iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 wireless charging is unlikely

There's a big rumor floating around this morning that says that both Samsung and Apple will offer wireless charging in their upcoming smartphones. The claim comes from Digitimes, which frames it like this:

"Following the steps of Nokia, LG Electronics and HTC, Samsung Electronics and Apple are expected to add wireless charging capability to their flagship models in 2013, according to industry sources [...] Apple is likely to adopt the wireless charging technology developed internally, but it remains unknown if the next-generation iPhone will come with built-in wireless charging capability or with other attached accessories, said the sources."

There are a couple of reasons why we shouldn't get too hung up on this one. First, DigiTimes doesn't exactly have the cleanest track record with its rumors. Second, and more importantly, it's unlikely that Apple will implement any drastic changes in the next version of its iPhone. 9to5Mac is quick to point this out when it talks about 2013 being an "S" year for the Cupertino, Calif. company:

"We’ve been hearing 2013 is an ‘S’ year for the iPhone, which implies minor design changes with at most the possibility of a fingerprint reader (as well as better cameras and faster processor and the like). However the design changes to the aluminum shell to make wireless charging possible would need to be significant so we don’t think this report is accurate."

Samsung, on the other hand, could very well introduce a slew of surprises as it attempts to keep up with Apple. We've heard so many mixed rumors on how the Galaxy S4 specs will stack up, it seems like anything is fair game at this point. Inductive wireless charging could be offered in the Galaxy S4 as an add-on ability. But why bother guessing when we're just a week away from Samsung's big unveiling? The company is slated to reveal its newest Galaxy smartphone during its Unpacked event on March 14.