When Apple killed the AirPower charging mat in 2019, it appeared to take the dream of charging three units directly on a single floor with it. Whereas there are many dual-phone chargers and multi-device mats that use separate cables for every part, Apple’s imaginative and prescient of a mat that may cost something you placed on it wherever you place it hasn’t fairly been realized.
Till now. On Thursday, Tesla launched the merely named Wi-fi Charging Platform in its on-line retailer. Like AirPower, it has a pair dozen charging coils underneath the floor and desires only a single 65W cable to function. Tesla says its FreePower know-how can cost “Qi-capable units corresponding to telephones or earbuds positioned anyplace on its floor with out exact alignment.” A view reveals it working in an identical method to AirPower, with as much as three units charging on the similar time.
Tesla describes the design as “composed of an aluminum housing, premium Alcantara floor, and a removable magnetic stand that lets you lay the charger flat or at an angle for higher viewing.” It says it’s impressed by “the angular design and metallic styling of Cybertruck.” The photographs of the gadget present it charging iPhones and AirPods alongside an Apple Magic Keyboard and iMac. It’s uncertain that it will probably additionally cost an Apple Watch as AirPower was supposedly in a position to do.
AirPower was introduced alongside the iPhone X in September 2017 however by no means bought off the bottom. Some months after its unveiling, stories started circling of overheating points and the challenge was canceled a 12 months later, in March 2019.
We by no means knew the worth of AirPower, however we assumed it could be at the least $149. Tesla’s charger prices twice that, at $300. If you need one, you’ll be able to preorder now for delivery in February.
