You might charge your iPhone very differently soon

What if you didn’t need to remember your charging cable to keep your phone juiced up all day? Apple recently acquired a patent for technology that could, one day, let us charge our phones using WiFi. 

According to AppleInsider, the system would use antennae on wireless routers, providing our phones with constant power whenever we’re connected.

Why didn’t we think of that?

It sounds so simple, but we’re actually a ways away from the tech being developed enough for mass-production. Even though researchers at the University of Washington proved WiFi charging possible back in 2015, FCC regulations and the difference in power output between our devices and the routers themselves are proving to be worthy challenges.

It’s rumored that the iPhone 8 will have wireless charging, but most likely only at short range or while in physical contact with a charging pad.

Still, it’s likely that there will be a time in the not-too-distant future when anyone with a WiFi connection won’t have to worry about battery life ever again.