Did Apple Scrap AirPower Charging Pad For Reverse Wireless Charging Tech?

Apple’s canceled AirPower charging pad was meant to be a revolutionary charging device. The technologies placed inside AirPower would do away with the need to position devices at specific areas.

With it, users won’t need to specifically place the iPhone on the left, an AirPods wireless charging case at the center and an Apple Watch on the right side of the pad. Users can simply place any iDevice anywhere on the AirPower charging pad to get it charged up.

Sadly, Apple canceled AirPower earlier this year because the company wasn’t able to meet the “high standards” it had for the charging device. Now that the device is canceled, what is Apple up to?

A new patent

A new patent spotted by Patently Apple reveals that Apple plans to equip its electronic devices with the ability to charge other compatible devices as well. The patent, published very recently by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, describes “an electronic device and methods for inductively charging an electronic device using another external electronic device.”

The patent includes some illustrations showing what Apple intends to do with the technology. One illustration shows a device, purported to be an iPhone, having an inductive charging coil which can only be seen when the display is taken off. Unlike the canceled AirPower, it will only have one coil it can use to charge another compatible device wirelessly.

Another illustration showed a MacBook with several charging coils that can be used when the device is open or closed. When open and in use, three charging coils located on the left and right wrist rests, as well as the trackpad, can be used to charge iPhones, Apple Watches or AirPods wireless charging cases.

When closed, the MacBook will act as a wide charging pad thanks to a number of charging coils spread throughout the lid. This will allow MacBooks to charge a variety of Apple devices simultaneously.

The patent noted that depending on the operational mode used, the inductive coils can be used to receive power (i.e. charge the device) or transmit power (i.e. be the wireless charger).

This new technology, while still a patent, can be expected to give Apple device users a lot of convenience, particularly when they’re on the go and in need of charging a device but don’t have a way to plug a charger to a socket. This technology will allow users to charge a more important and useful device (i.e. iPhone) using a variety of less-needed devices.