Apple Officially Cancels AirPower Charging Mat After Engineering Setbacks
Apple abandons its long-delayed AirPower wireless charging mat entirely due to an inability to meet the company's strict hardware standards. The cancellation adds to growing concerns about Apple's recent hardware development and release processes.
Apple officially cancels the AirPower wireless charging mat after failing to meet its own high hardware standards. Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering Dan Riccio issues a statement apologizing to customers who anticipate the release, but reaffirms the company's commitment to a wireless future. The device faces intense public scrutiny since its announcement in September 2017 due to a lengthy delay of over a year.
The cancellation shines a spotlight on Apple's recent struggles with shipping announced products on time, a pattern that also affects AirPods and MacBook keyboards. Unofficial reports indicate that AirPower faces severe engineering challenges related to the laws of physics, specifically that multiple 3D charging coils positioned close together generate excessive heat and require extremely cautious power management.
Unlike previous situations where Apple takes risky leaps to ship innovative hardware on time, AirPower represents a case where the technical hurdles prove insurmountable. The company decides it is better to scrap the project entirely than to release a product that potentially overheats and damages devices. The sudden nature of the cancellation is evident as newly manufactured AirPod cases still feature images of the doomed charging mat on their packaging.