The Apple Vape Rumor Debunked
By Sponsor in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 28, 2017 6:00AM
Rumors are flying about an Apple patent that hints at a forthcoming weed vaporizer from the tech giant. Will this alleged “iVape” rethink the portable vaporizer, a device for consuming cannabis in vapor form, like the iPhone revolutionized the cell phone? There’s what Apple fan boys are hoping for. And then there’s reality.
Time to throw some cold water on the Apple vape rumor.
The Apple Myth
There’s a prevailing narrative about Apple having significant influence on the vape industry, particularly in the design department. The fact is, any great product, even a vaporizer, now lives in the shadow of Steve Jobs.
The Torqbar, a $199 fidget spinner for letting off steam at work, was recently called “the iPhone of Desk Toys” by Forbes. Likewise, the Nokia P1 phone was referred to as “the iPhone of Androids” by SlashGear. Sure enough, the infectious comparison has hit the vaporizer industry, too.
The iPod of Vaporizers
As soon as the AirVape Xs, a portable vape for dry herb consumption, launched, it was compared to an iPod. Its zen-like design is indeed Apple-esque. But the Airvape raised the bar for portable vaporizers all on its own.
Fitted with everything the modern stoner needs, the AirVape Xs hides in your palm so you can vape discreetly, vaporizes weed in an inert ceramic oven, below the combustion point, extracting natural flavors with no smoke added, and lets you choose precise temperatures.
The AirVape Xs is the product of years of innovation within the vape industry. And yet it gets compared to the iPod, as if it owes its success to Apple.
Taking that misconception a step further, the buzz surrounding the Apple vape suggests they will do something radical to the vaporizer. Looking at the patent, the reality is nothing to geek out about.
“A Substance that is to be Vaporized”
No one really knows what Apple is up to. But it has something to do with vaporization.Their brief yet exhaustively detailed patent application summarizes plans for a heating chamber that vaporizes substances.The chamber is eerily similar to that of a portable vaporizer. But the patent application only mentions “a substance that is to be vaporized or sublimated into a vapor.”
The so-called Apple vape could be a portable vaporizer for consuming cannabis. It could just as likely be an air freshener for Apple’s rumored smart car. If it is indeed an iVape for weed, what will it offer that vaporizers like AirVape Xs aren’t already giving us?
Vape Different?
Apple is simply planning a heating chamber that vaporizes material more thoroughly. At least that’s what we can glean from their patent. Personal vaporizers feature heating chambers in which dry herb and other substances sit, waiting to be blasted with hot air or cooked against a heated surface.
Apple’s idea is to stick a heated plate at the top of such a chamber. The plate will slide down as the substance begins to vaporize, compressing the vapor and leaving no room for cooling spots that lead to inconsistent vaporization. In other words, Apple would improve upon the heating method of today’s personal vaporizers, not completely reinvent them.
The vaporizer industry has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry, with an estimated annual revenue of $30 billion by 2019, thanks to vaporizer manufacturers like AirVape. If an Apple vape is coming, the world’s biggest brand is a little late to the party.
This post is brought to you by VaporNation.