I agree that it is incredible that they didn't manage to ship it in 2018.

However, it isn't just a charging mat. Or at least, it isn't like any of the other existing charging mats.

Existing ones charge either a single device, or multiple devices in a few pre defined spots on the mat. As such they just have dedicated charging coils for each device.

The Apple mat promises/promised the ability to just slap multiple devices down on the mat wherever you want. Presumably it uses a whole array of coils to delivery power to the spots on the mat where it was needed (which I guess will also involve detecting where the devices wanting to be charged are).

If it ever arrives I can imagine it will be eye wateringly expensive for a charging mat...