Why didn't they just buy uBeam??
Apple Cancels AirPower Product
341–350 of 500 posts
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#342Earlier quoted context omitted.
> problems with their keyboard, which is a hard thing to get right Not sure what you mean here. They got the old keyboard right, and made it worse!
The old keyboard doesn't fit in their new thinner chassis
I suppose actually typing on a laptop is more important than it being thin.
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#343Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not the end of the world if it slows down under multiple devices, and that trivially solves the heat problem. Is it lack of satisfaction with those tradeoffs? Is there a more fundamental flaw somewhere else? It would be nice to know what actually caused this decision.
Selling point is that you can put all your mobile devices on it. So it’s assumed you’re using more than one and it isn’t a quality experience if you have to sacrifice charging speed for regular use.
The phone is the only one that needs a particularly high wattage. If sharing drops the phone speed by a third, that leaves enough spare capacity to do a watch and airpods at the same time (with both of them getting more percent per hour than the phone). That's still a pretty good experience.
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#344Something I don't understand about induction charging: why is it even necessary if the device and charger are still expected to be in flat contact with one another (with at most a few millimeters of separation)? Is the point just for arbitrary positionability on a flat charging surface? If so, I feel like there are simpler ways to solve that, just with clever solid-state connector design. Imagine a BGA processor that…
I had a phone w/ Qi for a couple years. It was finicky, requiring I develop the habit of aligning the phone on the charger. But once I got used to it, it was subtly very nice. No fiddling with cables at all. Nothing to wear out. Pick the phone up and go. It feels a little like a technology of ten or twenty years from now that is not technically necessary but will be nice & convenient. Think of WiFi compared to Ethern…
But what about USING the device while it's charging? You have to keep it flat on the charger. The plug in cable still has merit.
Lemme know when we construct additional pylons and can charge things remotely (without cancer).
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#345Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love their keyboards, and have never met anyone IRL that has complained about them.
Everyone I know who bought a 2018 MBA, me included, has returned it due to keyboard issues. Which is a shame because I loved the damn thing apart from that.
I didn’t think I would like it but after a few months I love it. Did you return it within the 14 days because of a defect or because you just didn’t like the feel?
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#346Earlier quoted context omitted.
Kinja posted a deal on a dual powered mat for $35 yesterday. Crazy to think that Apple couldnt crack this to reach some level of product that consumers would find attractive.
They wanted you to just toss some devices arbitrarily on the mat and have it "just work". The one you discuss requires alignment, like all others -- for a reason! There's a reason the watch has a magnetic alignment setup. I thought you might be able to use a 2D array of small loops but a little bit of modeling shows that to be a pretty dumb idea.
I am curious what you discovered during your modelling.
From a first principles point of view it seems to me like it might just work.
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#347Earlier quoted context omitted.
>There has to be something that caused this abrupt cancellation. They could have sold a Wireless Charger just like others with their mark up. Instead we got nothing. Also admitting MacBook Pro Keyboard Failure. I believe there is something happening to Hardware Engineering in general.
Apple doesn't release products that have no distinguishing features other than "made by Apple in Cupertino". Accessories without distinguishing features they prefer to just work with third parties on (such as Belkin). In fact, I'd wager that this particular Belkin charger was done in cooperation with Apple: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HLZ42/belkin-boost-up-spe...
Not sure I agree. AirPods really have almost no distinguishing features from other earphones. They’re generally worse. The only “feature” is seeing their charge on your phone, which is a pretty lousy differentiator.
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#348Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#349Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple doesn't release products that have no distinguishing features other than "made by Apple in Cupertino". Accessories without distinguishing features they prefer to just work with third parties on (such as Belkin). In fact, I'd wager that this particular Belkin charger was done in cooperation with Apple: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HLZ42/belkin-boost-up-spe...
What is the differentiator for the $39 silicone iPhone cases?
Cases are like cables. You need to have them available, and the only way to guarantee that they're available is to make them yourself (given that they're not based on industry standards). If case you bought 2 years ago still fit on the new phone today, then there's not much pressure for Apple to have a case, but since cases are tied to specific phone designs and form-factors, the only way to guarantee high-quality cases available at launch is to make them.
It occurs to me, cases are also like chargers. Nobody questions why apple sells their own USB-C charger even though you could in theory use a generic USB-C charger.
Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product
#350The whole AirPower saga is a weird event in product development. AirPower compatibility was highlighted as a feature in the packaging of the just-released AirPods 2 : https://twitter.com/itsnicolenguyen/status/11106569269650636... There has to be something that caused this abrupt cancellation.
Especially weird for Apple, who aren't known for vaporware. And even Google wouldn't come out and say "we can't make this work", they'd just stop talking about it until it was eventually solvable down the line, or let it evaporate altogether. It's very odd to see a tech giant just hit a technological wall.
Google had the curious case of the Nexus Q. It was announced at Google I/O and they took orders. Within a few days it was canceled. Those who ordered were refunded AND got their Nexus Q.