Apple AirPower is (was) hardly the only wireless multi-charger in town

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It's easy to point fun at Apple for canceling AirPower — its special wireless charging pad that was supposed to somehow charge things better than other wireless pads. And maybe we should just a little, because when you announce things as breathlessly as Apple does, you damned well better produce. (Note to Apple: That also applies to TV shows.)

But it's not as if AirPower (seriously, that name, though) was the only way to charge Apple products wirelessly. It's not even the only way to charge multiple products wirelessly.

Ikea — charging in style since, forever.

Take, for instance, this Qi-standard wireless charger from Ikea (opens in new tab), which I've been using since (checks Amazon history ...) September 2017.

It's not inexpensive — just north of $100 when I bought it, though you can get it directly from Ikea for just $60 (opens in new tab). But it was the perfect fit for my family. Three of us have phones that can be charged wirelessly. (OK, one of us has multiple phones that can be charged wirelessly.) We have a little hutch in our breakfast area that's a perfect place for this sort of thing. We come home, we place our phones on the charger, and there they sit until such time as it's appropriate to be back on our phone. ...

OK, that's a best-case scenario. In reality they're probably back in our hands in just a few minutes. But you get the point. And it really is a perfect place for our phones to live overnight. Not in the bedroom, plugged in just inches from our heads. They're out of sight, out of mind, and far enough away that stray notifications won't be an issue.

I don't even know how fast it'll charge, and because of its location in our home, and the way we use it, I don't particularly care. If I need to charge quickly, I'll use something else.

But for a family full of phones, it's been a great solution. Shame Apple couldn't get it done.

And if that doesn't float your boat, check out these multi-charging alternatives:

Charge FOUR

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Nomad Base Station

When it needs to work well and look good.
I love Nomad products, and I love the look of this one. It'll charge two devices wirelessly, and two more over USB. Things can get a little cable-crazy, but it's still a great buy.

Charge two

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Samsung Duo

Fast charging the Samsung way.
Samsung has been doing wireless charging just about as long as anyone, and it's been doing Fast Charging as fast as anyone. And the Duo brings it into a sleek two-device package.

Budget pick

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Choetech dual charger

When you don't want to spend a fortune.
OK, maybe you want to charge a few devices wirelessly but don't want to spend north of $50. This is where you turn.

Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson
9 Comments
  • Phil, but none of the options listed charge the Apple Watch. That was the attraction of AirPower.
  • My wife has the Quezqa Wireless Charging Pad that does the AppleWatch, her iPhone and her AirPods (with a case converter for Gen 1). It's fantastic and I highly recommend it. The watch slot also fits my Fossil watch charger and I would get one if they made a dual version. I think the different charging standards on the Apple Watch series 1-4 are why they abandoned the Air Power. It will return when the older watches have cycled out and they're all on one standard.
  • I happen to think they couldn't get it to be manufactured within their insanely high margin structure. Although if they charged $350 for it, the Apple people would still buy it, I guess.
  • Oh they would find a reason why it was worth the price.
  • Is this android or apple central?
  • It's either they like to sh*t on Apple when they can or mention them cause they have a big influence on Android manufacturers and Google too.
  • B-b-b-ut these other chargers aren't MAGICAL!
  • The problem with Apple's design is that inductive chargers require the coils to be somewhat lined up, and Apple was trying to have coils all over the place so it didn't matter where you set it down. The less precise a transformer is, the more power is wasted, and Apple was trying to make lack of precision in where you place the device a feature. Turning up the power high enough to get it to work faster probably resulted in overheating, and it was probably still fussy about position.
  • Phil, I admire you keeping technology from overly interfering with family life. Two thumbs up!
    But, what kind of phone do you have that requires charging again that early in the day?
    Even when I hammer my phone HARD, I usually don't bother charging until the next day.