Report Claims AirPower 'Doomed to Failure' Unless Apple Can Resolve Multiple Ongoing Engineering Issues

[christophermdia]

I for one would never use this ... every wireless charger I have bought is on a stand, laying flat led to too many mismatches on charge/no charge, on a stand it’s easy to quickly adjust in one direction, plus you could see it at a desk or nightstand if you get a message. As for Apple Watch, it has taken the place of a clock on my nightstand. I love it in this mode. As for AirPods, I charge them once a month if that ... and they charge in like 30 min ... still trying to understand who this mat is for ... maybe for a kitchen counter when you have people over?

 

[Steve121178]

Apple are never too late, when they do it, they do it properly

Many wireless charging manufactures seem to be doing just fine. I've been using RAVPower wireless chargers for over a year now. In fact, the ones I bought are their best models & are capable of 10w wireless charging, not limited to the 7.5w limit Apple have set on their devices.

 

[Knowuhhtea]

So AirPower was announced to “up the stock price?”

You can’t be serious.

Every product that matters becomes a reality. AirPower would be a nice to have, but it being announced did zero for the stock. Even if it were out, it would do nothing for the stock.

You don’t think a wireless charger that can support 3 devices at once will help their stock? Almost anything Apple releases will increase their stock. It might not increase it by dollars but it will increase it and that’s all their care about.

 

[bflowers]

Airpods charges super easy with the same cable used for the iPad

The point I was making to the person saying Ikea large Qi chargers solved the problem, was that the Watch needs an extra magnet and the AirPods case didn't support wireless, so Ikea's pad doesn't work for that. Yes, I plug my AirPods in every couple days, charge my watch with the standard charger, and use a normal Qi charger for my phone. Thanks for your expert advice. I don't know what I would have done without it.

 

[bluespark]

I don't understand the point of the product anyway. You can already go on Amazon and buy something similar for $20. They're not really breaking any new ground here.

I've never seen anything like this on Amazon or anywhere else. The unique (and apparently problematic) aspect was the overlapping coils, which in theory could mean devices could be placed anywhere on the pad.

 

[44267547]

I've never seen anything like this on Amazon or anywhere else. The unique (and apparently problematic) aspect was the overlapping coils, which in theory could mean devices could be placed anywhere on the pad.

That poster was incorrect, there is no other product like the Airpower. It makes complete sense the technical issues Apple is experiencing, nonetheless, it would be really nice if this product if it ever does release in the future. But I certainly do believe it might have been announced way too early without having complete R&D.

 

[Vanquish3219]

Why even bother? Just stick to the old fashioned way of charging devices: a 100% reliable, power cord.

Not a tech person, but - from my lay perspective - the benefit of wireless charging would be that it would eliminate one more slot on the iphone.

The result of this would be:

1) Similar to getting rid of the headphones slot and replacing headphone connection with bluetooth, eliminating the lightning slot would enable apple to make slimmer and thinner iphones. Currently, there is a limit of how thin an iphone can be due to the engineering constraint that room must be made avaliable for the lightning cable slot.

2) Just a guess, but wouldn't eliminating the lightning slot also be a step towards making the iphone 100% waterproof rather than just water resistant? The flaw with the lightning slot is that it requires an opening within the external casing whereby water can enter and effect the internal components. If apple eliminates another external slot, it will be well on its way to creating an iphone whereby the entire external casing is totally sealed. The last opening apple would then have to think about would be the speaker slots. Eliminating the lightning slot however would still be a step in the right direction.

 

[Baymowe335]

You don’t think a wireless charger that can support 3 devices at once will help their stock? Almost anything Apple releases will increase their stock. It might not increase it by dollars but it will increase it and that’s all their care about.

No, it won't. I guess you're new with Apple's numbers. It's a rounding error and would be totally insane for them to announce it for this reason alone.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Why announce it if you don't even know it's possible?!

 

[joneill55]

Who wants an item that will fail or worse, overheat and cause issues.
PASS!

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

Schiller said next year. Not January. Not February.

It’s September. They have three and a half months to shop the AirPower.

Apple announced the AirPower because people would be saying “Wireless charging iPhones? Where’s Apples wireless charger?”

Well... great idea, but it isn’t late until they miss the date. Dec 31, 2018 isn’t here yet.

 

[joxzaren]

I proclaim myself as one of Apple’s biggest fans but I glad this product is facing these challenges and uncertainty. ABOUT TIME! I miss the days projects were kept close to vest and magical products like this weren’t announced until they were available. I still plan to purchase two AirPower devices but my hope is it makes Apple be more cautious and thorough before announcing products and announcing release dates.

The original iPhone?

 

[fmalloy]

With that level of complication the price would be way beyond acceptable levels.

You mean like all other Apple products?

 

[apple_iBoy]

So if the design problems are this profound, wtf do they trot it out in the dog and pony show so early on? Why is marketing so far out ahead of engineering on this one?

 

[PickUrPoison]

Why announce it if you don't even know it's possible?!

So if the design problems are this profound, wtf do they trot it out in the dog and pony show so early on? Why is marketing so far out ahead of engineering on this one?

It’s pretty clear they thought they’d be able to close on it, even though they still had a ways to go. Occasionally, you blow the call. It happens. Not the end of the world.

I just hope they can get it working like they want and release it. It would be a bummer if they decide to scrap it.

 

[Freyqq]

Actually they are. This device would sense the location of up to three devices on a large open mat and intelligently direct energy to the individual devices, regardless of position. There is nothing on the market today that can perform that trick.

Not convinced it's worth the price premium of just buying a traditional induction charger. Also not convinced an induction charger is worth it over a traditional wired charger until Apple supports induction charging that is least 10 watts.

 

[cmaier]

Not convinced it's worth the price premium of just buying a traditional induction charger. Also not convinced an induction charger is worth it over a traditional wired charger until Apple supports induction charging that is least 10 watts.

I use a qi charger at work, and it'd be worth it even at 5W, because the phone sits there all day, and the charger keeps it topped up for when I'm not at my desk. It doesn't need to charge fast when it can charge long.

 

[Abazigal]

Not convinced it's worth the price premium of just buying a traditional induction charger. Also not convinced an induction charger is worth it over a traditional wired charger until Apple supports induction charging that is least 10 watts.

I suspect AirPower will become all the more useful once AR glasses and other wearables are released. It’s really about being able to place them in any orientation, especially for atypically shaped devices with no charging ports.

Imagine a giant airpower mat, and being able to throw your 5+ devices on them and have them charge automatically.

 

[douglasf13]

You must be real old school, I put my Note 8 on the wireless charger on my nightstand and its way more convenient than trying to find a wire at night to plug in plus my charging port doesn't get worn out as much. Its very handy once you get used to it. Samsung gave me the fast wireless charger free when I pre-ordered my phone and it works well, not sure why Apple is having such a hard time.

It's probably because a lot of us already have stands for our iPhones with the cable built-in, so we're not hunting around for anything at night. For me, it would just be the difference of laying the phone flat on a bad vs. clicking it in upright in the stand, which isn't a huge deal.

 

[CharlieBoyWoof]

Personally I prefer this never launches than it launching as a sub par product.

Everything after SJ has been sub par.

 

[Inkling]

Basically:
Engineers: "We could get this to work if we made it a tiny bit thicker."

Jony Ive: "Over my dead body."

Dangerous words by Ives. As a BSEE myself, I suspect more than a few of Apple's engineers would be happy to see the constraints that he places on what they can do removed.

 

[cmaier]

Dangerous words by Ives. As a BSEE myself, I suspect more than a few of Apple's engineers would be happy to see the constraints that he places on what they can do removed.

As a PhDEE I doubt that. The fun is in the constraints. When I was a microprocessor designer nobody ever wanted to work on the teams that were responsible for technology shrinks - everyone wanted to work on the new design where they were handed new, tighter constraints and a blank sheet of paper. And nobody wanted to work on the “easy” blocks which weren’t in any timing critical path. Good engineers like to solve hard problems, and only derive satisfaction from accomplishing what a year earlier seemed nigh impossible.

 

[PlasmStudios]

Why not mention it last week. Just admit theres a hold up so people can stop second guessing

It's all the more likely that Apple doesn't want to admit that an announcement product has failed and will not coming. Given Apple's "King of the Hill" status, company, critics and Apple-Haters alike are never going to let go of this.

 

[Tech198]

And this is without a public release date yet... What will it be when when it *does* get out the door.?

Will be go the same way as the Hompod?

 

[Tiger8]

Huh? iPhone, they had working devices shown at the launch event. iPad there were working devices shown at the launch event. Apple watch there were devices shown at the launch/reveal event.

HomePod was shown to the press I believe in the hands-on area after the event, but AirPower has been absent in all physical forms

You and I are saying the same thing, all these devices first gen was announced months before they were available, to 'reserve a spot'. I know for example many people were considering pebble but when the watches were announced, they decided to hold off and wait.

You raise a good point that airpower wasn't even shown, this shows it was too early to announce it