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Apple's AirPower Wireless Charging Mat Could Be Available to Buy Next Month
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That’s going to be what, a $150 product? How much the air pod case, another 60 or 70 bucks?
Apple will begin selling its AirPower wireless charging mat next month, according to Japanese website Mac Otakara. The publication has spoken to "reliable sources" who have apparently confirmed a claim made earlier in February by The Apple Post that the wireless accessory will go on sale in Apple retail stores sometime in March, although the specific date still remains unclear.
Announced by Apple in September, AirPower is an oval-shaped white charging mat featuring Qi-compatible networking technology that will allow it to charge multiple devices at once. Along with an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone X, and the Apple Watch Series 3, the AirPower charges AirPods thanks to a new wireless charging AirPods case that's also set to be released sometime soon.
According to the original rumor, Apple intends to make the AirPower mat available to purchase concurrently at Best Buy and other Authorized Apple Resellers alongside its own retail stores. The Apple Post also claimed that in addition, Apple retail stores will stock the updated AirPods wireless charging case on the same day, although Mac Otakara's own sources make no mention of this.
Mac Otakara has connections to the Asian supply chain and Asian accessory manufacturers, making it a typically trusted source for Apple product rumors. That said, the publication does not have a perfect record and has shared inaccurate info on occasion, so it's best not to take the latest report as fact until backed up by other sources.
Right now our best guess is that Apple's AirPower wireless charging mat will cost around $199 in the United States, based on a price listing for the accessory that appeared on a Polish website in November.
Article Link: Apple's AirPower Wireless Charging Mat Could Be Available to Buy Next Month
That’s a lot of scratch for some minor charging convenience.
Eh, some will waste money on AirPower (sounds real silly to say IRL), while others won't bother and will buy a $20-$30 wireless charger instead. But trying to believe Apple would let this out of their green hands for less than $100-$200 is just make believing. =P Much like every other product they've released over these last umpteen years that're worth much less than what they've sold for.
If they made a mat for charging iPad+iPhone+watch+AirPod it would be nice if they found some way to allow the smaller things to charge when placed on top of the iPad. I don't think physics would allow this though... To start we'd need an iPad made completely out of glass
I paid ten quid secondhand for my Samsung Wireless Charger for the S6 two years ago. And to be honest I still ended up using cable chargers for the speed and simplicity. You don’t NEED it. It’s old tech (new for Apple of course like a lot of stuff it rediscovers) but certainly not worth blowing $200 on. Put it towards your next iPhone and shove the very thought of such a “new fangled” device behind you. Pretend you never looked over the ecosystem wall and keep plugging in the proprietary cables and dongles. It’s fine. You don’t need it. Good.
Then expect problems for some but not all users in certain situations. Will probably require 3 or 4 firmware updates in the first few weeks. Apple does that now days, to show that they care and are responsive to customer needs. So much better than getting the product right the first time.
But we need to set the bar as low as possible, so lets consider it a good release if it does not lock up the devices it is charging.
Until the watch series comes with a "notch", they are going to release one every year.
Can’t remember the last time I needed to charge using a cable charger
I use my Samsung wireless stand at night and that’s all I need as my x lasts me all day and If I wanted to i could put my mophie charger on my desk all day and my phone stays 100% all day
So really I can’t see why I would ever need to use cable chargers
add "premium" to accessories also... phones/ computers/ tablets... why should accessories be left out?
Amen! I could only have justified this around Christmas when I would have splurged on it as a gift for my husband. He’s really challenging to shop for so this would have been perfect because it’s useful and won’t end up shoved in a closet or drawer, but it way too expensive a thing for him to buy for himself when he already has chargers. It’s more of a luxury to have all the charging consolidated. I was extremely disappointed to see this announced just a couple of months before the holidays but with the delivery date set so far after.
I suppose there’s always Father’s Day. We don’t always celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day with gifts, though.
do more? Seriously? like what? There are several charging mats which do exactly the same.
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maybe they will come with AirPowerPlus which will be size of mac book air which you can lug around and charge all your apple devices.If they made a mat for charging iPad+iPhone+watch+AirPod it would be nice if they found some way to allow the smaller things to charge when placed on top of the iPad. I don't think physics would allow this though... To start we'd need an iPad made completely out of glass
TLDR, hopefully by the time I get an iPhone with wireless charging they will have either come down on the price or someone will have copied it and offer it at a quarter of the price.
There isn’t actually
You won’t find another wireless charger that can charge any smart watch. Certainly no Apple Watch.
I just bought my AW S3 w/ LTE......However, I would jump on this if it were true, but opt out of the LTE, just don't see me using my watch outside of having it near Wi-Fi or my iPhone. Also, the battery drain when on LTE is just really bad. 20%+ per hour. To me, it's not worth the extra cost.
One other thing, how much more of a cost would it be to move all AW's to using Sapphire crystal? The Ion-X glass just scratches too easy. Have had my AW3 for 3 weeks, already have scratches on the corners and have no idea how they got there..
USB-C to Lightning is not USD 20. You’re thinking of the regular USB to Lightning cable.
Also, tell me about bundles and cheaper prices when you look at the Apple Watch... the watch bands were exactly the price of the watch + leather band or stainless steel link band price.
That’s a cool case idea. I never heard of them before. Thanks for posting the link. My Pixel 2 doesn’t do wireless charging, but I could use a case like that sometimes (when hiking mostly) so I’m glad you shared the info.
Why Apple is not bringing a charging stand to market is beyond me. Whether it's for the X or 8's, having your iPhone, Watch and headphone case laying flat on a pad only makes sense for overnight use. Anyone who wants an inductive charger for desk use, will quickly realize that having to lean over your iPhone to enable it unlock or to see what's on-screen is not a natural or efficient thing. Making a stand that is angled so that you can just glance at your device, much like looking at the screen of your laptop or desktop computer, is a far better, more efficient, more practical way to charge and use your iPhone.
Even for bedside use, I'd much prefer to be able to roll over and take a quick glance at my iPhone, not having to pick it up to see what notifications came in. It's not like Apple doesn't recognize this, given the years they've been selling the Lightning Stand for iPhone.
Even for bedside use, I'd much prefer to be able to roll over and take a quick glance at my iPhone, not having to pick it up to see what notifications came in. It's not like Apple doesn't recognize this, given the years they've been selling the Lightning Stand for iPhone.
I totally agree - it could not be 200 - nobody would buy it
My selection of model would more than likely prohibit purchasing a non-LTE model.
I’ve only seen a couple of days where I’ve hit the low power screen around 7pm.
As far as glass goes, I don’t think Apple would move from the Ion-X Glass and drive up the current price point.
Now that you point this out, it's almost like Apple is doing all of this on purpose
Looks like I'm going to need a bigger night stand. Lamp, random crap, BPAP machine....now maybe an airpower mat.
Yes, I was talking about the regular USB-C to USB cable. Didn't realize the 29w required lightning. My MBP charger is USB-C on both ends so assumed they all were. But the USB-C to Lightning is only $5 more ($25).
As for bundles I'm talking generically. Pack-in accessories are devalued. Look at the price of a retail item vs it's OEM bulk companion. The OEM bulk w/o packaging or brown box is always much less expensive even though it's identical to the retail box version. But your example is pointless since Apple doesn't sell the AW without any band. There is no way to figure out the price of each item if they were bought separately. We know what the bands cost but we don't know what the price of just the watch would be.