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Apple’s compact wireless charger, AirPower, which had to charge multiple devices at the same time, is permanently disposed of. After more than a year of waiting, Apple has indicated that it is unable to bring its product up to its own standards.

In 2017, Apple announced AirPower – a wireless charger that must be exciting years after other manufacturers made wireless chargers, because Apple’s would be thinner and better than its competitors. In 2018 it appeared that we had to wait a little longer for AirPower. In the meantime we are 2019 and it appears that Apple will give us little more than hot air. AirPower is no longer and will never appear on the market.

Apple AirPower was an ambitious charging mat. Apple wanted to process multiple induction coils in one compact device. The idea behind that was that it was so easy and fast to charge many devices wirelessly. Nothing new in itself: such devices have been around for years. However, Apple wanted to make its specimen much smaller and thinner, but that brought with it insoluble heat problems.

Unexpected death

In a statement, Apple now states that AirPower will never meet Apple’s high standards, and that the product is therefore disposed of. Apple still apologizes to customers who were waiting for the launch of AirPower. Looks like the wireless charger was killed very recently. Pictures of AirPod boxes with a drawing of the device on the back still circulate in the wild.

Apple’s move is striking, all the more so because there are beautiful wireless chargers that you can use to charge multiple devices. Maybe Apple was ambitious in terms of size and flexible placement of devices, but the concept isn’t that crazy. The statement about the high standards and the excuses addressed to prospective buyers are also slightly ironic considering the bar that Apple sets for itself when it comes to laptops.

Last year Computerworld made a nice list of existing alternatives for AirPower, and Ikea has also been available since 2015. If you want to charge your non-Apple hardware wirelessly, you have plenty of options to choose from.

Related: Apple offers some kind of apology for malfunctioning keyboard

This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.