Imagine being told that you’re able to recharge your phone wirelessly via the microwave. Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? But if you take some time to think about it, you’d realise that it’s just too good to be true.
Yes, Apple’s latest software release, iOS8, has been touted as brilliant, with many new features and apps being introduced. However, ‘Wave’ is definitely not one of them. In fact, it’s a complete hoax.
Word has been going around on social media about a revolutionary app, #AppleWave, which was purported to be a breakthrough in mobile technology, enabling consumers to recharge their cellphones at top speed in a household microwave. Of course, if you’ve listened to your teacher during science class, you would have known that metal and microwaves do not go together.
Designed just like an official Apple ad release, it fooled users into thinking that such an idea was plausible. According to the hoax, “Wave” is an iOS8 exclusive app which will be automatically activated after the software update. Directions are as follows: “You can now Wave-charge your device by placing it within a household microwave for a minute and a half,” and “60 seconds at 700W or 70 seconds at 800W. Do not Wave-charge for over 300 seconds.”
Despite it sounding ridiculous, some went as far as microwaving their phone, thus becoming the first sad victims of this hoax. They then flew into a hilarious rage upon discovering that the joke was on them.
It certainly didn’t help that the ad even gave instructions on how to use the Wave-charging system. The ad claims that “iOS8 contains new drivers that interface with you device’s radio-baseband allowing it to synchronise with microwave frequencies and use them to recharge your battery.”
Props to making the unbelievable sound almost believable in a single sentence.
The “Wave” prank was formed on 4chan, an infamous online forum, who were the same perpetrators for last year’s iOS7 waterproof hoax. To make the hoax more believable, they gain credibility online by having 4chan members themselves pose as satisfied users with a full percentage of battery. Others played along, or made concerned remarks regarding the issue in hopes of warning gullible users.
While the iOS7’s waterproof prank was a major success, the iOS8’s prank fared considerably less in comparison, most likely because it just didn’t make much sense.
We will never understand why a minority of users don’t google these unbelieveable rumours before attempting them, but I guess we can all take this as a warning for future hoaxes. iOS9 hoaxes, we’ll be on the lookout for you.
On another note, if you’re out and about with a nearly flat phone or laptop and are looking for a place to charge your device, there are some MRT stations in Singapore that now offer free charging points for everyone to use.
Always remember to think wisely before trying anything fishy. The results could be disastrous.
