Back in September we discussed the state of Apple’s proposed wireless charging pad known as AirPower. With the ability to charge up to 3 devices at once, AirPower was poised to easily become the most advanced wireless charging solution on the market. To gain some perspective, nearly all Qi charging pads use a single coil, whereas Apple’s proposed solution was attempting to utilize 16-24 different sized coils that all overlapped each other.

This ambitious (and slightly crazy?) attempt has been riddled with issues since Apple first teased the release back in 2017.

Problems such as overheating, interference between devices, and overall charging inefficiencies led to many questioning if Apple bit off a little more than they could chew. But no one knew for certain as the tech giant kept the whole situation quiet. Fast forward 6 months later and the AirPower has officially been cancelled. Apparently the issues they were facing were simply too much to overcome.

So what does this mean for Apple’s interest in Wireless Charging? Are they giving up?

Quite the opposite…. and here’s why:

We’ve discussed the possibility that Apple’s long term play is eventually to remove the charging port all together. It started with the headphone jack, then the home button. The trend is clear, the less hardware, the less buttons, the better. But at this point it’s still speculation - what proof is there that Apple is all in on Qi Wireless Charging?

Power Sharing

About a month back Samsung announced that the Galaxy S10 will come with a new feature called Power Sharing. This allows you to use the battery on your Galaxy S10 to charge other Qi compatible devices - such as your headphones or a friends phone.

This is the type of innovation that leads to greater awareness around wireless charging. As more consumers begin to use it, the more the advantages are revealed and the more adoption takes place

It’s been leaked that the iPhone 11 will include a similar feature. Might this be the bridge that eventually leads to an all wireless charging iPhone?

Plus both the Airpods and the Apple Watch use Qi Wireless Charging, being able to charge both of those on the back of an iPhone will push wireless charging to the forefront even if you don’t currently charge your iPhone that way. 

While we will have to wait and see what the long term play will officially be, it’s clear Apple believes that Wireless Charging is the future. As features such as power sharing become more widespread, the expectation to see wireless chargers at places like bars, restaurants and hotel rooms will continue to grow.