Notoriously accurate Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple may remove the Lightning charging port from at least one iPhone in 2021. That means you would only be able to charge it by dropping it on a wireless charging pad.
You couldn’t plug it in at all.
Here are a few reasons why that’s a problem, and why removing a charging port is a lot more complicated than just removing the headphone jack.
Some cars support wireless CarPlay, Apple’s in-car technology that allows you to see Apple Maps, Apple Music and other apps on the biggest screen in your car. But lots of cars released in the last couple of years still require you to plug your iPhone in for this to work. I’m driving a leased Jeep Wrangler, for example, and the lease won’t be up until around 2022. That means that my car, which supports CarPlay, probably wouldn’t work with the new iPhone.
If I traveled, even just for the day or to a hotel, I’d probably have to carry my wireless charging puck with me. The puck is larger than a charging cable, which means it would be less convenient than just carrying a charging cable with me. Some places have wireless charging areas, but it’s still far more convenient to find a spare outlet.
Maybe Apple could add reverse wireless charging to its iPads, which have much larger batteries, so you could at least charge up your iPhone by dropping it on the back of an iPad when you needed to. Right now, companies like Samsung offer this technology: You can recharge Samsung’s Galaxy Buds headphones by popping them on the back of a modern Galaxy phone, for example. But this is still too slow to make much sense.
source: CNBC
