When Apple first introduced the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X back in September 2017, it also promised a wireless charging pad for its products called AirPower. The idea was that you could use one device to charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
Promised to arrive by the end of 2018, it never did. It was reported to have been canceled in September, and then there were other rumors that it went into production.
But today, Apple finally confirmed that AirPower is, in fact, canceled. In a statement to TechCrunch, SVP of Hardware Engineering said the following:
“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,”
It seems that Apple took a bite larger than it could chew with this one, as the device reportedly had between 21 and 24 power coils of three different sizes. Those coils had to overlap, since users were supposed to be able to charge any of the three different device types on any part of the mat. This caused overheating issues that Apple couldn"t solve.
While AirPower is seemingly just a wireless charger, it"s a product that people were inexplicably excited about. It became the symbol for things that Apple has promised and never delivered. Still, if you told anyone that there would be this much attention around a Qi charger two years ago, they probably wouldn"t have believed you.