Apple’s AirPower charging mat rumored to ship in September following ‘technical hurdles’

Apple first announced its AirPower wireless charging mat 282 days ago back in September, with a 2018 release promise. Previous rumors suggested it would launch in March, but an iPad education event and WWDC keynote have both came and went without any mention of the AirPower mat. Bloomberg reports that Apple is now aiming to start selling its AirPower wireless charging mat before or in September.

Apple has reportedly hit “technical hurdles” developing AirPower, thanks to the complexity of the circuitry involved and engineers having to ensure the mat doesn’t overheat. Apple is creating AirPower so it can charge three devices at the same time: a modern iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods (thanks to a special case). Bloomberg reports that engineers have been working on fixing firmware-related bugs, as Apple is using custom chips and attempting to allow consumers to place devices anywhere on the mat.

While Apple has clearly hit delays with AirPower, other companies are trying to take advantage of this gap in the market. An Indiegogo campaign to crowdsource Plux, an AirPower lookalike, has raised $595,000 so far, demonstrating the demand for such an accessory.