According to a report by Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple had considered making the iPhone 17 Air its first port-less device. Such reports are not new, we have been hearing about wireless-only iPhones since at least 2019. Apple has reportedly decided to keep the USB-C port in place for now, allegedly out of concern that port-less phones would violate EU regulations.
But that's not the case. European Commission Press Officer Federica Miccoli confirmed that devices that only support wireless charging are fully compliant with relevant regulations:
Yes. Since such wireless devices cannot be charged via wired charging, there is no need for a unified (wired) charging solution.
In other words, only portable battery-powered devices that support wired charging must use USB-C, with the goal of eliminating various incompatible wired charging standards. If wireless charging was the only way to charge your device, then USB-C wouldn't be needed.
So the next question is, since there are legal requirements to regard USB-C as a universal wired charging port, the European Union should also formulate the same wireless charging standard.
The European Commission is expected to continue promoting the harmonization of wireless charging to avoid future fragmentation of the internal market and negative impacts on consumers and the environment. The European Commission will monitor the development of all types of wireless charging technologies (not just inductive), in particular market development, market penetration, market segmentation, technical performance, interoperability, energy efficiency and charging performance.
Fortunately, it's basically done at this point - original Qi is the base solution, and Qi2 is a backwards-compatible upgrade. Of course, Qi2 is basically Apple's MagSafe, and the Wireless Charging Alliance just made the magnets optional.
In any case, it has been confirmed that the bottom of the iPhone 17 Air will have a USB-C interface, and the bet on not punching a hole in the device is on the 18 Air.