Wireless charging is finally coming to the iPhone—or so says one manufacturer

Throw out your cords, ladies and gentlemen, the iPhone is going wireless. 

Or so claims the CEO of iPhone manufacturer Wistron Corp, who noted that the next 5.5-inch iPhone would be both waterproof and set up for wireless charging. "Assembly process for the previous generations of [iPhones] have not changed much," CEO Robert Hwang told the Nikkei Asian Review, "though new features like waterproof and wireless charging now require some different testing, and waterproof function will alter the assembly process a bit."

Wistron Corp is based in Taiwan, but is reportedly assembling iPhone SEs and iPhone 6s in India. The exact number of phones the company is manufacturing is unknown. 

Assuming Hwang is correct, this means that Apple is diving headfirst into the wireless charging game. 

While the iPhone rumor mill has been in high gear over the last year, with reports claiming that the iPhone 8 might come with wireless charging, this is the first time a manufacturer of the phone has straight up confirmed that Apple smartphones are currently being made with wireless charging capabilities. 

As perhaps further corroboration of Hwang's claim, a purported photo of front and rear iPhone 8 panels depict a glass back. A glass back would lend itself to wireless charging. 

Does this mean Apple is ditching the Lightning port (or, maybe, abandoning the USB-C)? It's unclear, but the answer is probably no. A physical line for data transfers seems like something the company would hold onto — at least for one more iPhone generation. 

But then again, we all know how much Apple likes to get rid of stuff.