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Apple

World's top insider just confirmed one of Apple's key iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s features

By Chris Smith BGR
Published | Updated
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Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple Inc, discusses the iPhone 7 during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016. (REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach)

The iPhone 8 is expected to be the most exciting handset of Apple's three new iPhones launching this year. But a new report indicates that all three handsets will support wireless charging, which suggests certain design changes are in the works for the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus as well.

Noted Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities, said in a new note to investors seen by 9to5Mac that all three new iPhones will feature wireless charging support in 2017.

The iPhone 8 is expected to feature a glass sandwich design that would enable wireless charging. If the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will also have wireless charging components, then they also must feature a similar design. That might suggest Apple is dumping aluminum for glass for all 2017 iPhones, or perhaps the company has special plans for the Apple logo on the backs of the 7s and 7s Plus.

Kuo also said that because of the wireless charging components, Apple had to redesign the 3D Touch sensor. Wireless charging produces more heat, so Apple needed to add a graphite layer inside the phone to protect the 3D Touch film from higher temperatures. The analyst says that the glass case on the iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s will be less efficient than aluminum at dissipating heat, which means internal temperatures may rise faster, even if users don't notice the change.

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Kuo wrote that the cost for the new 3D Touch module will rise between 30% and 50% due to the necessary changes, a cost that Apple may have to pass on to buyers. A report earlier this week indicated that the iPhone 8 will be the first new iPhone with a starting price tag north of $1,000 because of the many changes Apple is making to the phone's design. The iPhone 7s models should be a lot cheaper though, likely in line with current iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus pricing.