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Apple Still Working on AirPower-Like Charger, Also Long-Range Wireless Charging and Reverse Charging

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Apple is still working on a future wireless charger that would function similarly to the now-abandoned AirPower, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

airpoweriphone8.jpg

In the latest edition of the journalist's Power On newsletter, Gurman reiterates earlier reports that Apple still intends to create a wireless charging accessory that would charge multiple devices like an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at once.

Apple first announced the AirPower in September 2017 alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. At the time, Apple said the charging product would launch sometime in 2018, but that didn't happen. Following months of rumors about development issues, Apple canceled the project in March 2019.

Since then, Apple has rolled out MagSafe charging for its iPhones, including the MagSafe Duo accessory, which can wirelessly charge an Apple Watch and iPhone in tandem, although the Duo is just two separate wireless chargers joined together. If Gurman is correct, Apple still plans to release a charging device that can charge up all three products at the same time.

Continuing the theme, Gurman says he believes Apple is still investigating charging solutions that don't rely on contact-based inductive charging technology. Specifically, he mentions Apple is working on "short and long distance wireless charging devices" and that the company "imagines" a future where all of its major devices can charge each other. "Imagine an iPad charging an iPhone and then that iPhone charging AirPods or an Apple Watch," adds Gurman.

We've long heard rumors of so-called reverse wireless charging capabilities for recent ‌iPhone series‌‌. The closest it has come is with its MagSafe battery pack, which can receive power from an iPhone when the latter device is plugged in and charging.

Given the ‌MagSafe Battery Pack‌'s reverse wireless charging feature, it seems technically possible that an ‌iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 could deliver power to AirPods or AirPods Pro, but Apple has not yet implemented this feature.

Article Link: Apple Still Working on AirPower-Like Charger, Also Long-Range Wireless Charging and Reverse Charging
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/11/29/apple-airpower-long-range-reverse-wireless/
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kToni73

kToni73

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Sep 16, 2021
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I would definitely buy something like this. Having more gadgets = to more wires/cables. It can be a nightmare at times.
 
Piggie

Piggie

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Feb 23, 2010
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Putting fun gadget ideas aside here for a moment.
Apple is supposed to be a green company "Save the planet" and all that. Which is great and something we should hope all companies actually do, and not just say.
The most green way is to charge our hundreds of millions of devices in the most efficient, non wasteful method possible to save power station usage.
Unless something dramatic happens and we get a breakthrough new tech, all this wireless charging is very bad.
It seems wireless is around 50% as efficient as a wire connection.

We currently have around 15 Billion mobile devices in the world.
Do we really want to double the amount of power generated to keep these devices running if they were wireless?
 
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headlessmike

headlessmike

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twistedpixel8 said:
But until wireless charging is actually efficient, it would be a bit wasteful to encourage it as the primary method of charging. Maybe Apple can come up with a better solution that doesn’t waste quite so much energy.
Click to expand...

Maybe something like a dock.
 
Shirasaki

Shirasaki

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May 16, 2015
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Long range wireless charging is what wireless charging should’ve been in the first place. The biggest issue tho is the efficiency. How bad it could be? Would it match wired charging efficiency? I doubt it, at least for current tech.
 
N

Nozuka

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Jul 3, 2012
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Piggie said:
Putting fun gadget ideas aside here for a moment.
Apple is supposed to be a green company "Save the planet" and all that. Which is great and something we should hope all companies actually do, and not just say.
The most green way is to charge our hundreds of millions of devices in the most efficient, non wasteful method possible to save power station usage.
Unless something dramatic happens and we get a breakthrough new tech, all this wireless charging is very bad.
It seems wireless is around 50% as efficient as a wire connection.

We currently have around 15 Billion mobile devices in the world.
Do we really want to double the amount of power generated to keep these devices running if they were wireless?
Click to expand...

To be fair, MagSafe is probably the most efficient implementation of QI charging. A lot of the inneffiency comes from misalingment, which MagSafe solves. You still lose about 25% though. Likely a bit more with a case.
 
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iMacDragon

iMacDragon

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Shirasaki said:
Long range wireless charging is what wireless charging should’ve been in the first place. The biggest issue tho is the efficiency. How bad it could be? Would it match wired charging efficiency? I doubt it, at least for current tech.
Click to expand...
It can't even hope to get even slightly close to current near contact wireless charging, let alone wired.
 
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Kylo83

Kylo83

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Apr 2, 2020
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After the MagSafe duo I don’t have hope, also with MagSafe now it wouldn’t work as it needs to be clipped onto one place
 
MrGunnyPT

MrGunnyPT

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Mar 23, 2017
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Magsafe Duo is terrible, someone gave me as a Christmas gift and every single third party charger is better than that. I only carry with me on travels so I don't have to take 2 different chargers.

Looking forward to see what they can do with the sucessor of Airpower if it eventually happens.
 
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macintoshmac

macintoshmac

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Selling MagSafe for iPhone, puck for watch, MagSafe duo for both. I'd think that makes them more money than this mat would. Hence, plans might have been put on back-burner previously.

If they are indeed working on a mat with MagSafe allowing for all three to be charged together, this would be a good purchase.
 
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xxray

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Jul 27, 2013
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Not to sound like an old man (I’m in my early 20s), but wireless charging concerns me. Go to any Apple Store and any iPhones that are using MagSafe stands to hold and charge the phone are always very warm. That has to wreck the battery, is inefficient, and doesn’t feel safe.
 
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macintoshmac

macintoshmac

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Jim Lahey said:
5w wired charging between 40-80% FTW. Launch iPhone 12 Pro still showing 100% health. Wireless just pulls money out of the wall and turns it into heat.
Click to expand...

And takes some months off the battery’s age.

I like it in a pinch. But generally, 5W still great. No issues. However with the USB-C Mac Coconut Battery tells me my phone charges at 11W.
 
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