Multi-device charger still being developed by Apple, says Gurman
Nearing three years after Apple publicly cancelled plans to release AirPower, the wireless charging pad touted as being capable of charging an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods Wireless Charging Case simultaneously, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has again suggested that development of an Apple multi-device charger is still underway, with ambitions to expand further than existing induction-based wireless charging.
In this week’s edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman notes that he still believes Apple is working on a charger that is capable of charging multiple devices at once, reiterating a previous report published earlier this year in which he suggested that despite the issues, which rumors at the time pointed to being related to complications with prototypes overheating during testing, that Apple is still looking into whether it can produce a wireless charger that would simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
Gurman notes how he believes Apple is working on short and long distance wireless charging devices, imagining a future where all of Apple’s major devices can charge each other. “Imagine an iPad charging an iPhone and then that iPhone charging AirPods or an Apple Watch,” suggesting that Apple may look to make it possible to wirelessly charge AirPods from the back of an iPhone, or create a system similar to “PowerDrop” – a wireless iPhone-to-iPhone charging concept created by The Apple Post.
PowerDrop concept imagines iPhone-to-iPhone power-sharing with MagSafe. https://t.co/9oz0jEFfEV
— theapplepost.com (@theapplepost) March 2, 2021
Gurman has discussed the possibility of device to device charging in the past, suggesting a future iPad Pro model may be the first to support the feature, which would allow users to charge their iPhone, AirPods Wireless Charging Case or Apple Watch from the back of the device.
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