Apple cancels release of wireless charger

Apple has cancelled the release of its AirPower wireless charger after admitting it would not meet the company’s “high standards.”

In a rare mis-step for a company that prides itself on slick, show-like product launches, Apple said after “much effort” it had concluded the planned charging mat would not be able to go ahead.

Friday’s news came despite the AirPower having been advertised on the box of the second generation of Apple’s AirPod headphones, released earlier this month.

“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologise 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.

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The AirPower mat was first announced in 2017 alongside news of the iPhone X’s wireless charging capability. The tech giant had said it planned to release the mat in 2018, but little was heard about the product from the company thereafter.

Product delays

Apple had said the mats would be able to charge up to three devices at once, but last year rumours surfaced of technical problems and that the mats were overheating.

The reversal adds to pressured faced by Apple over product delays in the last two years, which included the late shipment of its HomePod and AirPods speakers. The company has also been plagued by complaints about its third generation MacBook keyboards, for which it apologised earlier this week. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2019