AirPower (hardware)
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AirPower is an unreleased wireless charging mat developed by
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
It was designed to charge up to three devices simultaneously, supporting two Qi devices, such as an iPhone and
AirPods AirPods are wireless Bluetooth earbuds designed by Apple Inc. They were first announced on September 7, 2016, alongside the iPhone 7. Within two years, they became Apple's most popular accessory. The most recent model, AirPods (3rd generation ...
, and an
Apple Watch Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
. It was announced on September 12, 2017. Formerly scheduled to be released in early 2018, AirPower failed to materialize, leading to wide speculation over the product's future, until Apple announced on March 29, 2019, it had canceled the release.


Development

AirPower was announced on September 12, 2017, at a media event held at Apple's
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, in conjunction with the announcement of the
iPhone 8 The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They along with the iPhone X make up the 11th generation of the iPhone. The iPhone 8 was released on September 22, 2017, succeeding the iPhone 7 and ...
,
iPhone X The iPhone X (Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten", also known as iPhone 10) is a smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from October 27, 2017, it was re ...
, and Wireless Charging Case for AirPods. Following the event, prototype models were available to attendees for hands-on testing.


Issues

Immediately after another media event held the following September, Apple removed almost all mentions of AirPower from its website. There were reportedly several development issues that led to this decision, with heat management, inter-device communication and speed, as well as mechanical and interference issues all being rumored. Reportedly, the main engineering issue came from including coils for two charging standards, as the Apple Watch uses a proprietary non-Qi standard. Blogger
John Gruber John Gruber (born 1973) is a technology blogger, UI designer, and one of the inventors of the Markdown markup language. History Gruber is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor of Science in computer science from Drexel Unive ...
, known for his close connections with Apple, wrote that he had heard of issues with the device’s design: "Something about the multi-coil design getting too hot — way too hot. There are engineers who looked at AirPower’s design and said it could never work thermally." AirPower was still mentioned in the packaging of several Apple products, including iPhone XS and
iPhone XR The iPhone XR (stylized and marketed as iPhone Xʀ; Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten") is a smartphone designed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It is part of the twelfth generation of the iPhone. Pre-orders began on October 19, 2018, with an ...
, and in January 2019 media outlets reported that AirPower may have entered production. On March 25, 2019, Apple released iOS 12.2 with support for AirPower. On March 26, 2019, Apple shipped the Wireless Charging Case for AirPods featuring AirPower on the packaging. Also in late March, Apple secured a trademark on the AirPower name. However, on March 29, 2019,
Dan Riccio Dan Riccio is Apple's former senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Riccio lead the Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, HomePod, AirPods, and Apple Watch engineering teams, which have produced numerous produ ...
, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch: "After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have canceled the project." The move was unprecedented for Apple as it had never previously canceled an announced hardware product. Third party accessory makers mimicked AirPower's design and functionality but were unable to fully replicate Apple's planned features, such as freely placing devices. Apple later sold three-device chargers designed by Mophie and
Belkin Belkin is an American consumer electronics and networking company headquartered in El Segundo, California. It produces mobile and computer connectivity devices and peripherals for consumer and commercial use. These include wireless chargers, pow ...
with the ability to simultaneously charge two Qi devices and an Apple Watch, albeit with a separate receptacle for Apple Watch's inductive charger. Apple released its first Qi chargers in 2020 using the proprietary
MagSafe MagSafe is a series of proprietary magnetically attached power connectors developed by Apple Inc. for Mac laptops. MagSafe was introduced on January 10, 2006, in conjunction with the MacBook Pro, the first Intel-based Mac laptop, at the Ma ...
standard.


Specifications


Hardware

The AirPower concept was based on the Qi standard. Apple had intended for it to be capable of charging multiple devices simultaneously, a feature not supported by the Qi standard, though Apple was working towards incorporating it. Apple's intention was that an iPhone being charged would display on its lock screen the charging percentage of other devices being charged, such as AirPods and their charging case which do not have a display. Devices would not need to be carefully aligned on the charging mat due to the presence of over twenty charging coils, which could charge a device regardless of exact position. However, these charging coils in close proximity ran too hot, requiring the charging mat to require power management. The overheating has been one of the reasons attributed to the product's development issues and eventual cancellation.


Compatibility

AirPower was intended to be compatible with the following devices: * iPhones released in 2017 and later (
iPhone 8 The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They along with the iPhone X make up the 11th generation of the iPhone. The iPhone 8 was released on September 22, 2017, succeeding the iPhone 7 and ...
,
iPhone X The iPhone X (Roman numeral "X" pronounced "ten", also known as iPhone 10) is a smartphone designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is part of the 11th generation of the iPhone. Available for pre-order from October 27, 2017, it was re ...
and newer) *
Apple Watch Series 3 Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
and newer *
AirPods AirPods are wireless Bluetooth earbuds designed by Apple Inc. They were first announced on September 7, 2016, alongside the iPhone 7. Within two years, they became Apple's most popular accessory. The most recent model, AirPods (3rd generation ...
Wireless Charging Case


References

{{Apple Apple Inc. hardware Computer-related introductions in 2017 Vaporware Wireless energy transfer