Apple’s AirPower wireless charger is apparently back in development
But there are still hurdles to overcome
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Given all the impressive devicesApplehas released over the years you wouldn’t think it could be defeated by a wireless charger, but that’s exactly what happened with the AirPower – a wireless charger that promised to charge youriPhone,Apple WatchandAirPodsall at the same time, and which 18 months after its September 2017 announcement wasfinally canceledin March 2019. But it might have been resurrected.
That’s according toJon Prosser, a leaker with a good track record, who tweeted that the AirPower project is back on internally, but that there’s still no guarantee the device will ever be finished and released.
Apparently Apple is currently trying to “re-engineer the coils to displace heat more effectively”, and prototyping is said to be underway.
AirPower isn’t dead 👀The project is back on, internally. No guarantee that they’ll finalize and release it, but they haven’t given up yet and they’re trying to re-engineer the coils to displace heat more effectively. Prototyping is underway.🧻🧻🧻🧻🧻 pic.twitter.com/tjbbViwGM2March 22, 2020
In afollow-up tweet, Prosser added that none of the current prototypes support theApple Watch, and that this is the company’s biggest hurdle right now, as it apparently won’t release a version that doesn’t support the Apple Watch.
These reported issues sound plausible, since back when the AirPower was previously in development there werereports of overheatingissues. And as for the Apple Watch stumbling block, most rival mats will charge two rather than three devices – though notably there aresome alternativesthat can charge three.
Given that Apple has already failed once, and that it sounds like the AirPower is still facing similar issues, we’d think there’s a high chance it still won’t launch, even assuming that Prosser is right in saying it’s back in development – a claim which we’d take with a pinch of salt in the first place, since it’s not confirmed.
But it does give us some hope that one day there could be an official way to charge most of your Apple gadgets on one surface – and perhaps it will even land in time for theiPhone 12launch.
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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.
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