Apple’s AirPower Charging Mat May Not Release This Year

• Apple’s AirPower Wireless Charging Mat has run into major issues during development which may lead to the product being rebranded.
• The tech giant promised the charging mat would be released in 2018.
• With reported overheating and coil interference issues, the product may not release this year.

Apple announced its AirPower wireless charging mat last year alongside the iPhone X and Apple Watch. However, the product received a 2018 availability promise, but there has been no word on its availability yet. Reports suggest that the charging mat has run into development issues and it may be pushed back for a later release window.

Bloomberg reported the AirPower was facing overheating and coil interference issues and the possibility that users will get their hands on the wireless charger is bleak at this point. Multiple Apple sources revealed that the hardware issues cause devices to charge very slowly and the onboard silicon also gets overloaded. Device communication is also said to be buggy.

Image Courtesy of 9to5 Mac

The AirPower was announced with a custom charging chip and a stripped-down version of iOS. The mat was announced to be compatible with the iPhone X lineup of devices, AirPods, and Apple Watches. With the recent Apple event concluding earlier this month, there was no announcement about the mat’s retail release. One of the key highlights of the AirPower is that you would be able to charge up to three different devices at the same time, a feature no Qi charging device currently offers. Apple achieved the feat by including up to 24 power coils on either side of the mat.

Expert John Gruber commented, “I think they’ve either had to go completely back to the drawing board and start over with an entirely different design, or they’ve decided to give up, and they just don’t want to say so.”

There has been no official word from Apple so far. An October event is expected for the new iPad Pro and MacBook devices, which leaves some hope for the wireless charging mat to be confirmed for release this year.

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