Despite abandoning its AirPower charging mat back in 2019, Apple has reportedly not given up on its ambitions of launching a multi-device wireless charger. Wireless charging has become a big deal over the years and is currently available across all current iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods models. It was originally available on Android and Windows Mobile devices before Apple decided to introduce support with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X in 2017.
AirPower is one of the very few white elephants in Apple's history, and one that the company would probably like to forget in a hurry. The doomed project led many to believe that Apple must have abandoned its plans to launch a multi-device wireless charging mat in the future. However, the latest report suggests that the company might still be planning to launch a reworked version of the device at some stage.
According to the latest edition of Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter (via 9t05 Mac), Apple is still working on a multi-device wireless charger despite abandoning AirPower a few years back. The company is also said to be developing new wireless charging tech that will enable its devices to "charge each other," which suggests that future iPhones and iPads might ship with reverse wireless charging. The report reaffirms earlier rumors that Apple hasn't yet abandoned its AirPower plans and is still working to make its multi-device wireless charging mat a reality. A Bloomberg report from June 2021 first claimed that Apple is still working on a multi-device wireless charger along the lines of AirPower, and the latest report now seems to add more credence to that earlier suggestion.
Apple Working On "Short And Long Distance" Wireless Charging
It is worth noting that, according to Gurman, Apple's rumored new product won't use contact-based inductive charging. Instead, it will incorporate new "short and long-distance" wireless charging technology, which would be a major departure from the the current wireless charging solutions in the market. The company is also reportedly working to include reverse wireless charging technology in its future offerings so that iPhones and iPads will be able to charge the Apple Watch and AirPods.
Apple originally announced AirPower in 2017 at the launch event for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. The product was supposed to have launched the following year but that never happened. Following months of rumors and speculations about its fate, the device was finally cancelled for good in 2019. If the latest reports are to be believed, a multi-device wireless charging solution from Apple might still be in the works, although the company hasn't yet officially confirmed that to be the case.