RIP AirPower: Apple cancels its wireless charging pad

Apple has pulled the plug on its wireless charging mat, AirPower, that was supposed to power iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods (with a case) all at the same time. The AirPower was first announced in 2017, and the wireless charging pad was expected to launch last year in 2018. However, the challenges related to over-heating led Apple to cancel the product for good.

Dan Riccio, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in a statement to Techcrunch said, "After much effort, we've concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled 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 push the wireless experience forward".

Earlier, even AirPods had faced several delays before becoming widely available. Tech-heads were expecting Apple to launch Airpower this year after it was spotted on the packaging of Airpods Wireless Charging Case. The end of AirPower comes on the heels of the recent problems Apple faced with MacBook keyboard indicating that something is wrong with Apple's hardware processes.

Apple hasn't given any official reason behind cancellation of the AirPower mat, but the initial delays in the launch of AirPower were owing to the problems related to the 3D charging coils which were extremely close to each other and required cautious power management.

AirPower mat had the capability of letting users place multiple devices anywhere on the pad and allowing each device to charge independently while communicating the charge levels and rates. Success of AirPower would have spiked consumer interest in wireless charging and these pads would have popped up everywhere including restaurants, airports, cafes etc. However, by delaying and then eventually killing it, Apple may have saved its own reputation from launching badly functioning product. Imagine the disappointment and anger that Apple might have faced from its loyal customers had AirPower not functioned smoothly.

Edited By: Udit Verma

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