At this point, it’s fair to say that the release of AirPower — Apple’s long-anticipated charging mat — is imminent. Just a few days ago, newly unearthed data strings in the most recent iOS 12.2 beta revealed some big changes to the portion of iOS responsible for wireless charging. And earlier today, a brand new marketing image for AirPower was discovered on Apple’s AirPods page on the company’s Australia site.
The new image was originally unearthed by Twitter user Michael Bateman and can be seen above. It’s also worth noting that The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that Apple, at long last, approved AirPower for production.
The Journal’s piece reads in part:
AirPower, which would allow users to charge the new AirPods and an iPhone simultaneously, has been delayed by product-development challenges, the people said. Apple typically announces new products within months of beginning production.
Apple originally introduced AirPower back in September 2017 alongside the iPhone X, and while the device was supposed to ship sometime in 2018, a string of technical hurdles led to a delay that may soon border on two years. There were even rumors that Apple at one point contemplated axing the product altogether due to technical challenges related to overheating.
All that said, it will be interesting to see if Apple announces a shipping date at the company’s forthcoming special event on March 25. It may be wishful thinking at this point, but Apple over the past few days has released a slew of new hardware updates, including new AirPods, revamped iPad models, and iMacs.
