Well, considering that there are zero other companies producing a wireless charging product that provides the functionality that Apple was going for here, it's not really going to make a competitive difference to drop it. Apple loses some face by doing the sneak peek and not bringing it to market, but probably saves a lot of future headaches by not releasing a "close enough" version.
macxpress said: 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.
That applies to everybody who's made a similar statement — 'Apple can't make a simple charger???'
Initially I wasn't disappointed because I've never had occasion to charge three devices at the same time, and rarely two. I hadn't realized Apple's intention was to produce not just a charger for three devices, but one that didn't require precise alignment of any of the devices.
Other than my Watches, I've never used wireless charging. I have seen a lot of comments about people just plopping their phone on a charge mat and picking it up later only to find it barely charged or not fully charged. Didn't know that was a thing but there you are. A charging cradle or two line a phone up just like the AirPod case does to the pods but then you have to buy a phone-specific charger, and will it work with a case.
So Apple says 'Canceled' because they couldn't make this 'plop it down' mat the experience they wanted it to be. Tough call but the right one. Maybe when mass production of their take on the wide field, multi-flux capacitor is viable...
Dear lord. IKEA makes wireless chargers. This is beyond Apple?
Ikea does not make a multi-device, multi-coil charger akin to AirPower's design, no.
Really? I saw one in the store the other day. This is the listing:
NORDMÄRKE
Triple pad for wireless charging, white
$59.99
Article Number:
103.083.15
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.
Of course Apple would have been able to make a simple charger like any of those ones that are already on the market, but Apple was attempting to do something different. They tried to think different, but I guess it just didn't work out this time around.
Sub in three apple logos for the three IKEA plus signs and I think we're good. I'm not sure the "place it anywhere" part is the deal killer for most people. I'm surprised if that was it for Apple.
"Wireless charging pads use electromagnetic induction to juice up your phone. Both the pad and your phone contain wire coils: the pad draws current from the wall and runs it through the coil, creating an electromagnetic field. That field induces an electric current in your phone’s wire coil, which it uses to charge the battery.
However, the electricity being transmitted to your phone isn’t perfectly clean or ideal. It generates some noise, which can interfere with other wireless devices. That’s why the FCC (and regulatory bodies in other countries) set strict limits on wireless emissions.
Noise from a single coil might not be a problem, but each charging coil generates a slightly different waveform. When those waves overlap, the constructive interference intensifies their strength. Just like when two ocean waves collide and combine their height, radio frequencies can combine their intensity as they interact.
Managing these overlapping harmonic frequencies is incredibly challenging, and gets harder the more coils that you are integrating. From patent filings, it looks like Apple’s ambitious plan was to use considerably more coils than other charging pads on the market.
Rumors speculated that Apple was considering up to 32 coils—up from the fifteen shown in their conceptual patent filing.
Other multi-device wireless chargers place two or three coils side-by-side, but require you to fiddle with your phone to find the “sweet spot” over one coil for it to start charging. With AirPower, Apple was trying to create one large charging surface using overlapping coils, allowing it to power multiple devices from anywhere on the mat. But that introduces multiple challenges.
We asked an engineer with experience building wireless charging systems what obstacles Apple was working to overcome. “Over time, these harmonics add up and they become really powerful signals in the air,” explains William Lumpkins, VP of Engineering at O & S Services. “And that can be difficult—that can stop someone’s pacemaker if it’s too high of a level. Or it could short circuit someone’s hearing aid.” If Apple’s multi-coil layout was spinning off harmonics left and right, it’s possible AirPower couldn’t pass muster with US or EU regulations."
"Wireless charging pads use electromagnetic induction to juice up your phone. Both the pad and your phone contain wire coils: the pad draws current from the wall and runs it through the coil, creating an electromagnetic field. That field induces an electric current in your phone’s wire coil, which it uses to charge the battery.
However, the electricity being transmitted to your phone isn’t perfectly clean or ideal. It generates some noise, which can interfere with other wireless devices. That’s why the FCC (and regulatory bodies in other countries) set strict limits on wireless emissions.
Noise from a single coil might not be a problem, but each charging coil generates a slightly different waveform. When those waves overlap, the constructive interference intensifies their strength. Just like when two ocean waves collide and combine their height, radio frequencies can combine their intensity as they interact.
Managing these overlapping harmonic frequencies is incredibly challenging, and gets harder the more coils that you are integrating. From patent filings, it looks like Apple’s ambitious plan was to use considerably more coils than other charging pads on the market.
Rumors speculated that Apple was considering up to 32 coils—up from the fifteen shown in their conceptual patent filing.
Other multi-device wireless chargers place two or three coils side-by-side, but require you to fiddle with your phone to find the “sweet spot” over one coil for it to start charging. With AirPower, Apple was trying to create one large charging surface using overlapping coils, allowing it to power multiple devices from anywhere on the mat. But that introduces multiple challenges.
We asked an engineer with experience building wireless charging systems what obstacles Apple was working to overcome. “Over time, these harmonics add up and they become really powerful signals in the air,” explains William Lumpkins, VP of Engineering at O & S Services. “And that can be difficult—that can stop someone’s pacemaker if it’s too high of a level. Or it could short circuit someone’s hearing aid.” If Apple’s multi-coil layout was spinning off harmonics left and right, it’s possible AirPower couldn’t pass muster with US or EU regulations."
"Wireless charging pads use electromagnetic induction to juice up your phone. Both the pad and your phone contain wire coils: the pad draws current from the wall and runs it through the coil, creating an electromagnetic field. That field induces an electric current in your phone’s wire coil, which it uses to charge the battery.
However, the electricity being transmitted to your phone isn’t perfectly clean or ideal. It generates some noise, which can interfere with other wireless devices. That’s why the FCC (and regulatory bodies in other countries) set strict limits on wireless emissions.
Noise from a single coil might not be a problem, but each charging coil generates a slightly different waveform. When those waves overlap, the constructive interference intensifies their strength. Just like when two ocean waves collide and combine their height, radio frequencies can combine their intensity as they interact.
Managing these overlapping harmonic frequencies is incredibly challenging, and gets harder the more coils that you are integrating. From patent filings, it looks like Apple’s ambitious plan was to use considerably more coils than other charging pads on the market.
Rumors speculated that Apple was considering up to 32 coils—up from the fifteen shown in their conceptual patent filing.
Other multi-device wireless chargers place two or three coils side-by-side, but require you to fiddle with your phone to find the “sweet spot” over one coil for it to start charging. With AirPower, Apple was trying to create one large charging surface using overlapping coils, allowing it to power multiple devices from anywhere on the mat. But that introduces multiple challenges.
We asked an engineer with experience building wireless charging systems what obstacles Apple was working to overcome. “Over time, these harmonics add up and they become really powerful signals in the air,” explains William Lumpkins, VP of Engineering at O & S Services. “And that can be difficult—that can stop someone’s pacemaker if it’s too high of a level. Or it could short circuit someone’s hearing aid.” If Apple’s multi-coil layout was spinning off harmonics left and right, it’s possible AirPower couldn’t pass muster with US or EU regulations."
This makes sense. What is being described regarding electromagnetic interference is also what's known as superposition which is also the basis for beamforming, both for electromagnetic and physical (sound pressure). When properly engineered, beamforming can be used constructively to overcome the limitations described, but with some caveats. If Apple could detect the physical orientation of a device on the pad it could employ many smaller micro-coils and beamforming to replicate the same electromagnetic field that would be formed by a single larger coil in a conventional charger that has physical mechanisms like a cradle to ensure device orientation. It would be fairly straightforward to design a charging pad with many smaller micro-coils that optimizes the charging of a single device - iff the charging pad can determine or coerce the orientation of the device on the pad. But even this would be far from ideal because it would still be open-loop. If the device being charged were able to communicate back to the charging pad about the quality of the charging process the charging pad could auto-tune itself to the charging requirements and reduce spurious interference and shutdown unnecessary coils. Without device orientation detection and a feedback loop it's difficult to come up with a solution that works effectively. The feedback loop could be done out-of-band using NFC, but you can now see that this starts to ratchet up the complexity and cost and you have to ask yourself whether it's even worth it.
My feeling is that this problem is fully resolvable but not without advances in wireless charging technology on both sides. Trying to solve it on one side, i.e., smart charging pad, with no similar level of advancement on the device side is a severe constraint. Ultimately, if both the charging mat and devices have arrays of micro-coils and advanced beamforming it would be possible to selectively steer the charging beam to the device being charged and auto-tune the power needed based on the device also using beamforming on its side with a feedback between the charger and the device. Theoretically you could nix the pad completely and allow devices to be charged from across the room, say from a transmitter mounted in the ceiling that charges every device in the room. But every step down the path to the theoretical solution needs to be gated by the question: is this really worth the cost and effort?
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.
It’s been less that 2 (or a couple) years. Several is more than two.
Guys. I’m concerned about Apple. I see less and less innovation happening at Apple. Apple makes lots of money which is great. But the spirit has seemed to change from the innovate and change the world spirit of Steve Jobs to a more sensible “how can we make more money” approach. There was literally nothing new or interesting in that appleTV + announcement. Sad
Name a tech company that is leading the innovation charge into the future. Go ahead, we’ll wait.
Guys. I’m concerned about Apple. I see less and less innovation happening at Apple. Apple makes lots of money which is great. But the spirit has seemed to change from the innovate and change the world spirit of Steve Jobs to a more sensible “how can we make more money” approach. There was literally nothing new or interesting in that appleTV + announcement. Sad
The moment Oprah came up did it for me. This company isn’t about tech anymore - but dispersed over a 1000 wrong priorities.
To me this list of stars from 20 years ago will build good quality but safe programming that will appeal to older viewers . It will take them 5 to 10 years to build up enough interesting content to make worth viewing. This is OLD programming (not as old as CBS though).
Dear lord. IKEA makes wireless chargers. This is beyond Apple?
Ikea does not make a multi-device, multi-coil charger akin to AirPower's design, no.
Really? I saw one in the store the other day. This is the listing:
NORDMÄRKE
Triple pad for wireless charging, white
$59.99
Article Number:
103.083.15
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.
Of course Apple would have been able to make a simple charger like any of those ones that are already on the market, but Apple was attempting to do something different. They tried to think different, but I guess it just didn't work out this time around.
Sub in three apple logos for the three IKEA plus signs and I think we're good. I'm not sure the "place it anywhere" part is the deal killer for most people. I'm surprised if that was it for Apple.
So not the same at all. The entire point of the AP was to plop down three devices on it willy nilly. And it appears half the size of that monstrosity That you think they’re identical is revealing.
Comments
Initially I wasn't disappointed because I've never had occasion to charge three devices at the same time, and rarely two. I hadn't realized Apple's intention was to produce not just a charger for three devices, but one that didn't require precise alignment of any of the devices.
Other than my Watches, I've never used wireless charging. I have seen a lot of comments about people just plopping their phone on a charge mat and picking it up later only to find it barely charged or not fully charged. Didn't know that was a thing but there you are. A charging cradle or two line a phone up just like the AirPod case does to the pods but then you have to buy a phone-specific charger, and will it work with a case.
So Apple says 'Canceled' because they couldn't make this 'plop it down' mat the experience they wanted it to be. Tough call but the right one. Maybe when mass production of their take on the wide field, multi-flux capacitor is viable...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Mac_G4_Cube
Or the debacle of all Apple debacles, the Apple III
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_III
My point is that Apple is far from perfect and while it's unusual to kill off a product, before bringing it to market, this was one of those cases.
However, the electricity being transmitted to your phone isn’t perfectly clean or ideal. It generates some noise, which can interfere with other wireless devices. That’s why the FCC (and regulatory bodies in other countries) set strict limits on wireless emissions.
Noise from a single coil might not be a problem, but each charging coil generates a slightly different waveform. When those waves overlap, the constructive interference intensifies their strength. Just like when two ocean waves collide and combine their height, radio frequencies can combine their intensity as they interact.
Managing these overlapping harmonic frequencies is incredibly challenging, and gets harder the more coils that you are integrating. From patent filings, it looks like Apple’s ambitious plan was to use considerably more coils than other charging pads on the market.
Rumors speculated that Apple was considering up to 32 coils—up from the fifteen shown in their conceptual patent filing.
Other multi-device wireless chargers place two or three coils side-by-side, but require you to fiddle with your phone to find the “sweet spot” over one coil for it to start charging. With AirPower, Apple was trying to create one large charging surface using overlapping coils, allowing it to power multiple devices from anywhere on the mat. But that introduces multiple challenges.
We asked an engineer with experience building wireless charging systems what obstacles Apple was working to overcome. “Over time, these harmonics add up and they become really powerful signals in the air,” explains William Lumpkins, VP of Engineering at O & S Services. “And that can be difficult—that can stop someone’s pacemaker if it’s too high of a level. Or it could short circuit someone’s hearing aid.” If Apple’s multi-coil layout was spinning off harmonics left and right, it’s possible AirPower couldn’t pass muster with US or EU regulations."
https://ifixit.org/blog/14883/what-finally-killed-airpower/
/s
Some of them are around $100.00 or more.
How much would the Apple charger have cost with 20 or 30 or even more coils in them? It sounds like the price would have been insane.