RIP AirPower. iPhone lovers have been waiting more than a year for Apple’s wireless charging mat to finally launch, but the company announced today that it has officially canceled its AirPower project because it’s simply too dang hard to make it. “After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have canceled 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 in a statement emailed to TechCrunch. This is the first time any of us at Cult of Mac can remember Apple completely canceling a product after it was announced. Needless to say, we’re all stunned. Apple revealed AirPower at its iPhone X keynote in September 2017. Numerous engineering problems caused Apple to push its launch back. The company hasn’t given an official reason for its cancelation but rumors suggested heating issues caused by the close proximity of charging coils to one another was the main culprit. There were recent rumors and evidence that Apple planned to launch AirPower soon but it looks like everyone got their hopes up for nothing. Of course, if there were heating issues it makes sense for Apple to not release AirPower because it could have turned into a Samsung Note 7-sized fiasco. Still, we’re pretty bummed that Apple teased us for so long without knowing it could deliver the product first.<doc-sep>Apple's AirPower is officially dead. After first being announced alongside the iPhone X in 2017, Apple finally confirmed that it will not be releasing its AirPower wireless charger. At the initial announcement, Apple touted the charging mat as being capable of wirelessly charging an iPhone, AirPods and an Apple Watch at once. The company at the time said the product was "coming in 2018" but never released the product. Now it appears it never will. In a statement first provided to Tech Crunch and confirmed by USA TODAY, the company said the charging mat did not reach its standards, prompting it to cancel the product entirely. “After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards, and we have canceled 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. Rumors have persisted that Apple was facing hardware challenges in manufacturing the pad. In a blog post from September, notable Apple leaker Sonny Dickson said the company seemed to have encountered issues with heat management, interference, and issues with charging accuracy and speed. The timing of the cancellation comes just as Apple's new AirPods, which are available with a wireless charging case, became available to consumers. Apple News+:Are 300 magazines worth $9.99 a month? AirPods 2:AirPods finally get update with wireless charging, Siri and more talk time Apple's streaming future:With yet another streaming option, Apple TV+ brings us further into age of the 'unbundle' In an ironic twist, those who buy the new wireless-charging buds have a reference, and in some cases a picture, to the now-canceled AirPower on its packaging. Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal<doc-sep>In a Friday afternoon announcement, Apple shared today that AirPower is officially dead. The news came as a surprise as support for the special wireless charging mat was found in a recent iOS beta and other evidence was pointing to an imminent release. Now that Apple’s advanced wireless charger is off the table, let’s take a look at some of the best AirPower alternatives you can buy today. Over the last year, we’ve reviewed a variety of wireless chargers at 9to5Mac that AirPower would have competed with. Notably, none of them offer all the features that AirPower was supposed to, but no company has figured out how to bring all of that functionality to market in one package. While the following AirPower alternatives all feature some pros and cons, most of them offer the convenience of charging up to three devices at once in a single product and include Qi wireless compatibility. The good news is that all of these likely cost less than what Apple would have charged for AirPower. Let’s take a look: Nomad Nomad offers a couple of compelling options. First, the company has its Base Station which sells for $100. It’s a simple dual device pad-style wireless charger with a clean aesthetic. It can charge up to four devices at once with a 7.5W USB port and 18W USB-C port for wired charging. The two Qi chargers offer up to 10W of power. The Base Station offers a sharp look with a leather pad making up the majority of the product. Nomad also sells the Base Station Apple Watch Edition (reviewed). Here’s what 9to5Mac’s Jeff Benjamin concluded about this option: I think that even if you don’t care about charging AirPods wirelessly, the Nomad Base Station Apple Watch Edition should still be considered. It’s a great-looking device, works with the Apple Watch in Nightstand mode, and it allows you to charge your iPhone simultaneously in a very well-put-together package. And in the future, if you happen to want to charge your AirPods wirelessly, the option is already there for you thanks to the three coil setup. The Base Station Apple Watch Edition goes for $139. It doesn’t have the USB and USB-C ports on the back like the standard Base Station. It is also backordered for now until April 30th. Belkin Belkin offers a variety of great multi-device chargers. We previously reviewed the Boost Up Special Edition Wireless Charging Dock and found it to be a solid option. Like the Nomad Base Station, Belkin’s flagship multi-device charger offers wireless charging for iPhone and Apple Watch, with an additional USB port on the rear to charge a third-device. One benefit here is that your iPhone is propped up with the stand-style wireless charger. However, it won’t be a good fit if you’re looking to wirelessly charge your new AirPods. The Boost Up Special Edition Wireless Charging Dock sells for $160. Belkin also offers a less expensive option with the Boost Up Wireless Charging Dock between $120-$140. Zens & SliceCharge Both mostly unknown names, but the companies offer some interesting choices. Zens’ aluminum wireless charger has a sharp look. 9to5Mac’s Ben Lovejoy reviewed the three device wireless charger priced at $100 as well as the SliceCharge 3in1 Wireless Charger which is the most reasonable outside of the budget option below at $59. Budget options There are a host of inexpensive Qi wireless chargers that can support three devices at the same time. Just be careful to check out the reviews and know what you’re getting into. As for a nice budget option that has wireless charging for two devices, LXORY offers its charging pad in white or black for $37. It even has USB-C, Lightning, and micro USB has power options. IBIS makes an almost identical product that is also highly rated on Amazon for $39. What do you think? With AirPower officially dead, will you go for a more premium wireless charger already available, look for something more affordable, or just stick with what you’ve already got? Share your thoughts in the comments below! 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Image : Apple Apple has completely canceled its much-hyped AirPower project. The wireless charging mat would have charged an iPhone, a pair of AirPods and an Apple Watch simultaneously but now it will charge nothing. On Friday, Apple made the embarrassing decision to admit defeat. AirPower was announced along with Apple’s first generation of smartphones that were built with the ability to be charged wirelessly. Since then, there’s been little comment on the accessory from Apple and it’s failed to materialize. Now we know that the Cupertino giant just couldn’t figure out how to make the charger work. “After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have canceled 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 in an emailed statement today first reported to TechCrunch. Gizmodo confirmed the report and statement with Apple. The decision happened so recently and rapidly that the new AirPods 2 case even has AirPower illustrated on it. That’s it as far as the official explanation goes, a quick and vague declaration late on a Friday afternoon that one of the company’s highest profile and most anticipated products is done before it gets out the door, just as rumors have laid out. Those rumors and reports over the last year provide some context around Apple’s decisions: Bad heat management, buggy battery levels, unavoidable interference and the inability to live up to the design mock-ups that Apple has been showing off since 2017 have all been reported as reasons contributing to the product’s demise. Apple’s website even scrubbed almost all mentions of AirPower recently despite the product being on AirPower 2 boxes, a weird case of—and I apologize in advance—Apple’s wires getting badly crossed.