Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is still working on a wireless charger that would function like the announced but never released AirPower charging pad. The Cupertino firm is also said to be looking at the possibilities of long-range charging.
In his recent report, Gurman discusses Apple’s wireless charging hopes and dreams. He says that Apple is “still exploring” a wireless charger that could charge multiple Apple devices at once.
Apple first unveiled the AirPower charging mat back in September 2017 and said the pad would launch during 2018. However, 2018 came and went with no sign of AirPower. Then, after months of repeated rumors of issues in development, Apple canceled the AirPower in March 2019. The cancellation was said to be due to the company’s inability to meet its own high quality standards.
“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have canceled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward,” said Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in an emailed statement.
Since the cancelation, there have been rumors claiming Apple is still working on a charging mat, but nothing solid has appeared.
Gurman also says that Apple is “internally investigating” alternative wireless charging methods that can work over greater distances. That project is in the early stages, though, and it will likely be several years before we see the project come to fruition.
