Soon after Apple unveiled the new iPhones and Apple Watch last week, we discovered that Apple removed almost all AirPower mentions from its website. Later, reports from two Apple insiders revealed that Apple has been experiencing various issues with AirPower manufacturing, which explains why the universal wireless charging accessory is still not available at Apple. But now that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max preorders are shipping to customers, and Apple retail stores around the world have started selling the handset, buyers found AirPower references right inside the retail box.
Replying to John Gruber, one of the two insiders that talked about the AirPower delay in previous days, Twitter user Gavin Stephens posted a photo of a page from the iPhone XS Manual that mentions AirPower explicitly.
But they definitely mention it in the new iPhone XS Max manual pic.twitter.com/qJO7kVc8bi
— Gavin Stephens (@ccgavind) September 20, 2018
It looks like Apple really wanted to ship the AirPower in time for the new iPhone launch. There’s no other explanation for mentioning AirPower support in those iPhone XS quick tutorials.
AirPower should simultaneously charge a variety of products, including iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. Sonny Dickson explained a few days ago that Apple has been experiencing overheating and software issues during development that were not easy to fix. Apple still plans to use the AirPower trademark and launch AirPower down the road, but they may not look like the original design that Apple unveiled during the iPhone X launch event last year.
All of Apple’s new iPhones this year support wireless charging, including the iPhone XR that’s only launching next month. The iPhone XS and XS Max will wirelessly charge even faster than the iPhone X, although wired charging still is the fastest.
