When Apple unveiled the iPhone X in 2017, it also gave fans a sneak peek at the AirPower charging mat that's designed to simultaneously charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch and an AirPods case. Back then, the Cupertino giant said the device is coming in 2018. However, the product was a no-show the entire year.
Apple hasn't spoken about the AirPower for many months now, so fans are getting worried of the product's fate. It also doesn't help that the tech giant sneakily removed some mentions of the charging accessory from its website.
Nevertheless, hope isn't lost. The AirPower is still present in the user guides for the current generation smartphones, the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. It's also referenced on the Apple Watch Series 3 specs page, as well as in recent job listings from Apple, as pointed out by MacRumors.
Given these signs, it's clear that Apple is still determined to launch the AirPower. In fact, the company recently applied for a couple of AirPower-related patents, suggesting that it could still be working on the device, and thus explains the delayed release.
Apple has yet to give a specific release date for the AirPower. But it's possible that it could be happening sometime this first quarter of 2019. The charging mat is marketed as a charging solution for the wireless charging case for AirPods. The case is still listed as "currently unavailable" on Apple's website, so it's possible that Apple is gearing up to launch the two devices simultaneously.
If analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed, the wireless charging case is scheduled to arrive either in late 2018 or in the first quarter of 2019. The year 2018 has already passed, so the only hope now is for the case, as well as the AirPower, to launch in the first three-month period of the year.
As for the possible cause of the delay, there are rumors that Apple's been having a hard time ensuring the quality of the AirPower. Some insiders claimed that technical challenges kept on causing the AirPower to overheat. Hopefully, Apple sorts this out pretty soon, so that fans won't have to wait longer.
This article was first published in IBTimes US. Permission required for reproduction.
