When Apple launched its next-gen iPhone back in September of last year, the company also announced a new wireless charger: AirPower. The company’s AirPower charger isn’t your regular wireless charger — it’s a charging mat that’s capable of wirelessly charging up to 3 devices at the same time.

And that’s delaying the release of the AirPower. The device is supposed to come out this year, and Apple initially planned on releasing it this month. But due to technical hurdles, the release has been reportedly pushed to September, according to Bloomberg. The company’s engineers are still working to mitigate overheating issues on the charger, since charging up to 3 devices at the same time is likely to make it really hot. Moreover, the separate charging sensors required to support up to 3 devices at the same time is apparently difficult to integrate. Apple engineers are also reportedly busy working on fixing the firmware of the device that runs a stripped down version of iOS required for device pairing.

AirPower isn’t the only device Apple has delayed recently — after the Mac Pro and HomePod, the delayed launched of the AirPower will likely disappoint a lot of Apple fans. But Apple usually introduces new iPhones and hardware in September, so launching the AirPower around the same period could be perfect timing. What really fascinates me is the fact that Apple previously looked into completely ditching external ports — yes, the charging port — on the iPhone X. This could change in the future, but only if Apple can figure out the cost-related issues associated with ditching the charging port and having to include a wireless charger with every iPhone. Right now, the iPhone X is already very expensive for most at $1,000.

Tagged with AirPower, Apple, Wireless Charging