Remember AirPower? Originally announced in September 2017, it was canceled in March 2019 after the company determined it did not meet standards. However, it may not have really died after all.

Uncertainty comes from Patently Apple, who discovered a newly published patent that Apple filed on May 23, 2019, just two months after the cancellation announcement. It details a "device-priority wireless power system," which is indeed very similar to AirPower. What is new is the device-priority feature, which appears to take into account the type of device being charged and the order in which they are placed on the pad to determine the amount of power allocated to each.

To see how this works, please see the following diagrams. The first diagram summarizes all the components needed to transfer power between transmitting and receiving devices, and the second is a very simple diagram of what appears to be a wireless charging pad with devices being charged. The double width of the pad is reminiscent of AirPower, which was designed to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at once.

The problems with the original AirPower that caused Apple to pull the plug were said to have been heat issues and muddy communication signals caused by multiple devices charging at once. Hopefully Apple has figured out how to address this problem in the meantime, or at least plans to have a solution in place before we launch the product.

We don't know when that will be. Patents do not guarantee that a product will be sold, and even if it does become something that can actually be purchased, we don't know how long that will take.

If you want a great wireless charger right now, our favorite is the Belkin Boost Up Wireless Charging Stand, which provides 10W of charging for Qi-enabled smartphones and allows you to stand your smartphone up so you can watch a video or take a phone call while You can charge your smartphone while watching a video or taking a phone call.