If you were interested in Apple’s all-in-one wireless charger for the iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch, you may have to look elsewhere.
There’s a bit of bad news for folks keen on cutting all the cords in their iLife this week, with news of a cancelled project for Apple.
The long-delayed Apple AirPower wireless charge mat is no more, at least in its current capacity, with Apple confirming to at least one website that the project has been killed off, at least in its current capacity.
In the past few days, Apple has confirmed to overseas site TechCrunch that AirPower appears to be dead, with Dan Riccio, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, advising that the product “will not achieve our high standards” and has thus been cancelled, adding that “we continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward”.
While that news is bad for folks keen to charge as many Apple products in their life sans cables, it’s at least better than Apple releasing a product that wasn’t up to spec, and possibly overheated the wirelessly charged products in question.
And while it’s possible to argue that you can find charging mats that charge multiple gadgets already, Apple’s unique take on a wireless charging mat would have required a different approach.
Presently, the iPhone and AirPods wireless charging case rely on the same Qi wireless standard technology used across other devices including select supported Android phones, but the Apple Watch would require something else altogether, and will not charge off a wireless charge mat alone. This means Apple AirPower wasn’t likely to be your regularly wireless charging mat, and therefore required some extra thought, though it apparently wasn’t a product that the company could nail, at least in its current capacity.
We doubt this is the end for AirPower, that said, and suspect Apple will continue to work on it in some form or another, just that you shouldn’t expect it in the short term.
For now, if you want to charge all your wirelessly charged Apple products without cables, you may want to consider a dual-charge mat like the Cygnett and use the Apple Watch charger on the side, or an iPhone and watch charging dock like Belkin’s with a USB port out the back ideal for headphones. Until someone cracks a dual mat with an Apple Watch connector built in, these may be among your best bets.
Source: TechCrunch
