New Site

Friday January 30, 2026 8:46 am PST by
A newly surfaced resale operation is seemingly offering Apple Store–exclusive display accessories to the public for the first time, potentially giving consumers access to Apple-designed hardware that the company has historically kept confined to its retail environments. Apple designs a range of premium MagSafe charging stands, display trays, and hardware systems exclusively for displays in ...

Top Rated Comments

xalea Avatar
110 months ago
If this is true it will overshadow a lot of the news/discussion about the phone itself. How do you not have a design change for three years, with the resources of Apple, and not be able to ready your own charging station? It would be really nice if this affected some kind of leadership change at Apple as this is just a symptom of a larger problem, but I doubt if that will happen.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nik Avatar
110 months ago
It continues: Last year the AirPods weren't ready. This year it is the charger. Wasn't the CEO himself a supply chain guy? ;)
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nabeel24 Avatar
110 months ago
Feels like this launch is quite disorganized.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bobob Avatar
110 months ago
Feels like this launch is quite disorganized.
That's odd - - you'd think a pixellated view cobbled together from various disconnected third-party sources would be as accurate you can get.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
110 months ago
Feels like this launch is quite disorganized.
What's disorganized are the rumors around it. We haven't seen the launch yet.
[doublepost=1505217772][/doublepost]
That's odd - - you'd think a pixellated view from various disconnected third-party sources would be as accurate you can get.
Beat me to it. Special lol.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
110 months ago
Behind the scenes, launches are always chaos. I do think Apple is reaching technically lately to try and keep up with competition.
Or… they aren't willing to compromise, and respect safety more than Sam::BOOM::sung.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)