Apple Hasn’t Given Up on AirPower | Revolutionary Multi-Device Charging Solution May Still Be in the Works

While the actual AirPower charging mat is almost certainly still dead in the water, it appears that Apple’s larger vision for a revolutionary multi-device charging solution is still alive and breathing.

In this week’s edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman comments on the conspicuous absence of multi-device chargers from its portfolio of products and accessories. It’s a notable area in which a third-party vendor has been consistently outdoing Apple’s own products.

While it’s certainly fair to say that there are numerous categories in which third-party companies fill gaps that are left open by Apple, these also tend to be niche categories like music creation, creativity, and home networking. By contrast, wireless charging is a core requirement that’s part of the “end-to-end product experience,” that Apple traditionally prefers to own.

Considering the effort that Apple has put into advancing technologies like MagSafe — and the control it exerts over it — it’s pretty clear that it would prefer not to surrender the wireless charging ecosystem to third parties, but so far, that’s precisely what’s been happening.

As Gurman notes, Belkin is continuing to “outdo Apple’s own chargers,” citing the company’s latest three-in-one charger for the iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch as a “great improvement over the prior version.” It’s a fully MagSafe-certified charger — not merely a “MagSafe-compatible” one — that raises the question as to why Apple doesn’t offer a similar solution of its own.

Sure, there’s the MagSafe Duo, but as Gurman notes that’s “overpriced, slower than the competition and only supports two devices.” Beyond that, Apple offers only the standard MagSafe charger and its MagSafe Battery Pack.

Although Belkin’s new charger is $20 more expensive than the MagSafe Duo, that’s more than made up for by the fact that it will also charge a set of AirPods, and it includes the charging brick. As compared to Belkin’s original MagSafe 3-in-1 stand, this latest one also supports faster charging for the Apple Watch Series 7.

Ultimately, however, it still begs the question as to why Apple appears to have so easily ceded this important accessory category to a third party. According to Gurman, however, it’s likely because Apple has much larger ambitions.

AirPower Redux

When Apple announced its first iPhones capable of wireless charging in 2017, it also announced the impending arrival of a new wireless charging mat that would complement the latest iPhones while also adding a place for the Apple Watch and AirPods to charge.

The basic concept of AirPower was a simple flat pad that could charge up to three devices at once. That basic idea wasn’t a novel one — many other companies had already been doing similar things, and Apple’s AirPower unveiling inspired even more of them. What Apple had in mind, however, was much more ambitious.

AirPower, in its original form, would have done two unique and different things:

1. Allow devices to be placed anywhere on the mat and charge regardless of position or orientation, so you wouldn’t have to think about proper alignment or fuss with getting it just right.
2. Communicate charging status between all devices, allowing you to see the levels of your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch reflected on the iPhone display.
   

While the second point seems like a fairly trivial thing to accomplish, the first one required Apple to bend the laws of physics in ways that they just didn’t want to be bent. Over a year after it was announced — and three months beyond its promised end-of-2018 delivery date — Apple threw in the towel and pulled the plug on AirPower.

Despite a few rumours that Apple hadn’t given up on the idea entirely, by late last year it became clear that AirPower was dead for good. Not only had MagSafe picked up the torch for Apple’s new wireless charging strategy, but insider reports suggested that Apple had nixed all prototyping and testing for AirPower-like devices.

Of course, just because Apple has given up on AirPower doesn’t mean that it’s not still looking at other creative ways to wireless charge its devices.

Despite Belkin’s great efforts, the market still seems ripe for an Apple-branded solution, and Gurman believes Apple is still working on that — and more.

I do think Apple is still working on some sort of multi-device charger that it intends to eventually release. There’s a reason why it planned to launch the device in the first place in 2017. I also believe Apple is working on short and long-distance wireless charging devices, and that it imagines a future where all of Apple’s major devices can charge each other. Imagine an iPad charging an iPhone, and then that iPhone charging AirPods or an Apple Watch.Mark Gurman

Considering the number of reports and rumours we’ve heard over the past couple of years, it seems obvious that Apple is working on something. However, it’s also learned its lesson and isn’t about to make the same mistake that it did with AirPower. Even if Apple has another multi-device charger nearly ready to go, it’s safe to say we won’t hear anything official about it until it’s packaged and hitting store shelves.

Apple has also clearly been taking baby steps into this wireless future with some of its current products. For instance, FCC filings for the iPhone 12 revealed two-way wireless charging hardware, and that was borne out when the MagSafe Battery Pack arrived — the first accessory that can be charged from an iPhone.

When and how that could expand to other accessories remains to be seen. Reverse wireless charging on the MagSafe Battery Pack serves a practical purpose, especially for those who need to connect their iPhone to use with CarPlay. It also only works when the iPhone is plugged into a power source.

However, despite several rumours over the years, this still isn’t possible with Apple’s AirPods, but considering how often most people need to charge their AirPods, it’s not nearly as necessary. Of course, the day may still come when that’s possible, but Apple tends to focus its resources on features that benefit the majority of its customers, rather than those that would appeal to only a few.

As usual, it’s Apple’s view of the bigger picture that’s considerably more interesting. Reverse charging on a MacBook or an iPad would be highly useful for many folks on the go, and we’ve been hearing for years that Apple is actively researching contactless wireless charging — technology that could allow you to recharge your iPhone from anywhere in a room without the need to set it down on a specific charging pad.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]