The recently released Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus didn't quite sweep loyal iPhone fans off their feet. Thus, it is imperative for Apple to come out with a nearly flawless successor to last year's iPhones in order to appease the smartphone's huge customer base.

In line with this, the Cupertino-based tech firm could oust the physical home button in favor a virtual onscreen home button. Aside from that, one of the biggest features the iPhone 8 is expected to arrive with is wireless charging.

Multiple reports doing rounds back in November hinted at the implementation of a receiver into the new iPhone. Apparently, this would facilitate charging via a plugged-in transmitter up to 15 feet away rather than depending on a wireless charging pad to charge the handset. Energous CEO Steve Rizzone further cemented this speculation during an interview with TheVerge.

Mounting shreds of evidence have been hinting at an impending arrival of Energous' wireless charging technology for a couple of years. However, it is not ready to be rolled out just yet.

Before Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017, Rizzone spilled the beans about the company's wireless charging transmitters claiming that they will begin shipping by the end of this year. It is about two years later than originally scheduled.

It can be recalled that Energous said something similar at CES 2015 as well. Energous attributed the delayed release to a key strategic partnership, which was signed just a month after CES in 2015.

Although Energous refrained from shedding more light on the said partnership, The Verge discovered that Energous gave it's alleged partner the green light to be be the first to ship the long-distance wireless charging technology in a variety of devices including wearables, laptops, tablets and smartphones. As a result, Energous' plan to roll out battery phone cases was put on hold following the signed alliance.

Hinting at Apple as its alleged partner for long distance wireless charging, Energous told The Verge that its partner is one of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world. Although they did not name the collaborator, Energous guaranteed that almost everyone has products from this company.

In other news, a new image has surfaced online showing Samsung's upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone without the traditional home button. It looks like after reports indicating that Apple is ditching the home button on its next generation iPhone, Samsung is likely to follow suit. The purported Galaxy S8 was shown in an image posted to Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, via SlashLeaks.

While several readers deemed the device shown in the leaked photo as fake, the picture lead to believe that the bottom bezel under the display will just sport Samsung logo with no physical home button identical to the one found on the existing Galaxy S7.

Let us know what you think about Apple's decision to adopt wireless charging for its new iPhone and Samsung's plan to oust the home button in the comments section below!