AirPods Wireless Charging Case Rumored for December Launch at $69

Brookzy said:
I wish MacRumors had a filter for posts that moan about the cost. If you don't like the price, don't buy it.


Damn that is a good point... didn't think of that. I wonder if they can make it somehow work while the watch is on its side.
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Yeah, that's what I replied to someone else. But from what I can tell, these charging mats are generally finicky. Perhaps Apple could design a better one, but the orientation of the receiver in the Apple Watch would be best positioned to maximize surface area along the horizontal axis, and I think the way inductive charging works is that the two surfaces need to be parallel to each other.
 
macduke said:
Maybe for the Milanese Loop, but it has a magnetic clasp and IDK if that will interfere. As for the Link Bracelet, it doesn't lay flat when you unclasp it, so it would hover an inch or so above the mat and it's difficult to balance it. Hopefully the charging mat will work if the Watch is placed on it's side, but I think the way these charging pads work is that they need larger surface area and need to be well-aligned on top of each other, so I doubt it will work that way.

I don't think it will be a big deal to have my current watch charging stand alongside a charging pad. It's just as easy to pop them both on, and my stand makes the Watch look better. I'm not planning on upgrading my Watch for another year anyway so we'll see how this works out. It's pretty rare that I need to charge my Series 0 during the day, but sometimes it runs out later in the evening if I've been working out a lot.
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I hope you are all aware that the charging pad doesn't work with old Apple Watches. So basically everyone now cannot charge the Apple
Watch on the mat incl everyone who already bought AirPods. The mat is completely useless. It will take a while
before I'm getting a new watch and certainly not getting a case for £69 just to have inductive charging. Who will do that ? The moment buy this your current £69 case becomes worthless. Doesn't make sense to sell this separately. Can't see this happen.
 
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
I DEMAND NEW FEATURES NOT ORIGINALLY INCLUDED IN MY PRODUCT BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM!
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Didn't realize they removed the all-caps filter, lol. It used to be limited to a few words. NOW I CAN GO ABSOLUTELY CRAZY BWA HAHAHAHAH!
 
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Derekuda said:
Why do you people keep supporting apple by buying this overpriced crap!? Vote with your wallets people! That case should be no more then $15. Just like charging cables and dongles should be no more then $5.
NOONE needs wireless. It's bringing laziness to the next level. Because plugging in a cable is so hard. /s
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Salty much? Voting with your wallet doesn't work with Apple. They are a company looking to make a profit not churn out low quality garbage. They charge $69 because it earns them money. This is capitalism. Deal with it. If you can't afford it, move on somewhere else. Apple isn't looking for your "wallet". They want paying customers.
 
rikscha said:
I hope you are all aware that the charging pad doesn't work with old Apple Watches. So basically everyone now cannot charge the Apple
Watch on the mat incl everyone who already bought AirPods. The mat is completely useless. It will take a while
before I'm getting a new watch and certainly not getting a case for £69 just to have inductive charging. Who will do that ? The moment buy this your current £69 case becomes worthless. Doesn't make sense to sell this separately. Can't see this happen.
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Yeah, that's why I qualified that with saying I'm not upgrading for another year so I have time to see how it works before buying. It's right in the part you quoted!
 
riptidewahoo said:
LOL this is obscene. $159 for Airpods, $69 for this case, probably ~$99 for the AirPower mat whenever it's available. I mean, honestly, this is idiotic. I hope this crap backfires in the biggest way.
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$99 is optimistic. Tim's Apple will probably charge $159 for the AirPower mat.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
The miracles of wireless charging!

You need:
#1 - An AC adapter that plugs into the wall.
#2 - A Lightning power cable.
#3 - A wireless charging mat.
#4 - A charging case.

So much easier than just plugging your devices into the wall.
Or, you know, any other pair of headphones that just gets power by virtue of being plugging into something else that has power.
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Once those are set, you wouldn't do any plugging again. Unlike plugging stuffs everytime.
 
That's insane for just a case. The Airpods should come with this case and have both methods of charging them. The case probably costs around a few dollars to manufacture anyway.
 
jclardy said:
So are they going to offer a trade-in value for old cases? Or are they just destined for everyones junk drawer?
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I think there is a good chance that I will get one of these new cases and keep the original to use as a battery back-up the way you might carry a battery pack for a smartphone.
 
AirPods-charging-case-iFixit-image-004.jpeg


Just look at the amount of stuff in there, people.

Add on wireless charging.

$69 is a bargain.
 
Derekuda said:
Why do you people keep supporting apple by buying this overpriced crap!? Vote with your wallets people! That case should be no more then $15. Just like charging cables and dongles should be no more then $5.
NOONE needs wireless. It's bringing laziness to the next level. Because plugging in a cable is so hard. /s
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You do know it comes with a new uncycled battery as well to charge the Airpods. This is nice in the since that if you want to use wireless charging and don't want to fork out another $160 for earphones you already have. Also you don't need to buy these at all. Most everyone has been using the Airpods for over a year now and have been fine without wireless charging.
 
I was holding out hope that they would take care of early adopters and have a trade in deal for around $25 or so.

I don't see myself shelling out $70 just be able to lay the AirPods down. Especially since I've probably charged them 4-5 times since December.
 
toromac said:
Salty much? Voting with your wallet doesn't work with Apple. They are a company looking to make a profit not churn out low quality garbage. They charge $69 because it earns them money. This is capitalism. Deal with it. If you can't afford it, move on somewhere else. Apple isn't looking for your "wallet". They want paying customers.
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And their pricing schemes work very well for them. They've averaged a gross profit margin of about 39% over the past 5 years. Their net profit margin, however, is about 19%. That means that unless they take a loss on this new case (assuming a $69 price point), their break even price point is about $56. However, pricing isn't that simple so that breakeven price point could be higher or lower based on many factors. But what do I know? Economics isn't my field so take anything I write with a healthy skepticism.
 
How I wish the AirPods fit my ears. I love the look and little charging case and everything about the AirPods. I just wish they would stay in my ears.
 
OldSchoolMacGuy said:
I DEMAND NEW FEATURES NOT ORIGINALLY INCLUDED IN MY PRODUCT BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM!
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Actually (most not all) people seem to be aware of the need to buy / pay for the case, they aren’t asking for it to be free, they are demanding what they perceive to be a fair price.
 
err404 said:
Why? Think of the normal price as a discount for buying them as a set.
In any case, I cant understand how anyone can see this as anything other than good. It's rare that you can upgrade modern tech at all. This sure beats buying a whole new set in order to get the wireless charging. Also if you don't see the benefit, your current investment will continue to work as is.
Considering that the new case is exactly the same cost as the current replacement price, I am confident that any new AirPods sold after release will have these included.
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Maybe you have a point about the AirPods themselves but the case has 398 Mah of battery. No way that should cost $69, even with QI charging.
 
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