New Apple patents suggest we’ll soon be able to charge our iPhones wirelessly through a MacBook

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Newer Macbooks and iPad Pro models could soon wirelessly charge your iPhone and Apple Watch, according to two patents granted to Apple earlier this week. The gist of the patents is that you would theoretically be able to place your iPhone on top of a MacBook and your iPhone would wirelessly charge.

Basically, think of it as reverse charging. Some Android devices already have this capability. If one smartphone is running out of battery life, you could essentially place another smartphone on top of another and charge it like that, sharing battery power.

Since Android devices already have it, it makes sense for Apple to finally bring this into the fold. I mean, seriously, what is taking them so long? But apparently, they’ve been working on this since 2016, according to SlashGear.

So how will it exactly work? According to the patents, the MacBook will include three inductive charging zones, which will be placed to the left and right of the trackpad, and one under the trackpad too. I mean, it’s not the most innovative thing the company has thought of, but it’s surely something I imagine people will use a lot.

The patents also mention something about placing inductive charging zones on the MacBook cover, which would allow you to place Apple devices on top of the laptop when it’s closed to charge. The patents also bring up the ability to stack devices, but that’s a battle for another day.

It’s probably worth noting that these are just patents. These don’t necessarily mean this is something Apple will roll out, but it’s entirely possible. We’ve seen reports of patents in the past come to fruition, so there’s hope. I personally wouldn’t mind seeing something like this from the company in the future.

Is this something you would Apple to release? Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com.