Kuo: 2019 iPhones Can Wirelessly Charge Other Devices, Feature Frosted Glass and Larger Batteries, and More

In a thorough research note outlining Apple's plans for 2019, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo describes his outlook for the next iPhone lineup. According to Kuo, the 2019 ‌iPhone‌ lineup will mirror that of the current lineup, including 6.5-inch and 5.8-inch OLED models as well as a 6.1-inch LCD model.

2018 iphone trio
As for changes to expect in 2019, Kuo says the ‌iPhone‌ XR successor may be upgraded to 4GB of RAM, while all models will include frosted glass casing, larger batteries, the ability to wirelessly charge other devices, and new technology for indoor positioning and navigation.

The new 5.8" OLED may support DSDS, and the new 6.1" LCD may be upgraded to 4GB. All of part of the new models’ main upgrades include Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) for indoor positioning and navigation, frosted glass casing, bilateral wireless charging for charging other devices, upgraded Face ID (with a higher power flood illumination), larger batteries, and triple camera feature (wide, telephoto, and ultra-wide lens).

Kuo also says all three models will include Lightning connectors rather than USB-C and have the same notch area as current models, contradicting other rumors of smaller notches.

kuo 2019 apple roadmap

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

M5 Chip Achieves Impressive Feat in 14-Inch MacBook Pro Speed Test

Friday October 17, 2025 7:10 am PDT by
The first alleged benchmark result for the M5 chip in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro has surfaced, allowing for some performance comparisons. Based on a single unconfirmed result uploaded to the Geekbench 6 database today, the M5 chip has pulled off an impressive feat. Specifically, the chip achieved a score of 4,263 for single-core CPU performance, which is the highest single-core score that...

Top Rated Comments

Apple_Robert Avatar
87 months ago
May this... May that... In other words, Ming doesn't really know and is just guessing.

Even if some is true, it looks like an incremental update.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zachdog Avatar
87 months ago
Where are the reasonably sized iPhones? The Xr is beautiful but too large. Want to sell more iPhones, Apple? How about an iPhone XR mini? I’ll buy. I know many, many others who would buy this as well.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
crawfish963 Avatar
87 months ago
Those sound like some serious upgrades if true.
I'm hoping this is sarcasm. Assuming these prediction are accurate, there is nothing exciting about the 2019 iPhones. They would need to drop the price, add USB-C, fast-as-TouchID Face ID, and a smaller notch to get me to bite.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Iconoclysm Avatar
87 months ago
May this... May that... In other words, Ming doesn't really know and is just guessing.

Even if some is true, it looks like an incremental update.
I would never expect much more than that from anyone, ever again.
[doublepost=1550458909][/doublepost]
Similar to how the Samsung G10 can charge the Samsung ear buds using its wireless charging capability in reverse.
Or the iPad Pro charges the Apple Pencil 2.
[doublepost=1550459115][/doublepost]
RE: "As for changes to expect in 2019, Kuo says the iPhone XR ('https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/iphone-xr/') successor may be upgraded to 4GB of RAM,"

That's a definite !

If they don't, it's a MAJOR class action lawsuit that will cost AAPL hundreds of Billions of dollars in market cap !

Furthermore, I believe there is a very good chance that AAPL offers ALL existing XR owners, as well as those who purchase before Sept 2019, a low-cost Trade-in upgrade to the 4 GB model in Sept.

The existing XR is in-deed broken ... Photosets has proven it !

The existing XR is the first "Lemon" that I am aware of that AAPL has ever produced.
Really? They will be sued for selling people what they know they're buying? Get real.

Lemons apply to manufacturing defects and flaws, not the disclusion of enough RAM. I can name PLENTY of Apple products that were pretty awful, the XR isn't even close.
[doublepost=1550459189][/doublepost]
Frosted glass? Is this for the rear or front?

Also what do they mean that the phone will be able to wirelessly charge other devices?
For the rear, it will provide grip to the slippery glass like one of HTC's more recent phones, most likely.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SmugMaverick Avatar
87 months ago
I can live without usb-c. The xs face id is just as fast, to me, as touch id. Notch - meh. Price, it is what it is.
People like you are the reason apple is a mess right now.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
puma1552 Avatar
87 months ago
Frosted glass? Quick someone do a render!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)