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Apple's AirPower Wireless Charging Mat Is In Production (theverge.com)

Apple's long-delayed AirPower wireless charging mat might finally be in production. According to a tweet from ChargerLAB, a "credible source" says that Apple has begun manufacturing the long-delayed wireless charging mat. The Verge reports: If true, it could mean that the long-overdue product could finally reach the hands of consumers before too much longer. Apple announced in September 2017, that it was introducing wireless charging capabilities in with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, and gave a preview for its own wireless charging mat that would not only charge the iPhone, but its Apple Watch and AirPods. At the time, Apple didn't announce a price -- only that it was expected to be released sometime in 2018. That obviously didn't happen...

If what ChargerLAB says is accurate, that could mean that we'll see more about them in the near future. The site's tweet says that the devices are being manufactured at Luxshare Precision, which already manufactures Apple's AirPods and some cords. MacRumors translated a screenshot of ChargerLAB's WeChat conversation, in which the site's source expects the device be released soon. But given the charger's history of delays and technical challenges, it's probably best not to get one's hopes up just yet.

51 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Wasted power via inefficiency on top of existing.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Shiny whizbang marketing gimmick-convenience has no price, sell your mother's eyes for new improved magic beans.

  2. /. ed strikes again. by msauve · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Really, BeauHD, are you really so lazy and clueless that you can't fix the punctuation so it can be displayed here?

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
  3. Unimpressed with wireless charging by imidan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have a wireless charging mat for my Android phone. It has a few problems. One, the charging is a lot slower than by wire because the efficiency is so poor. Two, the phone has to be placed just right on the pad to consistently charge. A few degrees or centimeters from the ideal position, and the phone charges for a minute or so, then stops, then resumes, over and over again. This slows down the charge, and it probably isn't great for the battery to switch constantly between charging and discharging.

    I had a thought to build the charging mat into a kind of stand for the phone that would hold both in the ideal position to charge, but I quickly realized that what I had invented was a charging cradle, and if it just hooked a wire into the charging port on the phone instead of incorporating the mat, it would do everything the wireless mat is doing, but faster and with better energy efficiency.

    Maybe Apple's is better, but my experience is that there's not that much point to wireless charging. These days, I just plug my phone in.

    1. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by joh · · Score: 2, Insightful

      These are execution problems and surely could be improved upon. Just like fingerprint sensors and face recognition systems are old and totally sucked often enough.

      (Although I personally agree that even in the best case this is just a tiny bit of convenience and surely nothing you would really need.)

    2. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Funny

      You obviously don’t get it.

      Wireless charging means Ive can finally get rid of those ugly ports which detract from the phone’s beautiful smooth lines. And because you don’t have to plug in those ugly cables, wireless charging also means easier charging. Easier charging means we can have smaller batteries because it’s so easy you won’t mind charging frequently - several times a day! And smaller batteries means even thinner phones, because the current phones are just too fat! Plus frequent charging means customers will buy large quantities of three hundred dollar charging mats so they can have one at home, one at work, one at the gym, and one in their bag!

      It’s a win-win-win-win! For Apple!

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    3. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      That charging mat might be nice if it actually works like in the pictures: one or more devices just plonked down on the pad, all charging. If placement isn't critical and you can charge multiple devices, it might actually be worth getting one despite the sure to be ridiculous price Apple will charge. There are a few multi device charging mats out there, but again each device has to be placed just so, or it won't charge.

      Apple has a history of taking features that are in the "somewhat functional" stage, and improving them to a point where they work rather well. This is a bloody charging mat that has been announced ages ago. So what's the holdup? Maybe they've figured out how to make a really good charging mat, is what I am hoping. But their last flagship product that also has been a long time in the making (their smart speaker) turned out to be a disappointing also-ran.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    4. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      You can get better charging mats.

      Alignment can be by one of two methods. The device can be aligned somehow, e.g. the shape of the charger guides it in, or magnets pull it into place. Alternatively the charger can align itself to the device, with a moving coil or by having multiple coils and selecting the right one. I have a Panasonic one that moves when you drop the phone onto it.

      Charge speed is low not because of efficiency but because early chargers, like the older USB ones, don't support the high current modes. The older/cheaper ones are only 2.5W (which is what basic USB can deliver), modern ones can put out 10W which is reasonably quick for charging. A typical 3000mAh phone battery will take a couple of hours to charge with one of those, similar to a 7.5W wired charger.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by joh · · Score: 2

      The current iPhones are the thickest since the iPhone 4s. They have gotten thicker ever since the iPhone 6, which was and still is the thinnest iPhone ever. Apple has long given up on that and in fact especially the iPhone XR is positively a brick.

    6. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by Teckla · · Score: 1

      Try an Anker wireless charger. I have one that sits upright, which makes it easy to set the phone in the right position, even if you're only doing it by touch.

    7. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by msauve · · Score: 1

      You left out the greatest advantage - more battery cycles because of lack of readily available charging means shorter battery lifetime. Non-user replaceable batteries was just the beginning, this is one more improvement on planned obsolescence. Damn you, consumers who refuse to buy a new $1000 phone every two years.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    8. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by Solandri · · Score: 1

      I'm gonna guess you had a big thick case on your phone. Wireless charging loses efficiency rapidly with distance. So if you've got a thick case on your phone, it will reduce the size of the sweet spot considerably, and force you to position the phone more precisely on the charging pad. I had researched this when I bought a case for my Nexus 5, so I made sure it was a thin case(I just needed the edges thickened up so I could hold it more reliably). For three years I basically just plopped it on the charger and it would work 95% of the time. 5% (once or twice a month) it would need a slight adjustment.

      I placed it on the pad overnight so the slower charging never bothered me. If you need a quick rapid charge because your phone is about to die at 4 pm, then obviously wireless charging is going to be worse than wired. But I would argue the bigger fault is in the phone's design, trading off a bigger battery for thinness. I'm a function-over-form guy so I think this quest for thinner phones is idiotic. I'd actually prefer a 1.5 cm thick phone that would last me 2-3 days on battery. But it seems the vast majority of the population are form-over-function people, so I have to suffer with too-thin phones with insufficient battery life.

      I thought wireless charging was for lazy people, and it wasn't on my list of desired features when I was shopping for a phone 5 years ago. It just happened that the Nexus 5 had it, and a store was running a sale on charging pads for $10 shortly after, so I grabbed one. What an eye-opener. $10-$15 for a charging pad is well worth not having to fiddle around to plug in a little connector every night for years. It's now a must-have feature for me.

    9. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by imidan · · Score: 1

      Mine is a Samsung that they say does 5W, so I guess it's in the middle of the range you describe. There's a newer model available that actually has kind of a cradle and does 7.5W. But, meh. For unrelated reasons, I think my phone is getting close to dying, so I'll just keep plugging it in until I figure out what I'm going to replace it with.

      BTW, the manual for my mat says something about using the 'position guide' on the wireless charging back for the phone to place it on the mat correctly. I bought the charging back from Samsung, so it should be a genuine part, but if there's a position guide on the back, it's imperceptible to me.

    10. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by imidan · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that looks about like what I'd envisioned constructing. I have a hard time getting past ease with which you could just have the phone plug in while sitting on that cradle and make it much faster. I guess it would be a benefit if you had a number of wireless charge devices with incompatible input connections, but I don't have that, at the moment.

    11. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      one or more devices just plonked down on the pad, all charging. If placement isn't critical and you can charge multiple devices

      To me that is the only possible angle of interest on the charging mat, the ability to place things anywhere on it and they will charge..

      But I still don't know if I would get one, even though I have both an Apple Watch and iPhone but I really like using my watch on it's side in Nightstand mode. Maybe just to have a place I could throw some casually on a table if I felt like it needed a bit of a power refresh.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    12. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      You jest [successfully] but removing every port and not providing a battery door, and moving to all soft buttons, would actually provide some measurable benefit. The only question is how to handle physical reset — perhaps a pair of MEMS reed switches, one at each end of the device, and in opposed orientation?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    13. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      I'd actually prefer a 1.5 cm thick phone that would last me 2-3 days on battery. But it seems the vast majority of the population are form-over-function people, so I have to suffer with too-thin phones with insufficient battery life.

      My Nokia 8110 4G is just under 1.5 cm thick and lasts me about 2 weeks on battery. It doesn't count as a "smart"phone but there's a workable web browser and Google maps with GPS. I mainly chose this model for its WLAN hotspot capabilities, as I prefer to keep the smarts on a computer I can control.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    14. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by misnohmer · · Score: 1

      Maybe you just got a bad and cheaply designed charger? I have come across charging stands which behave as you describe, but also ones which work well regardless of position and orientation of the phone. Now, I am talking about a stand (not a mat), so a less possible orientations and positions, but even with stands design there are good ones and poor ones.

    15. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by imidan · · Score: 1

      Actually, I have no case at all, only a plastic film covering the screen. But it's been pointed out that my charging mat is an older one that doesn't provide as many watts to the phone, so that may be part of my dissatisfaction. It's a Samsung phone, charging back, and mat, so I assume it should all work well together. But maybe I just got in too early and they hadn't gotten it working that well, yet.

    16. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by joh · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't this actually have exactly the opposite effect? If you charge your phone more often and only partly before the battery is completely empty this is actually much better for the battery. Running it dry every day and charging it completely to 100% over night is the worst case for the lifetime of your battery.

    17. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by seinman · · Score: 1

      And because of the extra room in the case, the iPhone XR has positively amazing battery life. Best of any iPhone I've owned, by a long shot. I'm thrilled they made the phone thicker.

    18. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by joh · · Score: 1

      I'm not. This thing is so huge, thick and heavy (it weights two thirds of an iPad mini, 200/300g) that I didn't want to carry it in my pocket every day. So I bought a fucking iPhone 7 a few days ago instead to replace my disintegrating iPhone 6. Well.

    19. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

      I'm in the opposite camp. I love my charging mat and stand! So much easier than plugging in a cable every time. Just set it down, shift it a few cm until I feel the vibration indicating it's charging, and I'm done. Any time I want to use the phone, just grab it. No cable to get tangled, no need to unplug and replug.

      I still use the cable when I need a fast charge, but generally the mat on my office desk keeps it topped up all day, and the stand can slow-charge overnight at home. Since my last two phones had the micro usb port go before anything else, I'm pretty excited about the wireless charger. That should theoretically let me keep my phone for longer.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
    20. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by RabidStoat · · Score: 1

      I had this problem and it was related to the thickness/material of the case. Don't know if that makes a difference in your case but the symptoms were the same - changed the case and the charger is pretty much happy with me throwing the phone on it at most angles.

    21. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by msauve · · Score: 1

      No. Having an expensive charging pad, which you would be unlikely to carry around, is what would encourage the once-a-day charging behavior.

      OTOH, there are USB ports and cables (which are also easier to carry) almost everywhere.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    22. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by Lucas123 · · Score: 1

      I'm assuming you purchased a rather cheap wireless charger. Good ones don't have the problems you listed and they're pretty generous with the charging area because they use more than one copper charging coil, sometimes overlapped, to provide a greater charging area. Additionally, the better ones I've tested charge just as fast as corded chargers.

    23. Re:Unimpressed with wireless charging by StuartHankins · · Score: 1

      Wireless charging makes sense for some people in some circumstances. I bought a cheap "Atomi Power Pad 3x" mat which gives 10W for each of 3 pads placed next to each other. For me, the wear and tear on the rubberized case and charging cable over time is more inconvenient than putting the device on the pad when I sleep. This charger lights up when it's charging a device so it's pretty easy to place the phone on it in the dark. YMMV and all that.

  4. How much power will this waste? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Multiplied by the amount of units they'll unload: how many additional nuclear power plants will be needed just to compensate for the apple users that are too lazy to plug in a cable to charge their device?

  5. Re: 19th Century technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    But they are not available? So how would you know what they are like? Specs?

  6. You forget... by Sebby · · Score: 1

    No ports = they control how the thing is charged = what can charge it.

    So you either pay Apple for the charging accessory, or end up paying Apple for another accessory (that third party accessory maker has to pay an Apple license, which they pass on to you...)

    --

    AC comments get piped to /dev/null
    1. Re:You forget... by StuartHankins · · Score: 1

      My iPhone XR can use any charging mat based on the Qi standard. I don't have to purchase one from Apple, the cheap one I bought works fine. Maybe the Apple version charges quicker but I don't really care, I charge it overnight while I sleep.

  7. Letâ(TM)s all post in Unicode! by Sebby · · Score: 2

    Iâ(TM)ll suggest something: letâ(TM)s all start posting in unicode only, thatâ(TM)ll potentially get the Slashdotâ(TM)s editors attention, and then maybe theyâ(TM)ll notice and actually address this massive bug in Slashdotâ(TM)s codebase!

    --

    AC comments get piped to /dev/null
    1. Re:Letâ(TM)s all post in Unicode! by fustakrakich · · Score: 2

      Who needs unicode? ASCII is safer...

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  8. Re:Wasted power via inefficiency on top of existin by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

    Nobody "forced" Jack to buy magic beans either, per the analogy, dipshit.

    Also the beans really were magic, so it wasn't just "marketing", and he got all the giant's gold, so the beans were a good deal.

    Fee-fi-fo-fum, the bean analogy is really dumb.

  9. The problem with wireless charging is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The problem with wireless charging is that it is not wireless charging, It is inductive charging. It requires you to still go to the location of the charger and place the phone on the charger.

    If one must go through the trouble to walk over to their inductive charging pad, set the phone down, is there really any advantage to talking the couple seconds longer to plug it into a cable to charge, which will charger faster and more efficiently?

    The only reason apple wants this is because it will allow them to eliminate the last port on their phone and will give users no choice but to use things like air pods.

    1. Re:The problem with wireless charging is... by couchslug · · Score: 2

      "The only reason apple wants this is because it will allow them to eliminate the last port on their phone and will give users no choice but to use things like air pods."

      Plugging the analog hole is a logical motive. Vendor lock is love.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
  10. Re:Wasted power via inefficiency on top of existin by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

    How the fuck was Jack going to MOVE the GIANT gold from the castle in the sky, genius?

    He could use gravity. Gold is heavy, so gravity will move it downward.

    And NOBODY told him they'd grow into a beanstalk leading to gold

    But he was told they were magic, and they were.

    Further you're overlooking the possibility the whole thing was a drunk's dream

    Why would someone just make up a story? Occam's Razor says the magic beans were real, since that is the simplest explanation.

  11. The reputation lives on by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

    The product may now ship but the reputation damage is permanent. Right up there with the white I-phone.

    --
    When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  12. Re:Wasted power via inefficiency on top of existin by Lost+Race · · Score: 1

    How the fuck was Jack going to MOVE the GIANT gold from the castle in the sky, genius?

    Yeah, you'd have to be some kind of Einstein to figure out how to use mass-energy-induced space-time curvature to accelerate heavy objects along a geodesic from the sky to the ground.

  13. And in other Apple Inc. news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...Apple CEO, Tim Cook, had a bowel movement. He reported the consistency was firm but it was relatively easy to pass. He commented that he's looking forward to the next one tomorrow because he's been eating more fibre. IT Fecal Review Weekly has calculated that, based on previous performance, Tim Cook may have already reached peak fibre intake and that future bowel movements are unlikely to improve. Shareholders are concerned that this may negatively affect Cook's mood and lead to poorer performance of Apple's shares in the coming quarter. We'll bring you new updates as they arrive tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, ad nauseum.

  14. Yawn by fluffernutter · · Score: 2

    I just bought two wireless charging pads from Costco for $18. How many of these can I get for $18?

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    1. Re:Yawn by apoc.famine · · Score: 1

      I bet it's like 20 to 25 percent of one.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  15. Goodbye Connectors! by dohzer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Finally, the last connector port can be elimited from the design.

    1. Re:Goodbye Connectors! by FunkSoulBrother · · Score: 1

      Waiting to see the hacky as shit battery driven 3rd party wireless charging cases on Amazon starting fires in people's pants because they wanted a battery case and this was their only option anymore.

    2. Re:Goodbye Connectors! by seinman · · Score: 1

      iPhone wireless charging uses the Qi standard. Why would a Qi charger work with only Android?

    3. Re:Goodbye Connectors! by BlueGMan · · Score: 1

      We just switched from Samsung to Apple and our wireless charging pads work fine on our apple XR phones.

      --
      "The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing
  16. Re:Wasted power via inefficiency on top of existin by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    How the fuck was Jack going to MOVE the GIANT gold from the castle in the sky, genius?

    Who said anything about moving it? - Goldfinger...

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  17. Re:Apple's REAL strategy, outlined below : by FunkSoulBrother · · Score: 1

    Let's be fair now, iTunes was never tolerable.

  18. Most likely will be overpriced by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Not only will it not do much more then what's already out there. It will most likely be priced as yet another money maker for Apple. I am sure the flock will somehow convince themselves that it must be better, and worthy of the Apple tax.

  19. Re:Wasted power via inefficiency on top of existin by mjwx · · Score: 1

    Shiny whizbang marketing gimmick-convenience has no price, sell your mother's eyes for new improved magic beans.

    Also late to the market... Every Android phone I've owned for the last 5 years has had wireless charging... using a standard that didn't tie me to a single vendor.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  20. More courage on the part of Apple by Larry+Lightbulb · · Score: 1

    They'll finally be brave enough to remove the power charging option from the USB connector.

  21. Re:Wasted power via inefficiency on top of existin by StuartHankins · · Score: 1

    Tying to a single vendor? Maybe I missed something, my iPhone XR uses an "Atomi Power Pad 3x" charging mat just fine. So apparently I have choices on which pad to use.

    Are you upset because the Apple device may or may not work with non-Apple devices, is that it? I'm trying to understand the issue here. Another competing product usually makes everyone else tighten their stuff, resulting in better offerings for customers. Leapfrogging is great.