Take a moment to think back to September 2017. Feels like forever ago, doesn't it? That month is the month that Apple announced the iPhone X, welcoming a new design philosophy for the money maker. But, it's also the month that Apple showed off its first first-party wireless charging pad. The AirPower made plenty of headlines all on its own, because there was plenty to look forward to.
AirPower seemed like a pretty solid device. Until it didn't.
It's a strange thing when Apple launches a product and then doesn't launch it right away. That's one of Apple's many major trademarks. Announce a thing, launch the thing. But that did not happen with AirPower. It's hard to argue that, as the months ticked on, that a lot of the headlines for Apple's wireless charging mat was something akin to, "Where is AirPower?"
We got the answer to that at the end of March of this year when Apple (finally) cancelled the device. At the time, Apple said that the company is still "committed to push the wireless experience forward", and still believes the "future is wireless". Which certainly makes sense and Apple is probably right about this, but it was still pretty sad to see AirPower get the axe.
Even if it wasn't really a surprise at that point. There were quite a few rumors swirling up to that date that Apple was going to launch the device, rather than cancel it. So if people were excited, and then ultimately letdown, I wouldn't be surprised.
I also know a lot of people who were waiting for AirPower before they bought their first wireless charging mat. I'm in a similar spot, mostly because I never really had a reason to want one. I wasn't entirely convinced I was going to buy AirPower, either, but I probably would have.
Well, that depends on the price, too. I don't think there was ever a moment where I thought AirPower would be "cheap", but I guess I was hoping that it wouldn't be ridiculous. Of course, looking at the competition for pricing doesn't really help, because this is Apple we're talking about and they price for the "experience", rather than the outright specs.
Still, depending on that price tag I probably would have made the AirPower my first --and only?-- wireless charging mat. But when Apple cancelled it I started looking at the competition after all. There seem to be a lot of options out there that people like! Which is great, because options for the win. But I'm back to thinking maybe I don't need one after all. I've been doing just fine without one so far.
It got me wondering, though: If you were waiting for AirPower, did you buy a different model after Apple axed it? If so, which one did you get and why? Or are you in the same boat as me and, if you were considering buying AirPower, have you decided against buying another option? Let me know!