iPhone 8 wireless charging hint appears in iOS 11

While Android handsets have been wirelessly charging for years, iPhones have so far stuck with cables, but that could all change with the iPhone 8 as a sound file buried in the iOS 11 beta suggests wireless charging could be on the way.

The sound, which was discovered by MAKS+ and can be heard in the video below, is labeled “engage_power.caf”, which makes it sound a lot like it’s meant to go off when some kind of charger is connected.

But it’s very different to the “connect_power.caf” sound file that plays when you plug a charger in. This can also be heard in the video. The new, unused file, is longer, but certainly sounds like a charging sound effect.

Adding to the evidence

Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that it will be used for wireless charging, if it’s used at all, but it’s not the only evidence that Apple will add wireless charging to the iPhone 8.

In fact, the CEO of one of Apple’s suppliers recently mentioned wireless charging in reference to the iPhone, and rumors of wireless charging had cropped up several times before that.

Some of the more ambitious rumors talk of long-distance wireless charging which could work up to 15ft from the power source, but there’s little evidence that this tech is ready.

Rather, Apple will probably include a more conventional wireless charger in the iPhone 8, but at this point it seems very likely that the phone will have some form of wireless charging, whether or not this mystery sound is associated with it.

The big remaining question is whether the cheaper iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus will as well.