Apple AirPower wireless charging mat has been cancelled, the company has confirmed. Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering Dan Riccio said in a statement that the project has been cancelled and apologised to customers who were waiting for it.
“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward,” said Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering.
To recall, Apple AirPower was announced alongside iPhone X, and iPhone 8 series in 2017. AirPower is supposed to wirelessly charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPower at the same time. Apple, at the time, had said the charging mat will launch in 2018. However, the Cupertino maintained its silence over the availability of AirPower until now.
Though Apple did not clearly say why the AirPower has been cancelled, a Bloomberg report cites challenges with the “software, overheating and the ability to charge multiple devices on any spot on the mat” as the issues.
The move is surprising for Apple fans, given the company rarely cancels its products. Several Apple iPhone models support wireless charging, though Apple does not offer its own wireless charging device as of now. Instead, it relies on wireless charging solutions from third-party vendors such as Belkin and Mophie.
The development is the latest in Apple’s list of troubles as earlier this week, it apologised for continuing problems with the MacBook’s third-generation butterfly keyboard. Apple in a statement to Wall Street Journal issued an apology and said that it is aware that users are facing problems.
