So as I figured they delayed the AirPods for the release and then at some point internally killed it and just released the new AirPods now and admitted they never had it producible. It’s annoying it took a year in a half, but I’m glad they admites it so they can move on. Hopefully they will have just a single device charging mat out later this year
Inductive Charging, much like the 3.5mm headphone jack is old tech that was likely to always be underwhelming and fragile. Good riddance to both.
I inductively charge my iPhone all the time. Works brilliantly, and it is super-convenient.
My only surprise was that Apple was even interested in this market, given that there are plenty of high-quality ones that are very reasonably priced. I am guessing price is the real reason, but Schiller does't want to say it.
Is this the first time Apple have cancelled a pre-announced product before it launched? Only thing even remotely similar I can remember is the 3Ghz G5, which wasn't an announcement so much as a vague promise.
I wonder if they'll go back to the old favourite of only announcing things that are ready to ship the same day.
FaceTime as an open standard is a relatively big one.
Since it was unveiled, I have wondered about the utility of wireless charging in the home especially if you have an Apple Watch or an iPad Pro in addition to your iPhone.
For me, the solution is the Anker wired charger with one USB-C output for my iPad Pro and four lightning outputs for my iPhone and the Apple watch puck.
Outside the home in a coffee place, placing your iPhone on a mat without wires is fine but for home use, wireless charging is unnecessary. That is my opinion but I would be interested in seeing comments on this subject.
I agreed with you before I got one. Wireless charging is handy at the bedside. I no longer need crap long 3rd party cables or extension cords etc so I could use my phone before I go to sleep, set alarm etc. Its not a big deal but with the low cost of a Qi charger I think it’s worthwhile. I still don’t really understand why people cared much about AirPower, which was destined to cost too much had it been released.
Cancelling a product that does not meet quality standards shows a great deal of maturity and self assurance by its sponsors, especially a product that involves power and charging functions. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in an R&D organization sees "failures" all of the time. Oftentimes the failures take place, and are accepted, early on and behind closed doors. It's less common for failures to be accepted very late in the development cycle. I specifically use the term failure acceptance because sometimes failures occur and are not accepted, but instead pushed out the door on to unsuspecting customers, or denied, or covered up. It's very difficult for some people/organizations to accept failure. Those who encounter failure and accept failure usually learn by it and rise to greater heights. Those who don't own up to their failures create an ongoing trail of failure that follows them everywhere and spreads to their customers.
I've said it before and will say it again: one of the unsung superstar functions in Apple is their industrialization team. Producing a hand-crafted prototype is one thing, but coming up with an industrial production process that can stamp out millions of copies of a product to exacting standards and at minimum time and cost takes an incredibly talented team. They are the ones who convert dreams into physical reality, but there are times when they just can't get everything to work using everything at their disposal. Fortunately, technology and engineering is constantly evolving so what cannot be done cost-effectively and with high quality today today may be perfectly attainable several months or a year or two down the road.
As far as wireless charging being unnecessary, I totally disagree.
Wireless charging is a blessing for people with visual impairments or
limited hand/finger coordination and/or movement. While Lightning and
USB-C improve matters, there are still a large number of products that
use USB-micro connectors that are a nightmare for some users. Even
though I don't have any major visual impairments I still feel like I'm
on the brink of destroying every USB-micro connector that I ever use,
for example to plug in the power on a Raspberry Pi or digital camera. It's such a flimsy and
delicate POS that would take so very little to booger up. I cannot
imagine having a device like a phone that I have to plug in every single day that
uses a USB-micro connector. It would drive me absolutely nuts.
This was a hard call by Apple, but it was the right call.
Apple made their mission too complex. Most people would have been happy with a charging pad that had a specific location for the phone, the watch and the ear pods. I’m sure being able to put any device any where would have been a beautiful thing. But for version 1, keep it simple and ship something that would support all three devices without the add complexity of any device anywhere.
Is this the first time Apple have cancelled a pre-announced product before it launched? Only thing even remotely similar I can remember is the 3Ghz G5, which wasn't an announcement so much as a vague promise.
I wonder if they'll go back to the old favourite of only announcing things that are ready to ship the same day.
There was a period in the 90s where multiple announcements regarding then Mac OS just fizzled out and never was released in any useable from, if at all. This was also a period of customer frustration.
SJ firmed it up when he returned to Apple and you will be hard pressed to find any announcements not shipping during his two periods of leadership.
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.
It has gone down, and it not trolling. We see quality issues both in hardware and software that would not have slipped in the past.
That's not the trolling I was referring to. I'm talking about calling Tim Cook "Timmy". It's a snide remark and and attempt at trolling. It's no better than that "Courage" remark thrown around. I have no problem with people expressing some disappointment but snide remarks are unnecessary for a civil discussion.
Since it was unveiled, I have wondered about the utility of wireless charging in the home especially if you have an Apple Watch or an iPad Pro in addition to your iPhone.
For me, the solution is the Anker wired charger with one USB-C output for my iPad Pro and four lightning outputs for my iPhone and the Apple watch puck.
Outside the home in a coffee place, placing your iPhone on a mat without wires is fine but for home use, wireless charging is unnecessary. That is my opinion but I would be interested in seeing comments on this subject.
I've had several iPhones where the charging port and/or the cables wore out. Although I haven't had any problems yet, I'm concerned about the USB-C charging port on my MBP. The old Mag-Safe connector seemed less prone to wear (aside from the cable itself possibly fraying). So the advantage to a wireless charging pad would be less stress on the ports. And of course it's slightly easier to just put a device down then having to put the device down and search for the cable and plug it in. Obviously, it's a first world problem and not that big a deal, but wireless charging would have been "nice". It works for my electric toothbrush!
Apple made their mission too complex. Most people would have been happy with a charging pad that had a specific location for the phone, the watch and the ear pods. I’m sure being able to put any device any where would have been a beautiful thing. But for version 1, keep it simple and ship something that would support all three devices without the add complexity of any device anywhere.
While what you're saying makes a great deal of sense, Apple is held to such outrageously high standards by consumers. If Apple put out something too simplified then people would say "It's Un-Apple-Like". When a company is held to such high standards they can't go the simple route like other companies can and get away with it.
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.
It has gone down, and it not trolling. We see quality issues both in hardware and software that would not have slipped in the past.
That's not the trolling I was referring to. I'm talking about calling Tim Cook "Timmy". It's a snide remark and and attempt at trolling. It's no better than that "Courage" remark thrown around. I have no problem with people expressing some disappointment but snide remarks are unnecessary for a civil discussion.
From the Urban dictionary "A timmy is that one kid to break something at a party." – I think that is pretty fitting given under his leadership multiple well established product segments have been broken, spooling what otherwise could have been a great party.
So it was always ever vaporware. Nice going, Apple.
Not really, no. It was in development, people like John Gruber saw and used prototypes. But there was some sort of engineering hurdle that existed between working prototypes and a high-quality, mass-produced device. Who knows what.
Such is life. We learn by doing, and sometimes by failing. In no way would I chastise Apple over it, other than being optimistic when they pre-announced of course. I'm sure they won't do that again for a long while.
In my company, and I'm in IT, that's called vaporware. Lots of promises, a cool POC demo, and then an endless string of failures until the project is cancelled. This one doesn't have a lot of long term impact, but certainly fits the description of vaporware.
what appeals to me about Apple products is that they ALWAYS work exactly as advertised without any bloat. They probably couldn't deliver on their promise, so they decided against putting out an inferior product. Can't bang on them for that when they always deliver quality.
Sure wish we could search users comments. I'd be interested to see how many here defending Apple for "it's hard to deliver what you promise" are also hammering Ring for not delivering HomeKit connectivity to their Pro doorbell. I have been hammering on Ring for saying they WILL do something just I'm going to hammer Apple for saying the WILL deliver something almost 2 years ago.
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.
Comments
My only surprise was that Apple was even interested in this market, given that there are plenty of high-quality ones that are very reasonably priced. I am guessing price is the real reason, but Schiller does't want to say it.
There are other options though. Standby,
Why? What are you talking about?
SJ firmed it up when he returned to Apple and you will be hard pressed to find any announcements not shipping during his two periods of leadership.