The lightning connector is pretty cool isn't it? Apple figured out you could build the RF shield around the signal lines in a single planar unit. If you look at the original 30 pin connector they did, they used a very similar scheme to USB the shield around the outside of the connector, the signal lines on the inside in a separate piece.
I actually think it was the lightning connector that got the USB group to go back and look at their connector designs. The interesting bit about the shield on the lightning is the fairly tricky way they create an island in the middle of the shield and thread the signal lines through it. Makes for a more expensive cable I expect.
For connectivity, every major mobile phone company supports wireless connectivity via Bluetooth or WiFi.
I had an iPhone for 6 years (3g, 4, 4s) and saw all the competition fly ahead of Apple in terms of real features and screen size. My next phone may be an iPhone 6, but really Apple has a ton of catching up to do.
I used the wireless charging on my Nokia Lumia for two years, every night. Loved it. Problem is, it's dog slow compared to how fast my iPhone 5s charges. And when I tried to charge my Nexus 4 on the same charger as the Nokia (they use the same technology, why not?) it would go haywire and never actually charge.
Apple may be behind their competitors in some way, but they have a way of not pushing out technology until they're sure it's going to work the way the mass market expects it to (which is how the general public lets them get away with calling everything "magic". To a non-technical audience, it might as well be). My Nokia is full of cool features that don't work. If the battery dies, it takes half an hour before you can turn the phone on again. My Nexus 4 has a big screen but the camera is shit and it can't hold a charge through the day. My iPhone doesn't have a single "wow" feature to me, but then again there are no features that make me think "this would be so cool if only it worked". The last non-iPhone I didn't truly hate was my Palm Pre+.
My phone has wireless charging; I used to use it, but I eventually switched back to wired charging.
Why? Two reasons, which I think are the biggest ones that explain why wireless hasn't completely taken over wired: efficiency and reliability. Especially the latter.
I actually think it was the lightning connector that got the USB group to go back and look at their connector designs. The interesting bit about the shield on the lightning is the fairly tricky way they create an island in the middle of the shield and thread the signal lines through it. Makes for a more expensive cable I expect.