AirPower: Is Apple's Work on Multi-Device Wireless Charging Solutions Continuing?

[Analog Kid]

One of the World’s largest companies with more cash than most countries, and they miss their date by more than one year.

I was going to challenge you on that until I looked it up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-exchange_reserves

At $250B+, they hold about twice as much in cash assets as the United States.... Only about 11 countries hold more than Apple.

 

[Snownoob]

Feels Like a typical kickstarter product. Delayed, zero communication and probably not going to have the features originally promised

It probably will have what was promised... but either way a big difference is that Apple isn’t taking money for pre-orders before it’s actually ready.

They announced it September 12, 2017! Everyone else has come out with wireless chargers since then. They act like they’re inventing something new and innovative. Hardly...

They announced it more than a year ago, but definitely haven’t missed their deadline by more than a year... they’ve missed the deadline by less than a month so far.

 

[PeteS1963]

It makes no sense to you what that member said, because you don’t understand the Airpowers main feature. This isn’t like any other charger, you can place the device anywhere to physically charge without having to set it on a certain contact point for to charge properly. It doesn’t mean it’s ‘better’, it means it’s different in that sense.

Exactly! I’m not sure why some find this so hard to understand. For me wireless charging has (so far) been a little disappointing. I often work late and go to bed when my wife is asleep. What I want to do is just go into our bedroom, without turning the lights on, and simply plonk my devices on a charger. I don’t want to fiddle with cables in the dark or attempt to find the sweet spot(s) on a basic wireless charger.

 

[44267547]

Exactly! I’m not sure why some find this so hard to understand. For me wireless charging has (so far) been a little disappointing. I often work late and go to bed when my wife is asleep. What I want to do is just go into our bedroom, without turning the lights on, and simply plonk my devices on a charger. I don’t want to fiddle with cables in the dark or attempt to find the sweet spot(s) on a basic wireless charger.

Just a side Pro Tip:

If you are ever in the dark and you don’t want turn the light on in the room to plug the lightning cable into your iPhone without missing the port, turn on the flashlight on the phone, cup your hand behind the flashlight where the light will shine down to the port and light up that area so you can plug in the phone.

 

[Snownoob]

Just a side Pro Tip:

If you are ever in the dark and you don’t want turn the light on in the room to plug the lightning cable into your iPhone without missing the port, turn on the flashlight on the phone, cup your hand behind the flashlight where the light will shine down to the port and light up that area so you can plug in the phone.

This is a great tip! I used to use my phone's flashlight for plugging in the cable before I upgraded to the XS and got a wireless pad next to my bed.

That being said... now that I use wireless charging, I'll never go back. I've probably used the lightning cable on this phone about 4 times since I got it, and they were all Xcode related.

 

[roncron]

Your frustration is understandable. Apple shouldn't announce new products that it's not confident it can deliver in the announced timeframe. That generates bad will.

Regarding FaceID vs. TouchID: I loved TouchID on my 7 Plus, it was fast and extremely reliable. FaceID imho did not offer meaningful improvements to security or convenience, but it cost a lot more than the fingerprint sensor and was part of the reason why the iPhone X was so expensive.

But FaceID has one benefit: it allows the bottom bezel to almost go away, and Apple knows that people want smaller bezels.

Excellent points. Well said.

As you can tell, I’m frustrated by their inability to deliver on their announcements. Certainly not all of them.

I’d love to upgrade to the OLED screen of the XS. But to be honest, I have mixed feelings about the whole facial recognition feature. It feels like a solution looking for a problem.

I find the finger ID on the home button to be very intuitive and easy to use. I can keep my eyes on the road and press and hold the Home button and have Siri text, call, etc. I don’t like having “Hey Siri” always on. Too many falses. And I certainly don’t want to pick up my iPhone while I’m driving so it can see my face.

I feel like identifying the unmet needs and delivering solutions has shifted to more of how thin can a product be. I mean who cares? Most of us put our iPhones and iPads in protective cases anyways, diluting the “value” of shaving a few mm off the thickness.

D

 

[Packdude]

But TouchID has one benefit: it allows the bottom bezel to almost go away, and Apple knows that people want smaller bezels.

*FaceID, not TouchID.

 

[Lewdannie]

My bet, and the reason for the delay, is that the Airpower is shaped like that for, and needed to be demonstrated to work with, the yet to be announced Apple Glasses.

Then again, I thought that Apple would never release Airpods in anything but white (for the advertising)

 

[roncron]

*FaceID, not TouchID.

Ah, thanks for catching that. I fixed it.

 

[nad8e]

Why would anyone want it at that price point? Maybe $79 outright or $49 with purchase of a watch or phone and they'll sell a lot. Most people will want one in their bedroom, one in their living area (kitchen/near couch) and one at work. Woohoo... Lets spend $600 on chargers. Not.

 

[Glockworkorange]

It's....a....charger.

Good grief.

It's been about two years since the launch of wireless charging on iOS.

I assume most MacRumors readers have already purchased chargers and docks and aren't going to want to spend another 150 to 200 U.S. on this one.

I know some will, but I really don't understand the level of hype.

 

[chfilm]

Where is the damn thing???

 

[trillionaire]

There is always competition, but Apple finds a way to sell their products. I'm sure it will appeal to people. It's the same story as with other products, Apple didn't do it first but they will do it better. I'm sure there are tons of people that will also prefer a charger from Apple for their Apple products, instead of a third party supplier.
If it doesn't amount to much, I still doubt it will be a failure for Apple.