If you haven’t heard of the Apple's AirPower mat, it's certainly not your mistake. Apple unveiled its Airpower wireless charging mat last September alongside the Apple Watch 3, the iPhone 8, and the iPhone X with a 2018 release promise.
The question here is — where is it? Well, a fresh report throws light on what's holding up its release and when the multi-device wireless charging pad would be launched. According to Bloomberg, Apple won’t launch AirPower until sometime in September. The report asserts that the accessory is taking longer due to some technical hurdles such as heat management to make sure the accessory doesn’t overheat and some complicated circuitry involved.
"This accessory is taking longer to make due to a series of technical hurdles, slowing the company’s wireless strategy and highlighting supply-chain challenges that have hampered product launches in recent years," the report stated.
"Company engineers have been toiling away to address problems. One challenge is making sure the charger doesn’t overheat. Another is the complexity of the circuitry, according to people familiar with the device’s development," the report further added.
The still-to-be-released wireless charging case was a logical addition to Apple’s lineup of accessory. It is designed to charge three devices simultaneously — an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Apple wants to enable wireless charging so that its users can place their devices anywhere on the charging mat to begin the charge. To achieve this goal, Apple reportedly needs to pack the AirPower with multiple charging sensors, a process that has proven difficult. "The charger is based on custom charging technology, which it intends to integrate with the Qi charging standard, the company said last year," the report mentioned.
Now, this sounds a bit ambitious witnessing the current scenario as most wireless chargers are quite sensitive. If you have used wireless charging pad, you know that you need to place an iPhone usually around the centre to charge it up wirelessly. If you place your device even slightly off the sweet spot, it won't pick up power.
Furthermore, the report asserted that the engineers have been working on fixing firmware-related bugs, as Apple is using custom chips running a stripped down version of the iOS mobile OS, to allow users to place devices anywhere on the mat.
Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this site.
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