Apple’s AirPower gets mention in iPhone XS, XS Max manuals, may not be dead yet – CNET

Apple may have almost scrubbed AirPower from its website, but the iPhone XS and XS Max manuals suggest it’s still alive.

The manuals for both new model iPhones make reference to the wireless charging pad as the main method of giving your phone juice, with the more traditional Lightning connector noted as an alternative option, reports 9to5Mac.

“Place iPhone with screen facing up on AirPower or a Qi-certified wireless charger. You can also use the Lightning connector to charge iPhone and connect accessories,” the booklet read.

Gavin Stephens tweeted a shot of the XS manual, while Scott Obara shared his photo of the XS Max guide. Obara’s Twitter profile notes that he’s in Australia, which was the first country to get hold of Apple’s new products Friday morning.

There’s apparently mention of AirPower in iOS 12.1 as well, 9to5Mac notes, with an update to the component of iOS responsible for managing the charging interface that appears when using the pad

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

AirPower was originally supposed to release in 2018, Apple said at the September 2017 iPhone event. However, we haven’t heard much since and it failed to appear at last Wednesday’s product reveal.

Some reports hint that the company is struggling to make the mat work as intended, with one alleging the multi-coil charging design causes the device to get too hot to function and another report saying the AirPower chip has trouble communicating with Apple products.