Apple has cancelled their long-awaited AirPower charging mat after failing to reach their own high standards.
Apple apologised to fans that had been waiting for the product to be released, via a statement from Dan Riccio, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. The AirPower mat was initially announced alongside the iPhone X, way back in September of 2017. However, the tech giant suddenly fell silent on the concept for a year and a half, and after numerous whispers and questions from curious fans, the project has been cancelled.
Understandably, such news comes a serious disappointment to fans of the product, which promised to something that no other charging mat currently on the market can do – charge three different products at any one time.
The internal structure of the product consisted of three layers of coils, an initiative that no other company has yet attempted. And with Apple now forced to cancel, it’s clear to see why.
The tech giant state that they are committed to pushing the wireless experience forward, but just how they intend to do so remains unclear. It is currently unknown whether they will try again with another charging product of its own design in the future. The Apple Store offers products such as the Belkin Boost Up; this particular device features a vertical Apple Watch and iPhone charging pad on separate platforms.
Though, regardless of how advanced the wireless charging stations available at the Apple Store, it serves as little compromise for the substitution of the promised AirPower.
Of the cancellation, Riccio 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.”
Following the initial announcement of the project back in 2017, rumours have continuously surfaced relating the various challenges Apple engineers were faced with. Such challenges extended to overheating and problems that now seem to have been deemed unsolvable.
It now may be that Apple face an uphill battle in regaining the trust of their fans and customers – after all, many of their latest products boast clear references to AirPower. The original purpose of the newly released AirPods 2 wireless charging case was supposed to be used alongside the AirPower mat. Moreover, the iPhone XS leaflet mentions placing the phone on the AirPower mat, while the bottom label of the AirPods 2 clearly states “compatible with AirPower mat”.
It’s certainly disappointing to see AirPower has been pulled from production, but given the lofty standards Apple continuously set for themselves, it’s not too much of a surprise.
