I didn’t expect it to see the light of day. I was never going to buy it as it would have been way to much money. I would look at one of the many charging stands on Amazon. Charge your phone, watch and AirPods all at once on one stand and for a fraction of the price this AirPower would have cost.
So it was always ever vaporware. Nice going, Apple.
I think you should do a little homework so you can understand what Vaporware truly is. Obviously you don't.
Apparently, nor do you. "Vapourware: noun Computing, informal. Software or hardware that has been advertised but is not yet available to buy, either because it is only a concept or because it is still being written or designed."
Alright fair enough, but the term generally is used in regards to companies at CES who only show concepts and announce that the product will be available in the coming months of the same year, but are never talked about any further for several years. It's usually to create hype. I don't see where Apple qualifies under this situation.
Fairly sure Apple announced AirPower in 2017, promised it in 2018, and didn't talk about it any further for several years, until its cancellation today.
I'm thinking it's not so much that they couldn't solve the engineering required to mass produce the device; rather, they couldn't produce it at price point that anyone but the Apple Fanboys would buy it.
Once the marketing folks decided they couldn't even make enough profit to offset the already substantial sunk costs, let alone the manufacturing start-up costs, it was adiós AirPower. Besides, "AirPower" has been a US Air Force term since 1947. Obviously, Apple's use of the word would 'confuse' the nation's airmen and we couldn't have that. 😜
I'm thinking it's not so much that they couldn't solve the engineering required to mass produce the device; rather, they couldn't produce it at price point that anyone but the Apple Fanboys would buy it.
Once the marketing folks decided they couldn't even make enough profit to offset the already substantial sunk costs, let alone the manufacturing start-up costs, it was adiós AirPower. Besides, "AirPower" has been a US Air Force term since 1947. Obviously, Apple's use of the word would 'confuse' the nation's airmen and we couldn't have that. 😜
Have to disagree - I think it is the engineering that is the issue. Otherwise this would have been on the market a few months after they showed it
With Apple's emphasis on design over engineering -- and Steve's legacy of demanding cutting edge (and beyond) from his engineers -- I am surprised we have not seen more instances like this. Apple must have a great QA group in place to prevent the usual failures of cutting edge / bleeding edge technologies.
The emperor has no clothes - Charging pads are an inefficient means of charging that solves only a slight inconvenience in certain use cases. I would be fine with Apple removing the heavy, space wasting components from my phone. The only reason Apple added this feature is for feature parity with Android phones. In my mind, a mistake. Hopefully this feature will be excluded in the next generation or two. Those upset about this cancellation should buy the plentiful slow, hot running, electricity wasting knockoff versions - I bought one for $30 - it works, but I rarely use it.
It is not that Apple engineering can not do but to come up high quality product at much lower COST is not worth the efforts. Apple said 100% true "multiple co-operative flux generators' into a practical consumer item for a REASONABLE COST had too many hurdles".
So it was always ever vaporware. Nice going, Apple.
I think you should do a little homework so you can understand what Vaporware truly is. Obviously you don't.
Apparently, nor do you. "Vapourware: noun Computing, informal. Software or hardware that has been advertised but is not yet available to buy, either because it is only a concept or because it is still being written or designed."
Alright fair enough, but the term generally is used in regards to companies at CES who only show concepts and announce that the product will be available in the coming months of the same year, but are never talked about any further for several years. It's usually to create hype. I don't see where Apple qualifies under this situation.
Fairly sure Apple announced AirPower in 2017, promised it in 2018, and didn't talk about it any further for several years, until its cancellation today.
What year do you think it is now?
It wasn't mentioned once after 2017. It's now 2019. That's several years.
The emperor has no clothes - Charging pads are an inefficient means of charging that solves only a slight inconvenience in certain use cases. I would be fine with Apple removing the heavy, space wasting components from my phone. The only reason Apple added this feature is for feature parity with Android phones. In my mind, a mistake. Hopefully this feature will be excluded in the next generation or two. Those upset about this cancellation should buy the plentiful slow, hot running, electricity wasting knockoff versions - I bought one for $30 - it works, but I rarely use it.
The charging circuitry including the coil weigh a couple of grams and use basically no volume in the phone. Making the phone 1mm thicker would allow a battery that's got probably 20% more capacity.
This is disappointing. Would have loved to have an all in once device to charge my watch, phone and AirPods. It’s funny, I never really cared much about wireless charging. Got my XS Max and decided to switch to a fast wireless charger and it was cool. A little annoying when I didn’t place it just right on the pad so I switched to a wireless stand which mostly remedied the problem. Again, while I thought it was cool, I wasnt blown away by it. Past 5 days I’ve been using my 7 Plus and I’m waiting for a replacement of my XS Max ( water damage) and I’ve been super annoyed with plugging the phone in to charge. Didn’t realize how much I’d miss wireless.
Thank Gawd! Airpower was overrated. Wireless charging is easy and cheap yet Apple Fanboys had this irrational fixation on Airpower like it was somehow magical. Let's move on from an idea that wasn't that stellar in the first place.
No... careful how you frame this. AirPower was different from most of the Qi chargers in the marketplace because it featured 3 charging spots on the same mat. That's technically challenging, as proven by this cancellation. Any other company would have released it, even with it not working exactly as designed. Apple won't do that. Apple "fanboys" benefit from a company that cares about its customers. It was never a fixation. Are you lacking something in your life, you need to put people down to feel better about yourself? You may want to see a doc about that.
Any other company would have just released it? Which is why so many of these AirPower devices are on the market? Get real.
Apple flat out failed, vapor ware at its finest. Hopefully they’ll do better next time.
I don't think you have a clue as to what AirPower was supposed to be. It wasn't just yet another charging mat like everyone else is making.
We don't know that they DID pre-announce far in advance. For all we know, Apple may have thought production was imminent and only at the last minute discovered whatever caused the delay. The announcement may not have been very "far ahead" of when Apple intended to ship.
you have to place them more precisely on the mat (gasp! shock! outrage!)
The negative response to strict placement requirements seems perfectly appropriate to me. The whole point of the mat is supposed to be quick, convenient ease of use. Having to make sure it's lined up correctly kinda defeats the premise. The degree of "hassle" involved (I put that in quotes because it's such a first-world problem) is not significantly reduced from just plugging in an easily inserted reversible cable. It also means there's a fairly high risk of waking up to an uncharged device.
I doubt this product is impossible to produce and meet their standards. I hope that Apple keeps trying in the background to bring us a good wireless charging solution for all 3 devices. 3rd parties already have similar charging solutions for 2 devices. Hopefully they’re able to work it out in the future.
Apple probably couldn’t find a way to produce that didn’t allow a 100% markup, thus rendering that product unviable.
Tim Cook REALLY needs to go. If you can’t deliver, don’t suggest that you can. Apple is beginning to be known for all the wrong things now. No vision, ok but not innovative products, over-promising and under-delivering, and nothing to suggest that this is likely to change. But more importantly, the company has simply lost operational excellence. That was its DNA. This is a management problem because I doubt that all the smart and creative people have left the building.
I agree to be honest. 6 years ago I wouldn't hear a bad word be said about Apple but slowly but surely things have gone downhill and I, myself, am getting tired of lack of vision and ambition. Apple used to lead and now they are getting very bad press for basically becoming a cash cow with no forward thinking. It's just really irritating considering the time and money I've placed in Apple.
Suffering from selective memory?
Remember when Steve Jobs introduced the iPad? There was much snickering, because "Mad TV" had previously done a skit introducing a device called "iPad" as a feminine hygiene product from Apple. Also, the peanut gallery thought it an unnecessary thing, without the power of a MacBook, and too big to be an iPhone, and also lacking the phone of an iPhone.
Dig into the archives of this board (or even better, "macrumors") from any era, and you'll find all kinds of ranting and raving about Apple's failures.
I have to seriously laugh at some of the hater comments here. Time after time when Apple has a blunder with one of their products then the haters go on a rampage saying Apple's QC has gone down. Today the company announces their wireless charging mat is presenting some technical problems and they are not ready to ship it. Sounds like the company is on top of the QC here. Apple doesn't want to put out a faulty product and the trolls come alive here trashing Apple for doing the right thing. Hmm.
You clearly don’t get it. Apple never teased with product announcements for something in development, only to cancel it years later admitting their failure to produce said product. They only announced products that were tested and ready for launch without waiting months with delays. If Apple released a product that failed, the Power Mac G4 Cube and iPod Hi-Fi, it was because the public didn’t want or need the device. Big difference. It wasn’t having technical problems, they could not follow through on the false promise. They could not make it do what they claimed it would do so they killed it. Now when Apple has a product announcement people will wonder if it is another false promise. Lately Apple has been announcing stuff with no pricing and no release dates...their services that no one wants.
That's not similar to Apple's design at all. Apple's is much more complex, since you would be able to place the devices anywhere on the pad and have them detected and be able to charge. I suppose that it turned out to be too complex. Not that I know much about wireless charging, but I believe that Apple's design involved many more coils and more complexity.
In our house, the response to this news was "I guess even Apple can't change the laws of physics." I'm not an electromagnetism expert either, but even to a simpleton like me, Apple's plan seemed ambitious and optimistic. I'm not surprised it didn't work out, but I'm impressed that Apple tried.
I'm equally impressed that Apple chose embarrassment over shipping a sub-standard product. Taking on such a daunting challenge and admitting defeat both strike me as acts of "courage."
Comments
Once the marketing folks decided they couldn't even make enough profit to offset the already substantial sunk costs, let alone the manufacturing start-up costs, it was adiós AirPower. Besides, "AirPower" has been a US Air Force term since 1947. Obviously, Apple's use of the word would 'confuse' the nation's airmen and we couldn't have that. 😜
The charging circuitry including the coil weigh a couple of grams and use basically no volume in the phone. Making the phone 1mm thicker would allow a battery that's got probably 20% more capacity.
The negative response to strict placement requirements seems perfectly appropriate to me. The whole point of the mat is supposed to be quick, convenient ease of use. Having to make sure it's lined up correctly kinda defeats the premise. The degree of "hassle" involved (I put that in quotes because it's such a first-world problem) is not significantly reduced from just plugging in an easily inserted reversible cable. It also means there's a fairly high risk of waking up to an uncharged device.
Remember when Steve Jobs introduced the iPad? There was much snickering, because "Mad TV" had previously done a skit introducing a device called "iPad" as a feminine hygiene product from Apple. Also, the peanut gallery thought it an unnecessary thing, without the power of a MacBook, and too big to be an iPhone, and also lacking the phone of an iPhone.
Dig into the archives of this board (or even better, "macrumors") from any era, and you'll find all kinds of ranting and raving about Apple's failures.
I'm equally impressed that Apple chose embarrassment over shipping a sub-standard product. Taking on such a daunting challenge and admitting defeat both strike me as acts of "courage."