Apple Tries To Wipe AirPower From the History Books (zdnet.com) 91
A year after unveiling the AirPower all-in-one wireless charger for the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, Apple has now erased all references to AirPower from its website. The company has yet to ship it. From a report: A year ago during the iPhone X unveiling Apple announced AirPower -- an all-in-one wireless charger for the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. The product never shipped, and today it seems that Apple has scrubbed almost all traces of it off its website. At the time of writing this is the only reference to AirPower I can find on Apple's website. So what happened to AirPower? Well, while only Apple really knows (and at the time of writing Apple hasn't responded to a request for information), it seems like the product was vaporware and that the promise of an all-in-one charger has died. I can't think off the top of my head of another product that Apple has announced at a major event and then failed to deliver, which suggests that some things are beyond the reach of even a company as powerful as Apple.
Well... (Score:2)
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And yet, Apple is still full of air power, same as always.
People just didn't realize how airy it was, or the power with which it was expelled. Now a year later, Apple resorted to opening Windows.
What a ____ show.
look WAYBACK (Score:1)
https://web.archive.org/web/20... [archive.org]
Optional wireless charging case coming in 2018.
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I expect the problem was due to a technical issue, that just couldn't be resolved combined with a luke warm demand for the product.
While I am a Computer Scientist and not an Electrical Engineer. I just see a single electromagnetic coil trying to interact with separate ones all requiring different charging time, and sending back to the device different responses would just get very confusing, and would lead to such devices from getting overcharged and damaged, or damaging non-apple products that are suppose
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Ya the technical issue was how to make a standard like Qi proprietary. apple would love to block out all third party chargers. Greedy shitstain of a company
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I've been using a $20 QC 3.0 wireless charging stand from Amazon with my iPhone X, and it charges slower than the tiny USB adapter included with my phone, and it makes my phone fairly hot. (So hot my phone throttles the CPU down and on-screen animations become jerky.)
While it's definitely convenient, that's mostly because my phone stands upright while charging. Between slow-charing and a hot phone, it's not something I'd have been happy to pay a premium for. Plus, I've often wondered how the extra heat dur
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This is not the vsporware you are looking for (Score:2, Funny)
This is not the vsporware you are looking for.
More Apple Mind Tricks.
I wonder what other revisionist history/alternate realities Apple has created/deleted?
Went to the Apple Store for clarification (Score:5, Funny)
When asked for comment on the AirPower's status, an Apple Store representative turned pale, swallowed his emergency cyanide pill, and yelled "Father Steve accept me!" before collapsing on the floor.
History books? (Score:1, Insightful)
Pretty sure Apple's site has no impact on history books, and if the product has been canceled it would be really weird to keep referencing it on the site out of some obligation to history.
Re: History books? (Score:3)
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Still it isn't like Apple has a strong trend of introducing products that failed to get to the market at all. There are a few examples, But other companies seem to have a much worse track record.
Got rid of the SE too. (Score:2)
Re: Got rid of the SE too. (Score:1)
It was never on their site.
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But it was sold as a real product.
Doctrine: Air Power (Score:2)
I guess Apple didn't have enough mobility, flexibility, or initiative.
Probably because wireless charging inherently bad (Score:5, Interesting)
I currently have an Apple phone and watch that support wireless charging.
I kind of liked the idea Apple had of a mat you could put multiple devices on, but wasn't really planning to buy it. Why? Because wireless charging is I think an inherently poor technology.
It's a lot slower than a wire. but the fundamental reason it really sucks is, THERE IS STILL A WIRE that goes to whatever wireless charging plate you have. I would way rather just have a small cable with me that I can plug into any USB slot, which are in quite a few places now, since I have to have a wire anyway.
The apple product in particular also did not seem very useful to me in that what I set stuff down by the bed at night I don't necessarily want everything flat. I have a stand I can leave the watch on to charge so it's at a nice angle to read, and even the phone I would prefer angled up so I could quickly glance to see in the morning if I have important messages waiting.
It is kind of funny to watch Apple stalinize a product though... it's like, dude, just admit it didn't work out!
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I switched to wireless charging for my phone a year ago, and I really like it. You're wrong on several points:
* It's not much slower than regular charging.
* Not having to plug and unplug the wire really is a convenience.
In my case, I have an Android phone, and my one big complaint is that my phone turns on the screen when the charging is complete, which can wake me up since the charger is on my nightstand. Since it won't wirelessly charge through the screen, I either have to put something else on top of t
To me it didn't seem more convenient than a plug (Score:3)
* It's not much slower than regular charging.
True, but since there are times when you really need charging to be as rapid as possible I'd rather have every normal charging spot act at maximum speed - even for a bedside sometimes you want a quick charge while taking a nap. So I have the 13W charging blocks plugged into a few common charging places around the house.
* Not having to plug and unplug the wire really is a convenience.
This is one aspect where I think Apple may have decided they just can't do a ver
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That's a great, well-reasoned disagreement. Thanks!
You're right that plugging in is just as fast as fiddling with the phone to get it in the right spot to charge, but time isn't the only factor. I can do that fiddling for wireless charging in the dark (and I often do). I can pick up my phone to check something without having to unplug it, and that's a win. Also, having wireless charging pads around encourages you to charge if you would be setting your phone down anyway, but wouldn't have bothered to plu
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That is a great point about charging bad having no stress, even though braided lightning cables hold up well over time I've absolutely had to get rid of cables that have died.
In the end I should probably just get a well-rated wireless charger and try using it myself, since my opinions are mostly based on what I've seen of others devices and some things they have mentioned to me...
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That is a great point about charging bad having no stress, even though braided lightning cables hold up well over time I've absolutely had to get rid of cables that have died.
Unless Apple is removing them now, their product reviews are filled with complaints about cables breaking or fraying.
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Actually, Apple devices support up to 13W wireless charging too - and in a pure speed test, yes, wired is faster, but 13W wireless chargers weren't much slower. Then came the 5W chargers foll
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Actually, Apple devices support up to 13W wireless charging too
Where are wireless chargers that support that? I was looking and found wireless chargers that supported up to 15W charging speed - but specifically called out the for the iPhone models it would only support 7.5W charging.
I wouldn't mind spending money on a really good wireless charger, it just seems hard to tell what is actually good.
Auto homing charger (Score:2)
That is one area where I like how the Apple watch chargers work, because they magnetically suck the watch to the "wireless" charging pad so it's super easy to attach and cannot easily be jostled off the charger. That was another reason I never planned to buy the AirPower pad, because the Apple Watch chargers are much easier and more secure than the pad would have been... maybe Apple realized that as well.
What Apple should really do is try to make an Apple Watch charger that can also incidentally power the iPhone. Maybe if you flipped it over? That would be something I might use given I have to travel with an Apple Watch charger anyway.
Magnetically auto-homing the smartphone onto the wireless charger is something that Palm then HP were doing with the Pre line of smartphones and its Touchstone charger, a decade ago.
I did work absolutely great. (I wonder who ones the patent currently ? LG, maybe ? Still HP ?)
Sadly the industry standardize into a different form (Qi charging).
But you find multiple "how to" about salvaging the old hardware and adapting it to modern smartphones.
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* It's not much slower than regular charging.
True, but since there are times when you really need charging to be as rapid as possible I'd rather have every normal charging spot act at maximum speed - even for a bedside sometimes you want a quick charge while taking a nap. So I have the 13W charging blocks plugged into a few common charging places around the house.
If only there was something they could do to prevent this problem like extending the operating time between charges with a larger battery. But that is impossible.
* Not having to plug and unplug the wire really is a convenience.
This is one aspect where I think Apple may have decided they just can't do a very good job eliminating common frustration, because it seems like with other flat chargers I've seen people use there's a small sweet spot where it's actually charging, and if the device gets moved off it's not charging, plus you have to take as much time as you would plugging in a cable to make sure it's in the right spot...
There are inductive chargers which allow this but they are more complex and expensive because they implement an array of inductive couplers. Apple wanted something more complex yet which would allow charging of multiple devices on the same pad without restrictions.
'convenience' Rosetta stone finally cracked (Score:1)
Eureka! I finally figured this out.
The kind of people enamored with convenience are the same people who also find it inconvenient to pause to quantify the magnitude of any benefit received. The proxy metric becomes number of mandatory, minor context switches out of narcissism fugue.
The first secret of design is ... noticing [ted.com] — March 2015
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I have USB plugs and cables in all those places and do the same thing. That's why I don't really see the benefit, those QI chargers all have to be plugged into a wall, so I might as well have a 13W USB adaptor that can charge my phone quicker than a wireless unit...
Anywhere a person can place a wireless charging base, you can easily have a USB plug and wire, that can even tuck out of the way more than the charging plates do.
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It is kind of funny to watch Apple stalinize a product though... it's like, dude, just admit it didn't work out!
I rewatched the 2017 keynote... it was weird and a bit unsettling. There's this 10-minute segment where Tim Cook is just wandering around the stage, in front of a blank screen, apparently reading Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" to the audience.
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I have had a bad track record with Cell phones and wires hooked up to it. For the most part I wear out the connector on the phone faster then any of the other components. Granted the Thunderbolt connector seemed to be more reliable then micro usb or the old iphone connector. It takes a toll on the device. I much rather have wireless charging just to have less moving parts on the device.
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So while you rotate your USB device 3 times to get it in the right way (6 times in the dark since it is widely known that USB activates a hidden f-you mode when the lights are out) I just throw my phone on the bedside table and call it a night. It's slow to charge? Well fortunatley it has a lot of time to do it.
I have a stand I can leave the watch on to charge so it's at a nice angle to read, and even the phone I would prefer angled up so I could quickly glance to see in the morning if I have important messages waiting.
So buy one of the many angled charging stations... I don't understand your complaint. Car analogy: I want to drive a sports car but I don't feel like getting a sports car and this is fundamentally th
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It's a lot slower than a wire. but the fundamental reason it really sucks is, THERE IS STILL A WIRE that goes to whatever wireless charging plate you have. I would way rather just have a small cable with me that I can plug into any USB slot, which are in quite a few places now, since I have to have a wire anyway.[/quote]
I would not mind it to save wear and tear on the physical charging connection.
The apple product in particular also did not seem very useful to me in that what I set stuff down by the bed at night I don't necessarily want everything flat. I have a stand I can leave the watch on to charge so it's at a nice angle to read, and even the phone I would prefer angled up so I could quickly glance to see in the morning if I have important messages waiting.
Sounds like an opportunity to sell a second device.
It is kind of funny to watch Apple stalinize a product though... it's like, dude, just admit it didn't work out!
You can read some more details about the technology at the links below:
https://appleinsider.com/artic... [appleinsider.com]
https://www.wirelesspowerconso... [wirelesspo...ortium.com]
It looks to me like Apple got scammed because of lack of engineering review. The tests were only done under small signal conditions where efficiency on the transmitter's side is not a problem.
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The newer stuff coming out about this are pretty surprising - it's crazy to think they would think they were close enough to having a working product that they would break the wall of secrecy to announce, when it seems like they had a fundamentally unworkable heating problem.
It seems like someone at a fairly high level is going to be in huge trouble over this, although we'll never hear of it out here.
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The newer stuff coming out about this are pretty surprising - it's crazy to think they would think they were close enough to having a working product that they would break the wall of secrecy to announce, when it seems like they had a fundamentally unworkable heating problem.
With companies jettisoning their engineering talent (or not listening to it because management knows better), I am not surprised at all. In the case of Apple, this is also reflected in their poor human factors engineering.
It seems like someone at a fairly high level is going to be in huge trouble over this, although we'll never hear of it out here.
I doubt it; it will be the fault of engineering even if engineering originally objected. Or maybe they will find someone in lower management to fall on their sword.
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Selling only one wireless charger is simply not the Apple way.
All references? (Score:2)
Did they also remove the original keynote it was mentioned in (or edit/truncate it)?
(No, didn't check).
False (Score:5, Informative)
A year after unveiling the AirPower all-in-one wireless charger for the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, Apple has now erased all references to AirPower from its website.
Really? I still can find it mentioned in these:
The future is here: iPhone X [apple.com]
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: A new generation of iPhone [apple.com]
Not to mention they still hosts the video [apple.com] of presentation that introduced AirPower and it still has Phil Schiller introducing it (@1:43:00 from apple special event September 12, 2017).
Either Apple is bad at searching their own website or this is a clickbaity article.
Patent? (Score:1)
It was always a stupid idea (Score:2)
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No, there aren't, and never were, it's wasteful of power.
It is wasteful but since the power levels involved are low, the waste is not significant.
Comment (Score:2)
Wow, it worked! Never heard of it.