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Apple's next-generation iPhone could come with dual Bluetooth connections


Soon, you won’t be forced to share headphones with your friend if you want to listen to music together on the go.

Apple’s next iPhone could feature a dual Bluetooth connection so that audio can be played on more than one device at a time, Mac Otakara reported, citing supply chain sources. 

It’s not clear if all the devices in Apple’s new iPhone lineup will have a dual Bluetooth connection. 

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Soon, you won't be forced to share headphones with your friend if you want to listen to music together on the go. Apple's next iPhone could feature a dual Bluetooth connection

Soon, you won’t be forced to share headphones with your friend if you want to listen to music together on the go. Apple’s next iPhone could feature a dual Bluetooth connection 

With this functionality, users would be able to send audio to two pairs of AirPods at once, or play a song on multiple Bluetooth speakers made by different companies. 

Another use case could allow iPhone owners to beam GPS directions to both a pair of headphones and their car’s navigation system. 

Should Apple decide to include such a feature, it wouldn’t be the first smartphone maker to do so. 

Samsung phones with Bluetooth 5.0 come with a feature called ‘Dual Audio,’ which allows users to play audio on more than one device. 

It comes as recent rumors suggest Apple’s next iPhone could be able to be used as a portable charger.  

Apple is reportedly considering adding ‘bilateral wireless charging’ to its next-generation iPhone 11, which would let you charge other devices using the smartphone. 

With dual Bluetooth functionality, users would be able to send audio to two pairs of AirPods at once, or play a song on multiple Bluetooth speakers made by different companies

With dual Bluetooth functionality, users would be able to send audio to two pairs of AirPods at once, or play a song on multiple Bluetooth speakers made by different companies

Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities, who has correctly predicted the tech giant’s moves in the past, predicted the charging upgrade in his latest note to investors, according to MacRumors.  

Bilateral wireless charging, or two-way wireless charging, would let iPhones that support the Qi charging standard provide battery juice to other devices. 

This would be particularly useful for users who own a pair of Apple’s AirPods headphones, which now come with a wireless charging case. 

With two-way charging, users could place their AirPods, or even another smartphone, on top of the next-generation iPhone to get a battery boost.

‘We expect the new [late 2019] iPhone models will support two-way wireless charging,’ Kuo wrote in the report, according to MacRumors. 

‘Though the iPhone is not the first high-end smartphone to be equipped with two-way wireless charging, this new function could make it more convenient for users to charge the new AirPods and create a better integrated user experience of the iPhone and the AirPods.’ 

To allow for two-way charging, Apple will most likely need to equip the new iPhones with bigger batteries, Kuo said. 

Apple wouldn’t be the first gadget maker to introduce two-way wireless charging. Samsung’s new Galaxy S10 and S10+ have a feature called ‘Wireless Powershare’ that operates similarly 

The batteries will not only get bigger in size, but also in capacity, he added. 

Batteries for the follow-up to the iPhone XS Max will increase by 10 to 15 percent, while batteries for the iPhone XS successor could jump to become 20 to 25 percent larger, MacRumors said.

The successor to the iPhone XR won’t see as much of a battery boost, however, as Kuo expects the battery to increase no more than by about 5 percent. 

Apple would be debuting bilateral wireless charging for the first time in its device lineup if it chooses to with the iPhone 11. 

Meanwhile, other smartphone makers have introduced similar features already. 

Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro, introduced last September, features bilateral wireless charging. 

Samsung then followed suit in February with its Galaxy S10 and S10+, which feature ‘Wireless Powershare.’ 

It transforms Samsung’s flagship phones into mobile power banks, allowing users to place another Samsung device, such as another phone, their wireless earbuds or smartwatches directly on top of a phone to charge it.   

HOW DOES WIRELESS CHARGING WORK?

Wireless charging as a concept has been around since Nikola Tesla, a Croatian inventor, first suggested in the 19th century that you could transfer power between two objects via an electromagnetic field.

The charging pad contains a loop of coiled wires around a bar magnet, known as an inductor.

When an electric current passes from the mains through the coiled wire, it creates an electromagnetic field around the magnet.

This can then be used to transfer a voltage – or charge – to the smartphone.

Apple is rumoured to working on a charging system that will operate at 7.5 watts.

That means that it won’t offer faster charging speeds than conventional chargers, which offer 15 watts as standard.



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