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Apple Cancels AirPower Product

techcrunch.com

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Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#431

Post by eridius »

xsmasher wrote: post #372
icedchocolate wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Is there another brand that pauses your music/audiobook when you take them out? If so I'd like to try it; AirPods don't fit my ears well (fall out when I bend forward.) The iCloud pairing and tap-controls are nice, but I guess I could live without them.

I don't know what it's called but someone sells a silicone attachment for the AirPods that anchors it inside your ear. I know this because one of my coworkers has it.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#432

Post by lightedman »

jdietrich wrote: post #205
derefr wrote: post #133

Something 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…

It has been tried in commercial products, but it's harder than it looks. Pogo pin type contacts don't have a lot of current capacity and there are some fairly serious issues with surface contamination and corrosion. The layout is easy, the electronics are easy, but the metallurgy of the contacts is an unsolved problem.

"but the metallurgy of the contacts is an unsolved problem"

Solved for decades. Gold-plated stops corrosion and resists contamination of most any sort.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#433

Post by gumby »

konschubert wrote: post #346
gumby wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It's hard (very lossy) to try to couple the B fields when the rings are different sizes.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#434

Post by kickopotomus »

adtac wrote: post #369
mjsweet wrote: post #319

Is it my understanding that induction rings can't overlap? You can't just plonk a phone, watch and AirPods case anywhere on a charging pad and expect them to start charging right? The coil in each device needs to be fairly well aligned with the coil in the Qi charging pad. The proper way to do this is to have three individual coils with visual location targets for each device to charge. I wonder if Apple was trying t…

Following up on this, why is it impossible to use just one coil that's more powerful? IIUC To transmit power, you just need a temporally varying EM field to induce current on the other end, so why not have one that produces enough power? (My Electromagnetics course was 2-3 years ago, so forgive me if I'm missing something basic.)

A larger (diameter) coil would require much more power to create a magnetic field capable of inducing a (useful) current in the device's battery charger. Also remember that induction requires AC. A high-power AC circuit creates a lot of RF noise.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#435

Post by kickopotomus »

mjsweet wrote: post #319

Is it my understanding that induction rings can't overlap? You can't just plonk a phone, watch and AirPods case anywhere on a charging pad and expect them to start charging right? The coil in each device needs to be fairly well aligned with the coil in the Qi charging pad. The proper way to do this is to have three individual coils with visual location targets for each device to charge. I wonder if Apple was trying t…

> Is it my understanding that induction rings can't overlap?

They technically can and that is what Apple was trying to do but the overlap creates a lot of weird RF noise and makes stable induction difficult.

> Do the laws of physics apply here?

Yes, it's just a much harder physics problem.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#436

Post by bredren »

blihp wrote: post #395
brokencoder wrote: post #275

Apple's management has enacted a policy of not offering competitive compensation for top engineering talent. I've had multiple Apple managers express frustration with the company's inability to attract and retain top talent. I myself got an offer from Apple for less than half what three other top companies offered, and Apple was unwilling to negotiate. This product cancellation and Apple's general product quality dec…

I'm not sure that this is anything new. Apple has been known for decades as a company unwilling to pay top dollar but rather count on their mystique / sense of mission to attract talent. However, with the mystique fading and no longer having a go-go stock price to make options/RSUs as attractive, that strategy is probably not working nearly as well as it used to.

Where’s the evidence of this talent drain creating great products elsewhere? I believe this is possible but am genuinely curious.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#437

Post by nikofeyn »

rickyc091 wrote: post #311
_bxg1 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I appreciate that Apple was honest with their communication. Too often have I seen managers/CEOs employ the strategy of avoiding the hard conversation and letting the topic fade away.

> I appreciate that Apple was honest with their communication.

why do you assume it was honest? they sold products based upon the impending release of this product, even including it on the packaging of products according to another comment. that was like two years ago? if i remember correctly, it even featured in one of their keynotes.

the excuse "it doesn't meet our standards" sounds like a nice cover for the actual answer.

anyway, i also don't understand their comment that wireless is the "future" for power transfer. i don't see how a significant loss of efficiency where power is just thrown away is the future.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#438

Post by thruhiker »

xuki wrote: post #417
ulfw wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am sorry to say but that’s what happens when you don’t have a proper product management org. Unbelievable in a large company like Apple but they do not have a Head of Product / CPO and are basically still a Sales and Marketing company with attached Engineering departments. There has been something very very wrong with products not getting out the door at Apple over the last few years. How does it take years to upda…

Steve Jobs was their Head of Product :(.

I've heard product managers described as "mini-CEOs" before. I don't think it's a comprehensive description, but it speaks to ownership mentality I think.

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#439

Post by Animats »

“Over time, these harmonics add up and they become really powerful signals in the air,” explains William Lumpkins, VP of Engineering at O & S Services. “And that can be difficult—that can stop someone’s pacemaker if it’s too high of a level. Or it could short circuit someone’s hearing aid.”

"Over time, these harmonics add up?" Huh?

Re: Apple Cancels AirPower Product

#440

Post by Eric_WVGG »

quailmaster wrote: post #313
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

eh? The back of the watch itself is flat. John Gruber says he saw a prototype backstage of an event a couple years ago, put his watch on and it started charging just fine, incidentally.

The back of the watch is very much curved. It's not as noticeable when people are wearing them because the watch sits right in between your wrist bones. https://i.gzn.jp/img/2018/09/21/apple-watch-series-4-open/p4...

gah. You're right, I'm wrong. Dumb.
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