Mikey Campbell
Apple's rumored initiative to resurrect the AirPower free-placement wireless charging mat might be dead in the water, with a new leak claiming the company has likely scrapped the project.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, leaker Jon Prosser on Monday said scheduled AirPower prototyping and testing was recently removed from Apple's 2021 calendar. It seems the project has been delayed indefinitely.
"Sources doubt that it'll ever be picked back up again. Seems like once again, AirPower is dead," Prosser said in a tweet.
Announced in 2017, AirPower was Apple's attempt at creating a charger that served its entire mobile device ecosystem. Initial versions of the mat, as demonstrated to press during that year's iPhone X event, were capable of powering up to three devices including Apple Watch. The charger incorporated an array of coils to enable free placement charging, a tentpole feature that is now available in third-party products like those made by Nomad.
After multiple delays, Apple officially cancelled AirPower in 2019. The company declined to disclose what led to the project's termination, with executives saying the device did "not achieve our high standards." Subsequent reports pointed to problems related to overheating.
Roughly a year later, reports of an AirPower revival began to surface. It was suggested that the tech giant resumed prototyping and testing, and potentially solved the overheating issue by integrating an A11 processor for advanced power management.
With AirPower rumored to be completely abandoned, Apple is expected to forge ahead with its new MagSafe wireless charging protocol. Introduced alongside the iPhone 12 series earlier in October, MagSafe is a magnetic charging format that enables fast 15W charging and modular attachment of cases, wallets and other various accessories.
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11 Comments
Not much of a surprise? Now that mag safe is the new thing. Have no first hand experience with new iPhones but have to think the magnetic fields in the new phone won’t work with AirPower concept? I find nothing wrong with simplicity of Qi charging but will be interesting to see consumer feedback on MagSafe in the coming months.
I was never a likely customer for this, but I did want to see it come to fruition since first seeing demos by PowerbyProxri a decade ago. It always seemed like both an obvious desire and a potential hazard. I hope that Apple didn't lose money on purchasing that company's IP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PuC-vl7gRk&t=107s
Lets hope the MagSafe folding dual charger does not see the same fate.... its no where to be found on Apples site. it will be an embarrassment !
Even with Mag Safe, a very nice solution, I’d never say never. The heat issue can be solved - and Apple can certainly afford to have a small team keep working on it. And then Apple will revive the AirPower.