Other Is reverse witless charging dead?

[Caliber26]

Last year, all the rumors leading up the iPhone 11 launch suggested we were going to see reverse charging capabilities but apparently Apple scrapped the idea.

But, so far, I haven’t seen anything about this feature for the iPhone 12, so is it probable we’ll never see it at this point?

 

[5105973]

I’ve never used the feature on my Samsung. My husband has used it once or twice. I won’t say it’s a useless gimmick. But it is a real strain on existing batteries. So it’s not really a good fit for Apple given how they are pretty picky about offering features only when the implementation can meet their standards. And this feature, in my humble opinion, isn’t a good look for them. Unless they’ve somehow been able to really increase the efficiency of the power transfer. Wireless charging still wastes too much electricity in the form of heat to do it from one battery to another.

 

[Obi-WannaDraw]

I’ve never used the feature on my Samsung. My husband has used it once or twice. I won’t say it’s a useless gimmick. But it is a real strain on existing batteries. So it’s not really a good fit for Apple given how they are pretty picky about offering features only when the implementation can meet their standards. And this feature, in my humble opinion, isn’t a good look for them. Unless they’ve somehow been able to really increase the efficiency of the power transfer. Wireless charging still wastes too much electricity in the form of heat to do it from one battery to another.

Great answer! And to be honest, I think the only situation I’d ever want to use that feature is if my AirPods went dead, and that still hasn’t happened.

 

[5105973]

Great answer! And to be honest, I think the only situation I’d ever want to use that feature is if my AirPods went dead, and that still hasn’t happened.

Exactly, my husband used this feature to put a bit of charge back into earbuds. And it was a slow process (the slow pace being that of the electricity getting to the buds) but a fast drain with quite a bit of heat for the phone battery. It’s kind of nice to have in a pinch, which is why I won’t write it off as a useless gimmick. If the process is ever made much more efficient and battery technology advances significantly more than the status quo, then it will be a truly worthwhile feature to have. Right now, it could be seen as a liability for Apple.

Android users generally have a bit of a different mindset about these things and will say very little about such features when/if they fail. With an iPhone, both fans and foes are very vocal critics of every aspect and if a feature has as many obvious drawbacks as this one currently (no pun intended) has, it bears a much heavier negative weight to Apple’s reputation than it does for an Android phone manufacturer. Samsung is known and even held in affection for throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. One year it’s an iris scanner, another year it’s reverse wireless charging and in display Touch ID (huge pain in the tail, doesn’t work at all for many).

On the Android side of things there are lots of companies willing to try every new thing because they really don’t have much to lose. People know and expect some experimentation and some quirky features from time to time. Google implemented the Soli radar motion detection feature for only one model and unceremoniously dropped it, to a very modest reaction. Motorola has Moto Mods that ultimately failed to catch on. If Apple had introduced features that underwhelmed like that, the ridicule in the press would still be ringing in our ears. I’m still hearing ridicule for “unapologetically plastic iPhones” for crying out loud. Apple won’t introduce a feature until they have some assurance within their organization that the feature will enjoy popularity and longevity and work well on the first release, with a respectably rapid roadmap for refinement.

Edit: full disclosure, I also use Android phones because I do enjoy the experimental nature of the platform. I’m not knocking them. Just pointing out the differences.