While Apple offers a MagSafe charger that attaches to the back on an iPhone today, fans have wanted reverse charging on iPhones for some time. Last year CNET noted in a report that the lack of reverse charging on the iPhone 13 was a letdown. Reverse charging didn't arrive on the iPhone 14 either. Yet there's no doubt that this a feature that's in-the-works at Apple and today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to this very feature.  

Apple's patent covers a wireless power system includes electronic devices such as wrist watches, cellular telephones, tablet computers, laptop computers, removable battery cases, electronic device accessories, wireless charging mats, wireless charging pucks, and/or other electronic equipment. These electronic devices have wireless power circuitry. For example, an electronic device may have a wireless power coil. Some devices use wireless power coils for transmitting wireless power signals. Other devices use wireless power coils for receiving transmitted wireless power signals.

If desired, some of the devices in a wireless power system may have both the ability to transmit wireless signals and to receive wireless signals. A cellular telephone or other portable electronic device may, as an example, have a coil that can be used to receive wireless power signals from a charging puck or other wireless transmitting device and that can also be used to transmit wireless power to another wireless power device (e.g., another cellular telephone).

Devices with power transmitting capabilities may sometimes be referred to as wireless power transmitting devices or wireless power devices.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below is a schematic diagram of an illustrative wireless power system; [0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of illustrative first and second electronic devices in a back-to-back configuration for wireless power transfer.

Apple notes that the back of the iPhone will also be able to reverse charge Apple Watch, AirPods and more.

For more details, review Apple's patent application number 20220311286. The patent has a single inventor, Adam Schwartz, Apple's Director of Engineering.

Apple has been working on wireless charging as well as reverse charging or "inductive charging" since 2013. In 2016 we posted a report titled "A New Apple Invention Covers Inductive Charging Between iOS Devices & even a MacBook." In 2021 we posted another patent report titled "Apple Invents a Reverse Charging System that will allow accessories to be charged through the display of an iPhone or iPad."

Apple thinks holistically and as you can see by the variety of Apple patents on record that Apple's engineers are working on several wireless charging solutions for the future.