What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower

Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by bedhead on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:14PM (#18018248)

I still don't understand the appeal of wireless charging...it always struck me as a solution in search of a problem. Is the half-a-second act of plugging in a phone really so burdensome to people that we need to "solve" it? A wireless charge still requires an outlet, a cord, a place to set the pad down...it's identical to current charges minus the so-minor-and-quick-you-dont-even-think-about-it step of plugging in the phone.

Maybe, maybe if an entire surface (eg desk) was capable of wireless charging that would be a neat upgrade, otherwise I just don't get it at all. Now get off my lawn.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by sp332 on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:57PM (#18018589)

I have one at my desk and one next to my bed. At work I can check a notification and then just put it back down without messing with a cable every time. And when I'm tired at night I don't have to chase down a cable and try to plug it in, I can just throw the phone on the mat in the dark. It's not a huge difference but it's nice, and it's worth the $7 I paid for a charging pad.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by AdmiralAsshat on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @04:10PM (#18018689)

Anecdotally, I can speak a bit about my Nexus 7 which I've had since 2014. It supported the wireless Qi standard when it came out, and I got a wireless charging pad soon after I got the thing.

I've seen quite a few complaints on the xda-developers board about people with various Android phones and tablets (Nexus 7 included) becoming more or less unusable because the microUSB port wears out after so many thousand plug-ins and eventually breaks, dislodges, or stops recognizing the cable, and the end-user is unable to charge their device anymore.

Since I wirelessly charge my Nexus 7 90% of the time (only using micro-USB if travelling or topping it off at work), the micro-USB port is still in great condition. Personally I've had four phones and two tablets and never had any of the ports break on me, but, I suppose fumbling in the dark trying to jam the cable into the phone late at night could definitely put some wear and tear on the device.

I've heard possible stories that wireless charging might be worse for the battery, though, so, trade-offs for everything I suppose.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by Aloha on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @05:22PM (#18019264)

Has anyone ever seen a worn out lightning or dock port? I've seen plenty of damaged cables and plugs, but not the port itself

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by kalleboo on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @08:30AM (#18023682)

Yes, there's an issue where if the ground/power pins have a poor contact (due to a bad/dirty cable or whatnot), you end up up with a short on the pin which creates tiny shocks that leave a carbon discharge, and making it drop the charge. Your phone will now create carbon discharge on any new cable, spreading the "disease" to other iOS device. Look around at any "public" lightning cable for black spots on one of the middle pins.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by Aloha on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @09:35AM (#18024048)

I think the connector is self wiping, and will eventually clear with repeated insertions.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by toomuchtodo on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @07:30PM (#18020261)

Lightning cables are essentially consumables. I’ve spent at least two hundred dollars across our family on them. I’d rather have wireless and the efficiency hit that goes with it (in return for hardware longevity and cable cost savings).

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by 4d66ba06 on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @10:34PM (#18021212)

A 5S that I bought used off ebay eventually stopped detecting the lightening port, but obviously a very old phone as I think it was within the past year that it stopped.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by spronkey on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @01:33AM (#18021934)

I'd wager that Lightning is a substantially more durable port than MicroUSB in terms of insertion cycles...

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by Aloha on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @09:36AM (#18024063)

I'd agree with you, the fragility of MicroUSB was one of the reasons I wanted to change to an iPhone - I was less than happy when the android world moved on from MiniUSB

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by nraynaud on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @04:00PM (#18018604)

https://www.google.com/search?q=broken+iphone+cable&rlz=1C5C...

Stopping manual handling of the cable is urgent.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by baddox on Wednesday September 19, 2018 @12:11AM (#18021607)

Wireless chargers are great for “permanent” charging areas. I use one at my desk at work and on my nightstand at home. Does it save a ton of time? No, but it’s just easier. Most of the time is probably saved by not having to pick up the charging cable when it occasionally falls off the desk/surface while unplugged.

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Re:What Really Happened to Apple’s Airpower by rajacombinator on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @03:17PM (#18018275)

Think of a substantial surface in public places like an airport. Also I’m sure the design guys at Apple are thinking this is how they remove the last port on the iPhone a few years from now.

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