Apple's Qi Nod Upends Wireless Charging Standards Battle for Smartphones
Apple’s endorsement of the Qi wireless charging standard in its iPhone 8 and X announcements Tuesday (see 1709120062) is “huge” for the wireless charging industry, engineering consultant LeRoy Johnson told us Wednesday. After Apple’s entry into the Wireless Power Consortium in February, there were questions whether Apple would use Qi or a “variation” of Qi, said Johnson. The confirmation of full Qi compatibility on next-generation iPhones opens the door for a broad wireless charging infrastructure, said Johnson. Apple’s adoption “is going to make people start demanding it, asking for it at their desk at work, in their cupholders in cars, on nightstands,” he said. Johnson believes the infrastructure will build quickly in public spaces. There’s an installed base of some 90 smartphone models with Qi built in, said Johnson.
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Paul Golden, Wireless Power Consortium vice president-market development, called Apple’s announcement a “pivotal day for wireless charging” that will lead to rapid acceleration in consumer adoption. With this and expected proliferation of the Qi infrastructure, Golden said the “hassle” of carrying corded chargers and the need to find an outlet are “a thing of the past.” Qi charging pads are installed in “thousands” of public locations globally, said the WPC, plus 80 car models. The WPC has 230 member companies. When we asked the WPC if its standards team is working with Apple, a spokeswoman said the consortium and its members are “continuing to work together on improving the experience of wireless charging.”
The AirFuel Alliance called this “great news.” Citing an evolving world of charging solutions, the alliance said Apple’s “initial” wireless charging will introduce the benefits of the technology to “millions of new users.” Wireless power company Energous, which developed an RF wireless power technology, saw its shares drop 11 percent Tuesday.
Carriers
The new iPhone models don’t operate on the 600 MHz TV spectrum sold in the incentive auction or the FirstNet spectrum being built out by AT&T, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said in a Wednesday report. Lack of FirstNet connectivity also “is not a surprise since the FirstNet award [see (1709130013)] was likely too late in the development cycle of the latest iPhones and AT&T is just starting to deploy this network,” he said. Apple also left out use of high performance user equipment (HPUE) as pushed by Sprint, he said. “This is the biggest surprise given Sprint Chairman Masa Son’s strong relationship with Apple,” he said. “It’s even more surprising given the interest by China Mobile, which provides wireless service to 30 percent of the global users of LTE.” The AWS-3 band is included in the phone and helps all major carriers except Sprint, which sat out the auction, he said.
“Apple's recently announced phones don't support 600 MHz, but we’re offering iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X buyers a free upgrade to next year’s model,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said. “They just trade-in the current phone once it’s 50 percent paid off, and we’ll wipe out the remaining payments so they can jump to their next iPhone.” A public safety official said later versions of the iPhone likely will include the FirstNet band.
Carriers issued plans of their own for providing the new devices to smartphone customers. Many said the products will arrive Sept. 22.
Starting Friday, HBO will be included for current and new AT&T Unlimited Choice customers, noted AT&T, as it had disclosed. "iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be available for pre-order starting 3 a.m. EDT, Sept. 15 with delivery as soon as Sept. 22." The carrier is buying HBO owner Time Warner. Also at 3 a.m. Friday, Verizon said customers can online preorder the 8. Sprint said "to help Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) customers get started, Sprint will also offer a special introductory cellular plan trial." T-Mobile had similar language.
Comcast's Xfinity Mobile also will offer the latest products starting Sept. 22, with preordering Friday, it said.
Expectations High
Despite the $1,000 price and a later-than-expected release date, the iPhone X will sell in “enormous volumes,” IHS predicted. “Apple has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to persuade consumers to shift their overall spending to place a greater share of their disposable income towards a smartphone purchase.” Apple led the smartphone market in average selling price at $606 in Q2, said IDC. Analysts elsewhere Wednesday saw the new models taking that average above $700 next year.
IHS called Apple’s dependence on facial recognition for unlocking and authentication a “risk.” The researcher cited an attempt at facial authentication by Google in 2011 that was easy to defeat and Samsung’s positioning of the technology in its most recent phones as a convenience feature with a lower level of security than fingerprint authentication. Features new to the iPhone X -- Qi wireless charging, facial recognition, borderless OLED display and a dual augmented reality camera -- “will please Apple fans,” said Strategy Analytics analyst Boris Metodiev: The flagship Apple phone will “struggle to wow Android owners whose premium models already incorporate many of the same features.”
“Difficulties in the display plus touch panel production” could be behind the late release date for the X, Display Supply Chain Consultants blogged. DSCC said production of X panels started in July with only 1 million panels, improving to 5 million in August and an estimated 13 million this month. Some 60 million are expected to be produced in Q4, with Samsung the source of the display. Samsung couldn’t be reached for comment.