Zagg reportedly developing charging mat inspired by Apple's failed AirPower

AppleInsider

Accessory maker Zagg is reportedly planning a new location agnostic wireless charging mat that makes "sweet spots" a thing of the past, technology Apple attempted to bring to market with its cancelled AirPower device.

Apple's cancelled AirPower charger.

While Zagg has yet to officially announce the product, the company has been showing the accessory to retailers at CES in Las Vegas this week, reports Bloomberg.

Details are slim, but the charger is supposedly designed to efficiently power multiple devices like iPhone and AirPods regardless of orientation or placement on the active charging surface. How many devices the charging mat supports and at what output wattage is unknown.

Apple attempted to develop a multi-device, location agnostic charging accessory called AirPower in 2017. Substantially more sophisticated than Zagg's product, AirPower was designed to support both iPhones via the Qi charging standard and Apple Watch through Apple's proprietary charging technology.

Originally scheduled to hit store shelves in 2018, AirPower saw multiple delays as Apple worked to overcome apparent quality control issues. The tech giant ultimately cancelled the project in March 2019.

A number of accessory manufacturers have developed similar offerings to fill the massive vacuum left by AirPower's demise. Many alternatives simply add extra inductive charging coils -- one per device -- to support up to three handsets, but the rudimentary solutions fail to provide users free placement across the charging surface. More recent attempts, like Nomad's Base Station Pro, integrate an array of coils with device-tracking technology to dynamically create so-called "sweet spots," or areas that provide maximum power throughput.

Zagg will market the upcoming multi-device charger under the Mophie brand, according to marketing executive Brad Bell.

supadav03

There are already devices that can charge multiple iPhones or an iPhone & AirPods without needing to be placed in any special orientation, like the Zens Liberty. Problem is, neither the Liberty or this product from Zagg, will charge an Apple Watch sans the puck like AirPower would have. 

acheron2018

Everything I’ve ever bought from Zagg has been defective.  The last thing was a customer return that wasn’t even repackaged cleanly.  

I won’t be buying anything from them again. 

tstump

Technically possible?

I always thought induction coils made a toroidal field of magnetic flux and if you cross them or have two out of alignment, it’s like having sandwiches out of phase because Lowes or cancellation in the energy.

redraider11

Back when Apple announced their charging mat I thought it was pretty cool and was willing to wait for it. However, when it was cancelled I ended up buying Nomad’s version with the Apple Watch charger so that it can be in nightstand mode. I think this is the better design, at least if you have an Apple Watch and aren't trying to charge multiple phones at the same time. 

It_is_me

It would be nice if it works out, but Zagg has in the past, either shown devices at CES that never launch or have a launch that fails. 

EsquireCats

To be fair the attraction to AirPower was that it charged all three of Apple's wireless-charging enabled devices at once, and without a specific or fiddly layout configuration. 

It's interesting that we're only really seeing similar products now, each of course thicker and without the ability to charge apple's watch. Since the watch is really just charged at night, just having Apple's own stand is sufficient. What was special about AirPower is that the watch charger wasn't a discrete add-on unit, most of the current designs that incorporate watch charging are relegated to being bed-side units because that's where most people charge their watch.

I maintain that you're better off just having a number of wireless chargers around your home, located in places that you are seated for long durations (computer desk, living room, bedroom) and at the entry point to the home, so you or guests can just place down their phone/airpods on the way in/out.