An iPhone that is powered without being plugged in may plunge world into a wirelessly charged era

WE BELIEVE in a wireless future, said Sir Jonathan Ive, his voice ringing out over the slickly produced video. Apple’s design chief, speaking last September, was announcing the company’s new Bluetooth-powered headphones, designed to work with an updated iPhone that had lost its physical audio port.

While Apple’s decision to drop the iPhone’s headphone jack drew controversy at the time, eagle-eyed followers believe it may have been the first hint of things to come.

Next month, when Apple unveils its latest hamper of new gadgets in California, another wire may be cut.

At least one of the company’s iPhones is expected to feature technology that allows it to be charged without being plugged in, simply by placing it on an electromagnetic surface.

But wireless charging is hardly a technical breakthrough. Phones from rivals including Samsung have featured it since 2015, as has Apple’s own smartwatch.

Electric toothbrushes have used the same basic technology for years. But nothing quite has the cachet, or the influence, that the iPhone does.

Supporters of wireless power, who believe it could have an effect equal to the rise of WiFi, say Apple’s announcement will be a Henry Ford moment.

At the London office of Chargifi, a wireless power start-up, it is referred to in hushed tones as “Apple day”.

The company’s founder and chief executive Dan Bladen says the idea for his firm came when travelling around South America and India with his wife. Wireless mobile networks and public WiFi points had become plentiful and reliable, but it