On Oct. 31, 2021, four astronauts will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket heading towards the International Space Station. Our latest giveaway on the Space.com forums will set you up for this exciting launch with some memorable prizes!
The SpaceX Crew-3 mission for will launch NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer to the orbiting lab. The Space.com community tends to get excited about SpaceX missions to the International Space Station, and for good reason! So, for this giveaway, part of your entry will be answering a simple question: what is it that excites you most about a mission to the ISS?
We’ll be picking one grand prize winner who will be walking away with:
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A SpaceX Crew-3 mission patch hat is up for grabs in Space.com’s new Space Forums giveaway. (Image credit: The Space Store)
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A Crew-3 mission patch, lapel pin and sticker set is also part of the prize pack. (Image credit: The Space Store)
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Rounding out the Crew-3 prize pack is this medallion (2 sides shown). (Image credit: The Space Store)
1 x NASA SpaceX Crew-3 Mission Medallion
1 x Crew-3 NASA SpaceX Dragon Mission Patch, Lapel Pin, Sticker Set
1 x NASA SpaceX Crew 3 Mission Patch Cap
If you’ve been looking for a way to show off your love for all things space exploration, look no further! Whether you’re looking for a sticker for your laptop, a cap for sunny days, or a mantle piece that starts conversations, you won’t want to miss this giveaway.
You’ll need to make sure to enter before 11:59 PM EST on Aug. 27, 2021. Head over to this thread for more information, including Terms and Conditions.
Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
12 people are responsible for the majority of COVID-19 disinformation being spread online, a CCDH study found.
Number one is Joseph Mercola, a natural health doctor who publishes anti-vaxx claims to a following of 3.6 million on social media.
One of Mercola’s articles, “Could Hydrogen Peroxide Treat Coronavirus?”, was shared nearly 5,000 times on Facebook.
A March report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that most COVID-19 disinformation online is being spread by just 12 people. A Facebook analysis found that 73% of 689,000 anti-coronavirus vaccinations posts shared between February and mid-March came from this group.
Among the 12 are Robert F Kennedy Jr, the nephew of former President John F Kennedy, who has been an anti-vaxxer long before the pandemic. In the 1990s, Kennedy Jr began to spread disinformation that some vaccines given in childhood were connected to autism diagnoses and the development of allergies.
More recently, in a letter addressed to President Biden, Kennedy Jr. claimed that the CDC is administering propaganda and that “the sad reality is vaccines cause injuries and death.” Later in the same letter, however, he also wrote that it’d be impossible for autopsies determine if death was caused by a “vaccine adverse event.”
But beating Robert F Kennedy Jr to the No. 1 spot in the ‘disinformation dozen’ is Joseph Mercola, a natural health doctor based in Cape Coral, Florida.
Mercola is no newcomer to the anti-vaxx movement
A screenshot of Dr. Mercola (left) dispensing health advice in one of several appearances on the Dr. Oz show.
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According to the New York Times, Mercola has built his career on far-fetched health notions, including claims that spring mattresses amplify radiation and that tanning beds can reduce the chance of getting cancer. Cashing in on his followers, he sold them at-home tanning beds that cost between $1,200 and $4,000. He was then sued by the Federal Trading Commission and agreed to pay his customers refunds totaling $5.3 million, according to a 2016 report from the Chicago Tribune.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Mercola has focused his zeal against COVID vaccines.
Articles published on his website include “Thyme Extract Helps Treat COVID-19” and another titled “Could Hydrogen Peroxide Treat Coronavirus?” which was published in April and shared on Facebook 4,600 times, according to screenshots in the CCDH’s report.
Mercola later removed the hydrogen peroxide article, and others, from his site, due to what he called the “fearmongering media and corrupt politicians” censoring his content, which he alleges have led to personal threats.
US health officials have called out social media platforms and conservative news outlets, like Fox News, for their role in allowing the spread of vaccination misinformation, especially as new cases are again on the rise.
Over the past week, the US reported an average of nearly 50,000 new COVID-19 infections each day, according to CDC data. The rise in new infections come amid the spread of the more contagious delta variant of the disease. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky previously called the uptick in cases a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
With an audience of 3.6 million over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the CCDH report found that Mercola has been the most far-reaching spreader of COVID disinformation.
In an emailed response to the Times, Mercola said it was “quite peculiar to me that I am named as the #1 superspreader of misinformation.”
While some social media platforms have taken steps to identify and remove disinformation, many of the 12 people’s accounts are still active, including Mercola’s, where he often shared multiple posts a day.
There are times Apple knocks it out of the park with its accessories. AirPods, for example, provide a better experience than other Bluetooth headphones. But there are times that Apple’s own first-party accessories fall short of what’s available from third-party manufactures, like the case of Apple’s $99 magnetic MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12.
How MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12 works
The MagSafe Battery Pack is a rectangular battery pack (or power bank) that attaches magnetically to the back of the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max. It costs $99. It works like any other MagSafe accessory, and as a first-party battery pack, it has an integrated experience that no other product has. It’s the only battery pack or accessory to support reverse wireless charging—meaning that you can charge the battery pack while charging the iPhone (the battery pack will only start charging after your iPhone is charged up to 80%). The battery pack itself charges using a Lightning cable.
Why the MagSafe Battery Pack is such a disappointment
If you only look at the MagSafe experience, it sounds pretty good, but the devil is in the details that Apple doesn’t readily provide on the product page. It starts with the capacity: The MagSafe Battery Pack has a 1460 mAh, 11.13Wh battery inside, which is tiny. In comparison, the iPhone 12 itself has a 10.78Wh battery. Also, consider that Qi wireless charging is inefficient, with quite a bit of capacity lost just in the charging process. Not to mention the fact that the battery pack only charges the iPhone at 5W, which is pretty slow.
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All of this translates to the MagSafe Battery Pack struggling to charge your iPhone fully, and even when it does charge it up to 90%, it’s going to take a hell of a long time.
What Apple does have going for it is the fact that they’re using an 11Wh battery (which is double the capacity of third-party battery packs). This puts the real capacity at 2920 mAh, but that’s still not enough to fully charge an iPhone 12 considering the power loss in the wireless charging process.
Granted, there is a way to fast charge your iPhone using the MagSafe Battery Pack, but that’s using a 20W adapter via the Lightning port (essentially using the battery pack as a wireless charger). Oh, and it doesn’t come with an adapter or a cable in the box.
The MagSafe Battery Pack also has some of the same usability issues as the MagSafe Wallet. While the magnets are strong when attached (you can’t simply shake it off), a simple nudge from your thumb is enough to dislodge the magnets, which isn’t good news for an accessory that will be going in and out of your pockets all day. Ultimately, while the marketing images for the MagSafe Battery Pack show quite a sleek product, the reality is different.
Cheaper alternatives to the MagSafe Battery Pack
Realistically, the MagSafe Battery Pack can only charge your iPhone up to 70-90%, depending on your model, and not fast charging. If you don’t mind using third-party alternatives, you can get better performance (like a full charge), for cheaper (sometimes less than half the price).
These battery packs are only MagSafe compatible (essentially just Qi wireless chargers with magnets), so they won’t get extra features like better power efficiency of MagSafe charging, but because the MagSafe Battery Pack itself is limited to 5W charging, you’re not losing out on much.
Here are some alternatives to consider:
HyperJuice ($39.99): This is one of the most popular and reliable magnetic battery pack. It has a 5000 mAh battery and supports 7.5W wireless charging (12W wired charging using a USB-C port).
Mophie snap+ juice pack mini ($49.99): A similar story here, also rated at 5000 mAh and can fully charge an iPhone 12. There’s a USB-C port for charging the battery pack.
Anker PowerCore Magnetic 5K ($45.99): Anker’s PowerCore Magnetic 5K is another battery pack from a reputable brand. It’s a similar package to Mophie’s and has a 5000 mAh battery inside. It’s rated to fully charge the iPhone 12 mini, and it will almost fully charge the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro (95% to 97%). It will only charge the iPhone 12 Pro Max to 75%.
Why you still might want a MagSafe Battery Pack
All that considered, you might still want to get one. It is, after all, the only real MagSafe Battery Pack on the market. It has tight integration with iOS, its battery health management features, and it is easy to use. All you have to do is snap it on your iPhone and you can forget about it. If that’s worth the $99 asking price, the rest of the devilish details don’t have to stop you.
Apple today released the MagSafe Battery Pack accessory for iPhone 12 models. Many months after the iPhone 12 series was unveiled, Apple has quietly released a new first-party MagSafe accessory in the form of a wireless battery pack. (Unofficial magnetic battery packs for iPhone 12 have been around for several months from third-party makers.)
The MagSafe battery pack attaches magnetically to the back of the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max offering additional hours of battery life. The pack itself charges with a Lightning cable, and it can passthrough charge to the attached iPhone at the same time. Apple recommends using a 20-watt USB-C charger for the fastest charge times.
The MagSafe battery pack is available to order today with first deliveries beginning July 19. Apple says the MagSafe Battery Pack requires the iPhone to be running iOS 14.7 or later.
The MagSafe Battery Pack joins an existing accessory ecosystem of wireless battery packs that have surfaced since the iPhone 12 came out. However, all of these third-party options are unofficially ‘MagSafe compatible’ rather than MagSafe approved. For now, Apple’s first-party accessory is the only official MagSafe Battery Pack accessory.
As you might expect, battery percentage for Apple’s battery case will appear in the Battery widget and on the Lock Screen.
Apple has not yet released official statistics on how much extra battery life the MagSafe Battery Pack provides. Total capacity of the battery is 1460 mAH, as seen on the back of the unit in one of the product photos. Apple does say the MagSafe Battery Pack will charge the connected iPhone at about 5 W.
Are you interested in the MagSafe Battery Pack? Let us know in the comments.
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Monster hunting is tough work, and if you want to get the kill or capture one, in most cases, you’re going to need some items to help you out in battle.
To celebrate Monster Hunter Rise shipping more than five million copies globally, Capcom is gifting a commemorative item pack to all the hunters out in the wild. All up, you’ll get 30 Mega Potions, 20 Well-done Steaks, 10 Large Barrel Bombs, 5 Mega Demondrugs, and 5 Mega Armorskins.
This item is only redeemable in the main game of Monster Hunter Rise and will require you to update your copy in order to be claimed. It also can only be claimed once from the Courier.
How has your Monster Hunter experience been so far? Enjoying the hunt? Leave a comment below.
Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley‘s tour of love continues — the engaged couple hit up Disney World during Easter weekend … and they couldn’t keep their hands off each other!!
Of course, the NFL MVP and actress are fresh off a romantic getaway to Mexico … which was the very first time we got a glimpse of the duo together since Rodgers announced their engagement back in February.
37-year-old Rodgers and 29-year-old Woodley now appear to be a lot more comfortable showing their love for each other out in public … holding hands and hugging while walking through Disney in Orlando.
In fact, the couple adorably decided to wear matching Star Wars-themed masks … and while Woodley added some Minnie Mouse ears, Rodgers settled for a ballcap and Star Wars shirt.
Remember — Rodgers is a grade-A Star Wars super-nerd … so we’re sure he couldn’t wait to get the VIP treatment while checking out the SW: Galaxy’s Edge area during his visit.
The couple has a lot to celebrate — Rodgers’ debut episode as interim host of “Jeopardy!” premiered on Monday … and Woodley hyped up her man by praising his man bun and “super sexy, super attractive” look.
A man looking to diversify his investments from stocks to Magic the Gathering cards has found the highly prized Black Lotus card after accidentally opening a vintage pack.
Talking to PC Gamer, the man – known only as Michael – used to play the game in the mid-90s and invested an unknown amount – thought to be anywhere from $7,000 to $15,000 – into an unopened MTG card pack.
Even though his pack couldn’t contain the sought-after Alpha Black Lotus, the Beta variant is still highly collectible as it too will never be reprinted.
“I had read that you could search a pack and see the contents without opening,” Michael told PC Gamer. “I wanted to search it and if it had good cards in it, I would open. If not I would just hold it and let it appreciate in value as a sealed booster pack or keep as a piece of history.”
But after accidentally breaking the seal after trying to get a sneaky peek at its content, Michael found a rare prize indeed: the Beta Black Lotus card, which can be worth tens of thousands of dollars depending upon its condition.
“I literally blank stared at it for a few seconds. My brain was full-on loading screen,” Michael said. “The first coherent thought I remember having was, ‘No. This is fake. This HAS to be fake. There is no way…’
“After that, it was a blur of me trying to find my card bag that had cases in it and yelling for my life partner to stay away from the table,” he said. “She thought something was wrong based on how I sounded. You have to realize, I was literally in my underwear running around the house trying to find a case to put this thing in!”
Michael is now looking to have the card professionally graded.
A rare Magic: The Gathering card recently sold at auction for over half a million dollars.
The game’s most powerful and sought-after card, Black Lotus – which was released as part of the Alpha set in 1993 – popped up on eBay earlier this month and closed at the end of January, having sold for an astonishing $511,100. That’s three times the price paid for a similar quality card in 2019, and five times the price paid in 2018.
The steep price is thought to have been achieved due to the card’s mint condition – rated as “MT 10” – and the fact it’s been signed by artist Christopher Rush, who sadly died back in 2016.
ICYMI, the first Magic: Legends open beta will begin on March 23, giving players their first taste of the free-to-play, deck-building action-RPG.
You can sign up for the beta via the official Magic: Legends website. All you have to do is make a free Arc account and click the button in the top-right corner. Ahead of the beta, you can also put in for a slot in the final closed alpha.
Alpha and beta testing is exclusive to PC, but PS4 and Xbox One players will get to join in the full release later this year. In a new deck-building deep-dive, Perfect World gave us a better idea of what to expect from Magic: Legends, and a clearer picture of how it adapts the rules of Magic: The Gathering.
Here are our picks of the best card games, best board games, and the best tabletop RPGs right now.
Frames-per-second is an extremely important stat while playing Call of Duty, so to help you get the most out of your rig, here are the best Black Ops Cold War FPS settings for your PC.
In first-person shooters like Call of Duty, maximizing your frames-per-second can give you a huge advantage over other players. Higher FPS means smoother gameplay, improving your reaction time and ability to track moving targets.
With Black Ops Cold War Season 2 in full-swing, with League Play ranks to grind, you’ll want to be playing at your best.
The biggest crutch on your frame output will be your hardware. Here, we’ll be going over everything you need to get the optimal performance from your system when playing Black Ops Cold War on PC.
Black Ops Cold War System Requirements
Before customizing your graphics settings, it’s worth taking a look at Treyarch’s System Requirements chart for Black Ops Cold War.
From looking at this chart, you’ll be able to tell what kind of performance to expect from your system. Our graphics settings assume you’ve met the minimum requirement, and will give you the optimum settings for visuals and performance, no matter your rig.
How to update graphics drivers
To get the optimal performance from your system and make Cold War run as smooth as possible, you need to make sure your graphics drivers are up-to-date.
Here’s how to update your graphics drivers.
How to update NVIDIA graphics driver
If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, the GeForce experience app will handle this for you.
Download GeForce experience through NVIDIA.com.
Open GeForce experience
Select the ‘Drivers’ tab
Click ‘check for updates’ in the upper right corner
If an update is available, follow the steps
How to update AMD graphics driver
If you have an AMD GPU, you can use the Radeon Settings to update your drivers.
Right click on your desktop
Select AMD Radeon Settings
Click on the Home icon
Click ‘New Updates’ on the bottom left
Select ‘check for update’
If an update is available, follow the steps
Best Black Ops Cold War graphics settings for low-end hardware
If you’re playing Black Ops Cold War on NVIDIA’s 1000 series graphics card, your best bet is to put most of the settings on low. Although pretty visuals are great, you want BOCW to be running as smoothly as possible so you can be playing at your best.
Here are the settings you should be running if your system is a few years old.
Hardware
Refresh rate: Match your monitors refresh rate
Gameplay V-Sync: Disabled (Unless you have bad screen tearing)
Menu V-Sync: Disabled
Render Resolution: 100 (lower if your system is struggling)
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: Enabled (Boosted)
Display
Field of View: 90-110
ADS Field of View: Affected
Vehicle Aiming Field of View: Affected
Framerate Limit: Custom
When setting a custom framerate, you want to set the Gameplay Custom Framerate limit to match your monitor’s refresh rate, e.g 144 FPS on a 144hz monitor.
You should set the Menu Custom Framerate Limit to 60, and the frame rate to Minimized to 30.
Details & Texture
Texture Quality: Low/Medium
Model Quality: Low
Special Effects Quality: Medium
Screen Space Reflection: Low
Object View Distance: Low (This is a CPU heavy option)
Shadow and Lighting
Shadows affect FPS the most. On a lower-end graphics card, shadows will be an unnecessary load for your system to run, so you’re better off setting everything to Low. However, you should set ‘Dynamic Shadows’ to All, as this will allow you to see enemies’ shadows.
Volumetric Lighting: Low
Shadow Quality: Low
Dynamic Shadows: All
Special Effect Shadows: Disabled
Weapon Shadow: Disabled
Ray Tracing
Unfortunately, Ray Tracing is a new and graphically advanced rendering technique that older systems won’t be able to handle.
Ray Tracing Sun Shadows: Disabled
Ray Tracing Local Shadows: Disabled
Ray Tracing Ambient Occlusion: Disabled
Post Processing Effects
Anti-Aliasing Quality: Lowest
Ambient Occlusion Quality: Low
Motion Blur: Disabled
Subsurface Scattering: Disabled
Order Independent Transparency: Low
Advanced
VRAM Usage Target: Default 80%. If you are experiencing hitching in-game, try 70%.
Display Adapter: The graphics card you want to use.
Best Black Ops Cold War graphics settings for high-end hardware
There’s no point in forking out over $1000 dollars for the best hardware if you’re not going to take advantage of it. Using the same graphics settings as a lower-end rig will grant you high FPS, but you’ll lose out on the high-quality visuals these expensive GPUs and CPUs can easily handle.
With high-end graphics cards such as the NVIDIA 2080 ti or the 3000 series, you’ll be able to have Cold War looking the best it possibly can, and still have competitive performance.
We’ve put together graphics settings that combine Black Ops Cold War’s high-quality visuals with a competitive performance.
Hardware
Refresh rate: Match your monitors refresh rate
Gameplay V-Sync:Disabled (Unless you have bad screen tearing)
Menu V-Sync: Disabled
Render Resolution:100 (lower if your system is struggling)
NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency:Enabled (Boosted)
Display
Field of View: 90-110
ADS Field of View: Affected
Vehicle Aiming Field of View: Affected
Framerate Limit: Custom
When setting a custom framerate, you want to set the Gameplay Custom Framerate limit to match your monitor’s refresh rate, e.g 144 FPS on a 144hz monitor.
You should set the Menu Custom Framerate Limit to 60, and the frame rate to Minimized to 30.
Details & Texture
Texture Quality: High
Model Quality: Medium/High
Special Effects Quality: High
Screen Space Reflection: Medium
Object View Distance: Medium
Shadow and Lighting
Shadows affect FPS the most. When playing on a high-end graphics card such as the 3000 series, you’ll be able to run these at high without it massively affecting your performance.
For a balance between visuals and performance, you should use these settings.
Volumetric Lighting: Medium
Shadow Quality: Medium
Dynamic Shadows: All
Special Effect Shadows: Disabled
Weapon Shadow: Disabled
Ray Tracing
If you have a 3000 series graphics card, you can take advantage of the new Ray Tracing technology. It will give an unnecessary hit to your performance in multiplayer, but it’s worth using when playing Cold War’s campaign.
Ray Tracing Sun Shadows: Disabled
Ray Tracing Local Shadows: Disabled
Ray Tracing Ambient Occlusion: Disabled
Post Processing Effects
NVIDIA DLSS: Performance
Anti-Aliasing Quality: High
Ambient Occlusion Quality: Medium
Motion Blur: Disabled
Subsurface Scattering: Disabled
Order Independent Transparency: Low
Advanced
VRAM Usage Target: Default 80%. If you are experiencing hitching in-game, try 70%.
Display Adapter: The graphics card you want to use.
No matter your system, you can use these graphics settings to improve Black Ops Cold War’s performance and visuals on your system.
Razer is tonight formally announcing its Anzu “smart” glasses, which follow Bose, Amazon, and other companies by integrating audio speakers directly into the glasses temples. The $199.99 Anzu glasses will be available in both rectangular and round frames, and each will come in two sizes: small and large. You can place an order beginning today.
Two sets of lenses come in the retail package: a regular, clear pair that offers 35 percent blocking against blue light, and Razer also throws in sunglass lenses with 99 percent UV protection.
Image: Razer
But Razer has deviated from competitors with its approach to audio glasses: the company has used a true wireless design that completely splits the left and right speakers. Razer says this allows for improved comfort since the frames allow for more give and flexibility. On the other hand, it could lead to some strange charging situations: you have to charge both temples at the same time — there are pogo pins on each one — and could theoretically encounter the occasional true wireless frustrations like audio dropouts on one side.
If you need prescription lenses, Razer has partnered with Lensabl for a 15 percent discount that’s available to Anzu buyers. That’ll obviously end up well above the standard cost, but what are us glasses wearers to do?
Image: Razer
Razer has outfitted each side with a 16mm driver, and there are also touch-responsive tap gestures controls on either temple that will let you change tracks, answer calls, or activate a voice assistant. The Anzu glasses are rated IPX4 for water resistance, so you’ll want to avoid serious rain — but they should handle light splashes okay. Razer says it has cut Bluetooth latency down to 60ms.
The Anzu glasses automatically power down when folded shut — achieving up to two weeks of standby time — and then pair to the last device once opened back up. Battery life is rated at “up to five hours.” That’s about on par with Bose, which estimates 5.5 hours for its Tenor audio sunglasses. As for sound bleed, which is always a side effect with these audio glasses, Razer told me that people within arm’s distance will probably pick up on your music.
The included leatherette case has a magnetic latch and flap for storing the charging cable or extra lenses. The Anzu glasses are exclusively available from Razer.com and physical RazerStore locations. In North America, you can get them from Best Buy US and Best Buy Canada.
This is the current MagSafe charger, which is sold separately from the iPhone 12.
Samuel Axon
The MagSafe charger attached to an iPhone 12.
Samuel Axon
Bloomberg has published yet another report sharing details of a planned Apple product launch. This time, the publication’s sources say Apple is working on a magnetically attached battery pack for iPhones—it would be the first Apple-designed iPhone battery pack that does not double as a case.
The accessory would use the MagSafe feature introduced with the iPhone 12 lineup in October. It would magnetically attach to the back of new iPhones and presumably provide power wirelessly via the Qi standard that iPhones have adopted. According to Bloomberg’s sources, the first prototypes have a “white rubber exterior.”
Apple has also already shipped some MagSafe accessories for the iPhone, including a charging cable that uses the magnets and other components to optimally align the charging coils and produce faster charging speeds than were possible with previous iPhone models with non-MagSafe Qi charging capability.
The MagSafe moniker was first used for Mac laptops that had a magnetic charging port. In that case, faster charging was not part of the pitch; instead, the goal was to reduce the risk of damage to the computer if its power cord was kicked or yanked. With MagSafe, the cable would gently pop out instead of tugging at the device itself.
Apple gradually culled MagSafe from its MacBook product line over the past few years, but rumors are circulating that the company plans to reintroduce it with new MacBook Pro or MacBook Air models due later this year.
There is no sense as to when Apple might ship this new iPhone MagSafe battery product. The report claims that Apple had aimed to “launch in the months following the iPhone 12 line” but that the product has been delayed due to struggles on the software side of development.
Specifically, the software has reported to testers that the battery pack is overheating even when it is not.
Apple is likely to take a conservative or cautious approach when introducing new battery or charging products, given that its once-announced AirPower charging mat never saw the light of day, and various gadget companies (perhaps most infamously Samsung) have faced widespread reports of fire or injury resulting from faulty batteries and power systems.
