FCC filing appears to suggest iPhone 12 models have an unannounced reverse wireless charging feature, possibly to charge future AirPods or the rumored “AirTags”
Apple just needs to unlock it The Irish Times : Apple iPhone 12 Pro: Well worth the wait Philip Michaels / Tom's Guide : iPhone 12 mini hands-on video shows Apple's phone in all its miniature glory Tweets: Jeremy Horwitz / @horwitz : A new MagSafe feature was hidden in Apple FCC filings: “In addition to being able to be charged by a desktop WPT charger (puck), 2020 iPhone models also support WPT charging function at 360 kHz to charge accessories [including] an external potential apple accessory in future.” Mark Gurman / @markgurman : If this FCC filing is any indication, the iPhone 12 may have a hidden reverse charging feature. Perhaps MagSafe on the new AirPods? https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple shipped the iPhone 12 with a capability it never announced: an FCC filing shows the handsets support WPT charging at 360 kHz, meaning they can act as a wireless charger themselves — with the filing explicitly pointing to 'an external potential apple accessory in future.' Because radio hardware must be disclosed to the FCC even when software-disabled, regulators effectively published Apple's roadmap before Apple chose to.
The filing slots into a long arc of Apple wireless-power work: Bloomberg reported as far back as 2016 that Apple was pursuing wireless charging that works over a distance, and the MagSafe puck introduced with the iPhone 12 covers only the contact-charging half. The hidden reverse-charging mode is the missing other half — a phone that powers its own accessories.
First-order effects
- Apple gains a software switch it can flip later: enabling the 360 kHz mode would let iPhone 12 owners charge AirPods or rumored AirTags off the back of the phone without new hardware, turning an existing installed base into a charging platform overnight.
Second-order effects
- MagSafe becomes a two-way standard rather than a one-way charger — consistent with reporting that Apple was developing a magnetically attached battery pack that itself charges the handset, implying a family of snap-on powered accessories built around the same magnetic alignment.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the iPhone consolidates into the power hub of a closed Apple accessory ecosystem — watch, buds, tags, and packs all drawing from or feeding the phone — while FCC filings become a recurring leak vector that lets competitors like Samsung read Apple's hardware plans a generation early.
The trend: Smartphones are evolving from devices that receive wireless power into platforms that distribute it, with Apple using software locks and magnetic alignment to keep that power grid inside its own accessory ecosystem.