Science

RIP AirPower? a Running List of the Fabled Charging Mat's Non-Announcements

Pour one out for the wireless charger.

by Danny Paez

With yet another hardware launch coming and going without the debut of AirPower, the decision to have singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey debut her new single “How To Disappear” may have well as been a eulogy for the mythical device.

The wireless charging mat has all but vanished, with the notable exception of some subtle appearances in XS and XR instruction manuals. Since being teased over a year ago during the September 2017 iPhone keynote, Apple gave itself a 2018 deadline to get it on shelves, leading most people to assume it would be a part of either the March, September, or October product launches. That obviously didn’t happen.

Reports have indicated that there have been engineering issues that seriously put a damper on these plans. Specifically, squeezing all the components you need to charge three devices simultaneously into an elegant package has proved an elusive goal.

Tuesday was likely the Apple’s final media event of the year, which could suggest the AirPower is destined to debut in 2019 at the earliest.

Trusted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the charger could launch in late 2018 or early 2019. But Apple hasn’t traditionally held a November or December product launch, suggesting AirPower has definitely missed this holiday season.

With every passing moment, the charging pad becomes a tougher sell as competitors roll out wireless chargers of their own. Its claim to fame was supposed to be its ability to charge three devices at once, but its expected price tag — somewhere in the ballpark of $150 — already puts it at a higher range of similar products you can actually buy now. Some decent wireless chargers can be had for a fraction of that price.

Check out more of our coverage of Apple’s final 2018 hardware announcement.

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