After first being shown off way back in 2017 during the iPhone 8’s and iPhone X’s reveal keynote, Apple uncharacteristically finally officially cancelled the multi-device charging pad in March 2019.
“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project,” said Apple at the time. Rumours circulated that the charging mat suffered from overheating issues and that device was too expensive to produce.
https://twitter.com/laobaiTD/status/1296837238265847809
Even though the charging device has appeared on Apple device packaging and, most recently, speculation that the project has been resurrected has appeared, it’s still nowhere to be found. Now, iClarified (via @laobaiTD) has posted a video of a reported teardown of the cancelled charging mat uploaded to Chinese video-sharing platform bilibili.
The video shows off the AirPower’s 14 wireless charging coils laid out across the surface of the device. There’s also a keyboard-like metal frame separating the charging pad’s tightly-packed components. The back of the AirPower also features a Lightning port.
https://twitter.com/laobaiTD/status/1296838797041086464
While there are several multi-device chargings pads now from different third-party manufacturers, what made the AirPower unique was Apple designed it to charge Apple devices wherever you placed them on the mat. Most similar charges require devices to be placed on specific areas of the pad.
Back in January 2020, rumours courtesy of Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo circulated that Apple could have plans to release a smaller wireless charging pad. It’s also worth noting that there are chargers like the Zens Liberty that work very similarly to Apple’s cancelled AirPower.
Image credit: bilibili
Source: bilibili Via: iClarified, @laobaiTD
