Tag: AirPower

Apple AirPower To Relaunch Soon Suggests Patent

In the month of March, Apple officially cancelled the long-awaited AirPower wireless charging mat which was first unveiled in the year 2017. Despite the previous announcement, a freshly granted patent by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) suggests that wireless charging may still be undergoing development and will reappear soon.

What Is AirPower Mat?

AirPower is an elegantly designed wireless charging mat capable of simultaneously charging multiple devices. It was originally intended to charge three Apple devices concurrently which include an Apple watch, AirPods and an iPhone. However, the wireless charging mat is not limited to charging Apple devices only. As it is based on the Qi wireless charging which is standardised by numerous consumer electronics manufacturers. Out of all the OEMs that use Qi standard on their devices Samsung, Nokia, Google, Xiaomi are a few.

Why Was AirPower Cancelled In The First Place?

iPhone XR

Apple is a company that is recognised for perfecting a given technology before it makes on appear on the companies globally available products. The AirPower which was originally unveiled in 2017 had overheating issues that the company planned to eliminate before its commercial availability in 2018. Unfortunately, even after working on the AirPower mat for more than two years, the product could not meet the standards that Apple has set for its offerings. Therefore, the company had to cancel the product.

Also Read: Puffin OS Is The Mobile Operating System That Can Crush Android Go

The AirPower that Apple originally unveiled was able to generate a lot of hype around it because of its practicality and simplicity. The freshly granted patent suggests that the product is still alive. Besides, the company might have worked out the problems that wireless charging previously had. In order to rejoice its customers, the innovative product may relaunch soon in an upgraded avatar.

July 5, 2019
Apple AirPods 2, AirPower Leaked, Launching Soon

When Apple launched the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the iPhone X with wireless charging, they introduced another device with it, the Apple AirPower. The wireless charging mat by Apple was seen as an integral part of the Apple ecosystem. Now that most Apple products charge wirelessly, a product like AirPower could prove very useful. But it had been more than a year and we didn’t hear about the AirPower since. That is until now. It is reported that the AirPower has been leaked and will launch this spring.

The report seems official as it also claims that the advertisement shoot for Apple AirPower has already begun. This gives weight to the rumors that the AirPower was supposed to be launched in the first half of 2019. Along with that, it is also claimed that AirPods 2 are also making their debut this year. They will have deeper bass and look similar to the last model. It was reported that the AirPods 2 will arrive with great new upgrades over its predecessor. They will support hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ command and will have some more sensors to track health features.

AirPods 2: New Features

The Apple AirPods 2 are reported to sport an identical size as the last one. They would also look very similar to the original AirPods. They will have an improved internal design to provide more bass, something which was lacking in the first generation. Airpods 2 will also have wireless charging and have new sensors which will track some key health features. This may include heart monitoring and step count. The battery life will be identical to the first one. The texture will be similar to Google Pixel 3 to improve grip. This grip may also be used in the next generation of iPhones.

The AirPods 2 and the AirPower are not expected to debut together, which is unfortunate. Apple will reportedly also release a wireless charging case for the first-gen AirPods. The AirPods 2 are expected to arrive later this year. As far as pricing is concerned, the AirPower is expected to cost around $150 (Rs. 10,674) and the AirPods 2 are expected to retail at $200 (Rs. 14,233).

Also read: Apple Working On A Secret 5G Chip, Claims Patent

Apple devices are known for their top-notch quality and seamless connectivity across the Apple ecosystem. The AirPower and the AirPods 2 are just expected to add on that experience and make it more convenient. We will have more details about the devices in the coming months.

February 11, 2019
Apple Misses AirPower Release Window

Apple is known for their timely product releases and the exceptional quality of the products. But it seems like Apple has been having some issues with the AirPower – A wireless charger that will reportedly charge multiple devices. In all the Apple events in 2017, the company had said that consumers can expect the AirPower to be released for purchase by 2018 itself.

AirPower is a wireless charging mat-like device that can charge more than one device. Most wireless chargers available in the market now are capable of charging one device at a time. The Apple wireless charger was shown to charge an Apple Watch, an iPhone and their proprietary wireless earbuds.

What Happened?

The AirPower device was also supposed to coordinate with all the Apple devices being charged and show percentages of charge in each device on the iPhone. The company had expressed interest to work with Qi Standards team. Th aim is to incorporate these benefits into the future of the standards. But no news about any cooperation has come up yet either.

Apple has also not set a price down for the AirPower charger and have not given out a statement regarding the same. It is believed that some internal development difficulties has caused this delay. It is very unlike of Apple to miss deadlines as they hold to higher standards and have set timelines for every device they make. However, it is unclear if the AirPower project has altogether been scrapped. Apple might also be making further improvements to the product itself but our guess is as good as yours.

When Will We Know?

Apple usually has three or four events in a year. One in March which revolves around education and creativity themes and are often known to include iPads. There is also a big event in June known as WWDC which sees mostly softwares and sometimes, although rarely, high-end hardware.

The other two events are in September which is the most anticipated event in all year. The reason behind it is because this event usually features new iPhones and Apple Watches and one in October. The October event usually releases iPads and sometimes consumer focused Macs. We will hopefully come to know the status of the AirPower in the next Apple event in 2019, if not before.

January 2, 2019