Apple has officially canceled the AirPower wireless charging pad last month citing the inability to reach its standards for hardware. After it was postponed for more than a year since its reveal in September 2017, the AirPower charging mat is one of the products that were announced by the tech giant but were stalled for a long time.
The AirPods also had a bit of delay before being purchasable all over the world but were distributed in small quantities before finally becoming the cultural momentum we all witnessed.
As per a new report, the new Apple AirPower wireless charging mat is set to launch sometime this year or the next. The product is currently under development, but we expect to get a glimpse of it soon.
The AirPower device is a Wi-Fi charging mat that can simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and other Qi-supported products. It was announced at the iPhone X event, but unfortunately, not much was disclosed about the upcoming Apple mat.
A More Advanced Concept
Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, Dan Riccio, was the one who canceled the AirPower, apologizing for the delay.
“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have canceled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to pushing the wireless experience forward,” Riccio said.
In a Tweet, Jon Prosser from FrontPageTech has recently shared an image of the AirPower mat based on the prototype pictures that leaked a while ago, created with a great concept in mind. According to Prosser, the new mat should have fewer coils with less overlap, and use Apple’s A11 processor to handle the heat. The image showcases the Lightning cable on the right side, with a USB Type-C port.
Here’s my concept of “C68”
Apple’s most current internal prototype.– Fewer coils, with less overlap
– A11 chip inside to manage heat
– Lightning cable on right side
(Though I’d expect that to change on the retail models)If they pull it off — expected Q4 2020 / Q1 2021
~ $250 pic.twitter.com/sjViqjn0As
— not jon prosser (@jon_prosser) April 13, 2020
As per Prosser, the new product could launch either in the fourth quarter of this year or in 2021, with a price tag of around $250. The AirPower wireless charger is another step Apple has attempted in order to make the iPhone portless.
