Did Tesla achieve what Apple engineers never managed to achieve? During the presentation of the iPhone X in 2017, Apple made the audience dream with a charging mat of a new kind: the AirPower. The idea was to improve Qi technology, with a mat made up of several dozen induction coils, so that it is possible to place up to three devices on it and charge them, AirPods case and Apple Watch included.
Better: when you place an Apple accessory on it, the charging mat tells the iPhone to display an animation showing the design of the product, before centralizing the battery charge levels of all the devices being charged. These features would have been handy, except that Apple has been pushing back the release of the AirPower mat year after year. Until that day in 2019 when the firm bluntly admitted that the product would not be released because it did not meet the “high standards” of Apple engineers.
Tesla launches an AirPower-style charging mat, before Apple
In fact, we learned through hallway noises that the device was the victim of overheating problems. A concern that seemed insurmountable with the first design of the AirPower mat. More recently, new prototypes have appeared on the web. Which seems to indicate that Apple is redeveloping the product with a new technical design allowing the accessory to finally meet its promises (without overheating problem).
While Apple is slow to launch its revised and corrected AirPower, Tesla invites itself into the party with a charging mat very similar in functionality: the Tesla Wireless Charging Platform. This black charging mat, all in angles, inherits a design taken from the Cybertruck.
Tesla explains: “Inspired by the angular, metallic design of Cybertrucks, our wireless charging pad provides 15W of fast charging per device and can charge up to three devices simultaneously. Its sleek design is comprised of an aluminum casing, premium Alcantara surface, and a detachable magnetic stand that lets you lay the charger flat or at an angle for better viewing of the screen. devices being charged”.
The firm adds that the mat is: “featuring FreePower® technology, which charges Qi-enabled devices such as phones or headphones placed anywhere on its surface without precise alignment”. Exactly like AirPower, except for the animation on your iPhone. The device relies on a tangle of 30 induction coils to operate.
©Tesla
The product is available now for pre-order on the Tesla Shop. The brand specifies that the first units will be delivered by February 2023.
