iPhone 8 Wireless Charging to Surge Supplier Revenue

An Apple component supplier is expecting a bump in revenue later this year due to an order for wireless charging parts for this year’s 10th anniversary iPhone.

Lite-On Semiconductor, which has been an Apple supplier for over a decade, expects to see its revenues reach a peak in 2017’s third quarter — after seeing an expected revenue growth of around 10 to 15 percent in the second quarter. This, in large part, might be due to demand for discrete component and power management systems that would allow for wireless charging support in smartphones, according to Taiwanese publication DigiTimes.

This news comes soon after a previous report that Lite-On Semiconductor was tapped to provide at least half of the GPP bridge rectifiers necessary to allow rapid wireless charging in this year’s iPhone. Apple has long been rumored to be exploring various wireless charging options for its upcoming and highly anticipated 10th anniversary flagship — and there’s quite a lot of evidence to back that claim up. Exactly which form the wireless charging capabilities will take, however, is still up for debate.

Last year, it was reported that Apple had allegedly entered a “special partnership” with long-range wireless charging startup Energous. Per that report, it was rumored that Energous would be bringing its revolutionary tech to this year’s iPhone 8. On the other hand, Apple recently joined the Wireless Power Consortium — a collective of companies and organizations pioneering the Qi wireless charging standards. A similar system to Qi was used on the Apple Watch, and Qi has shown up in recent Samsung flagships, as well. It’s certainly a more flushed out standard than the Energous system, which some doubt will be ready in time for this year’s iPhone.

Last month, it was reported that Cupertino has at least five separate groups working on wireless charging technology. In addition, in November, it was reported that Apple was testing at least 10 different prototypes of iPhone 8 — suggesting that the company might be exploring different wireless charging methods. But, with the evidence stacking up, it’s a safe bet that we’ll at least see some type of wireless charging on the iPhone 8, even if we’re not sure what it’ll look like at this point.

Apple’s long-awaited iPhone 8 refresh is slated to be released sometime this fall.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]