I still don’t quite understand the allure of wireless charging. My wife has a wireless charger and I can’t tell you how many times her iPhone X doesn’t charge at night because it’s not on the charger just right. You can’t charge and use it at the same time and it’s slow.
The appeal of the AirPower was that your first complaint was a total non-issue -- you put the items on the pad willy-nilly and they charge.
Your third complaint would have been legit if the AirPower had actually come out -- it was said not to be capable of fast 7.5W charging. This also has been made moot by the aforementioned Logitech other other "fast" charges, which charge as quickly as wired chargers (and, as you know, you can also charge the iPhone X in a wired manner if you prefer).
I'm hoping Apple has removed the AirPower stuff because it plans to upgrade the device for fast charging, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have to push it back further.
All of these products work through electromagnetic induction, similar to a transformer. I don't know exactly how the AirPower is designed but if it has multiple coils in very close proximity there is sure to be mutual interference between the coils, where each coil ends up inducing current flow in adjacent coils. Depending on the phase relationship and physical orientation between adjacent coils this could cause all sorts of problems. But I'd still be very surprised that Apple would not have already worked out the issues long before a product announcement, so it could be totally unrelated to mutual interference. The distances involved would be very very small.
All of these products work through electromagnetic induction, similar to a transformer. I don't know exactly how the AirPower is designed but if it has multiple coils in very close proximity there is sure to be mutual interference between the coils, where each coil ends up inducing current flow in adjacent coils. Depending on the phase relationship and physical orientation between adjacent coils this could cause all sorts of problems. But I'd still be very surprised that Apple would not have already worked out the issues long before a product announcement, so it could be totally unrelated to mutual interference. The distances involved would be very very small.
I don't think this is the best video since I don't see the demo with coins and other metal objects that show that PowerByProxi's device intelligently determines if it's safe to send power to an object laid on the pad, but this does show 3 devices placed seemingly randomly on the pad that start to charge after the pad deems it's safe.
That’s a shame, I really wanted to see Apples version. I hope it’s only delayed further, rather than canceled.
I have a Belkin qi charging pad I bought with my iPhone8 last year. To be honest, it never really worked that well. Never could find the sweet spot. A lot of times I’ll set it down and 30 seconds later the light will change from green to yellow indicating it’s not charging.
What made it it worse was when I bought a case that was designed for QI charging but also had a steel ring for megnetic mounting in car.
it works ok in the car for qi charging and megnetic mount but really doesn’t work with my belkin qi charging pad. I was really hoping that apples version would be better engineered to not be so fussy about placement. But this is the new Apple norm, the more cash they have the less products seem to be released.
I think they are realizing it was overpriced relative to the options the market currently offers (Apple brand and quality notwithstanding).
I really doubt pricing was the issue here. People will pay. It has to be an engineering product, which would also explain why nobody else has one like it.
And before anyone blathers that this product should have been easy-peasy to build please post your electrical engineering credentials before doing so. Meanwhile this gives me the go-ahead to buy wireless chargers for our iPhone 8's. I was waiting for AirPower.
There are already wireless chargers than can charge 3 devices at once on the market so there is that. But whatever.
Maybe this was going to be an iPadPro accessory but was there a story on a 18 W USB-C adapter that was going to be cheaper and could be used with iPhone?
Wouldn’t it have been neat to see a new display from Apple with an induction charging pad in the “foot”? Guess we don’t get either now.
And with induction charging in the keyboard, trackpad, and mouse so that you can place it on the base to charge as needed without having to plug in a Lightning cable.
I'd also like Face ID to be part of their external display.
I'd also like Face ID to be part of their external display.
Well, sure! I’d say that would have been a given. It would have brought feature parity across the whole product line (assuming the laptops get it soon, too). A tiny bezel would have been great, but I’d leave off the rounded corner motif. I wonder if Apple would have gone for the “curved display” idea to offer something in 21:9... or even wider.
As silly as it seems... I think I’d be okay with a 32:9.
1) The problem with Secure ID in the display (or Touch ID in a keyboard) is that you probably have to have the Secure Enclave in the peripheral or pass data along to an applicable Mac. I don't know how much of a hurdle this would be or if it affects security, but I can say that the Apple Watch has been able to unlock a Mac for years so I don't think it would be too much of a hassle to implement.
2) I don't think an ultra-widescreen (or wider) display is silly, but I would like to see display height that is equivalent to a 16:9 27" display before they widen it. This one looks like it has a shorter height. I see a lot of 21:9 displays reviewed by they all have a low PPI.
I honestly think, and have been wondering, because I have a larger 3x sized charger, but couldn't charge the watch, on HOW they would let you charge a watch? MOST bands get in the way (except the Leather, Milanese, and Buckle style, where they open up, but the way the shape is, you still can't get in good, if you know what I mean).
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple switched up and started working on some kind of COMBO, watch style with the flip up charger, like they have but just for watches, and add wireless charging for the iPhone and AirPod's case.
It's either that, or they are going to release this and flood of stuff in October at a mac event + accessories, because come on? They are now on the W3 chip? and NO SIGN of AirPod 2s?!? wtf...
I still don’t quite understand the allure of wireless charging. My wife has a wireless charger and I can’t tell you how many times her iPhone X doesn’t charge at night because it’s not on the charger just right. You can’t charge and use it at the same time and it’s slow.
Your third complaint would have been legit if the AirPower had actually come out -- it was said not to be capable of fast 7.5W charging. This also has been made moot by the aforementioned Logitech other other "fast" charges, which charge as quickly as wired chargers (and, as you know, you can also charge the iPhone X in a wired manner if you prefer).
7.5W "fast" charging is still pretty slow ... falls well short of wired charging with a 12W adapter that costs half as much as that wireless Logitech one you're pumping.
I heard on twitter that there was a problem with the pad overheating due to too many active coils (multiple coils, of course, is probably the only way to have effective, distributed charging ability).
I figured Apple would’ve worked out a sensor system with selective coil activation, if only for the efficiency aspect, but I suppose that’s not an easy task.
That’s too bad, I was really looking forward to it. But oh well, the series 4 and Xs/r were amazing today.
We don’t think that Apple is using traditional coils. More a bit later today.
Possibly needs a slight redesign, existing photos are not exactly the same as the product they could ship. so we may still see it, but with a slightly bigger format. I don’t see them completely abandoning this, but they may leave it to other players since there seem to be so many already.
These things happen but if you announce something for 2018 and won't be able to deliver (on time or at all) you have to explain why or give an update on the situation.
Yesterday would have been a good moment, perhaps in an after show briefing.
Comments
Your second complaint has been addressed by the Logitech Qi charger (which was go-designed with Apple) -- you may have missed the article, here you go: https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/08/07/logitech-powered-wireless-charging-stand-for-iphone-8-x-is-co-designed-by-apple (and this looks to be your best option now that AirPower has been delayed again and/or cancelled)
Your third complaint would have been legit if the AirPower had actually come out -- it was said not to be capable of fast 7.5W charging. This also has been made moot by the aforementioned Logitech other other "fast" charges, which charge as quickly as wired chargers (and, as you know, you can also charge the iPhone X in a wired manner if you prefer).
I'm hoping Apple has removed the AirPower stuff because it plans to upgrade the device for fast charging, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have to push it back further.
I have a Belkin qi charging pad I bought with my iPhone8 last year. To be honest, it never really worked that well. Never could find the sweet spot. A lot of times I’ll set it down and 30 seconds later the light will change from green to yellow indicating it’s not charging.
What made it it worse was when I bought a case that was designed for QI charging but also had a steel ring for megnetic mounting in car.
it works ok in the car for qi charging and megnetic mount but really doesn’t work with my belkin qi charging pad. I was really hoping that apples version would be better engineered to not be so fussy about placement. But this is the new Apple norm, the more cash they have the less products seem to be released.
I'd also like Face ID to be part of their external display.
2) I don't think an ultra-widescreen (or wider) display is silly, but I would like to see display height that is equivalent to a 16:9 27" display before they widen it. This one looks like it has a shorter height. I see a lot of 21:9 displays reviewed by they all have a low PPI.
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple switched up and started working on some kind of COMBO, watch style with the flip up charger, like they have but just for watches, and add wireless charging for the iPhone and AirPod's case.
It's either that, or they are going to release this and flood of stuff in October at a mac event + accessories, because come on? They are now on the W3 chip? and NO SIGN of AirPod 2s?!? wtf...
Yesterday would have been a good moment, perhaps in an after show briefing.