Will we see Apple’s AirPower charger in 2019?
How does it work? Will it work with my iPhone? How much is it? Will we ever see it? Roman Loyola and Michael Simon report
Apple’s new AirPower is a wireless charging pad to help clean up the mess of charging cables for your iPhone, Apple Watch, and
AirPods. Apple unveiled AirPower at its iPhone X Event in 2017, but the company didn’t provide much detail. We hope to fill the void here.
Latest news
On 31 December 2018, developer Steve TroughtonSmith tweeted that he had heard that AirPower has been fixed. On 11 January 2019, ChargerLab tweeted that a “credible source” informed the site that Luxshare Precision (which manufactures Apple’s AirPods and USB-C cables) has started manufacturing the AirPower for Apple. Now there’s a report from DigiTimes saying that the device will become available later in 2019. No other details, such as price, have been revealed.
In October 2018 analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple will release new AirPods in early 2019. The new AirPods will include a new redesigned case that supports wireless charging. That could mean the AIrPower wireless charging mat could be released at the same time, though we should clarify that Kuo does not specifically mention AirPower in his report.
Details
AirPower is a wireless charging pad. There are several wireless charging pads on the market, but before the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, you had to use a special case with your iPhone in order to use a wireless charging pad. AirPower works without the need of a special case. Just plop your iPhone on to the AirPower pad, and it starts charging. No need to plug in your iPhone.
How it works
Place the AirPower pad on your desk or wherever you like to charge your devices. Then plug it into a
power outlet. To charge your device, just place it on the mat, with front facing up. That’s it. To get a little but more technical, AirPower uses induction, where an electromagnetic field is used to transfer power from (in this case) the AirPower to a device. When you place your device on the AirPower, it receives a signal from the pad to basically ‘handshake’ with the device (checks for compatibility, charge capacity, and so on). If everything checks out, charging proceeds.
iPhone compatibility
Only iPhones with a glass back will work with the AirPower, so every model from the iPhone 8 onwards is compatible. The exception to this is the iPhone SE, which has an aluminium rear.
iPad compatibility
Apple’s current line-up of iPads is not compatible with AirPower. This is because a glass back is required, and a glass rear as big as one for the iPad would be expensive, heavy, and perhaps too fragile to use.
Apple Watch compatibility
AirPower works with the Apple Watch Series 3 or later.
AirPod compatibility
To use Apple’s charging mat, you’ll need the AirPod case that was introduced at the iPhone X Event. You can’t use the original case with the AirPower. Nor can you simply place your AirPod earbuds on the AirPower to charge them. You’ll have to place the earbuds in the new case, and then place the case on the AirPower. Or you can charge the case on the AirPower, take the case off the pad, and then put the AirPods in the case to charge them,
Non-Apple Qi-compliant devices
Apple said it was working on the AirPower to be Qi-compliant, and if/when this happens, this could mean compatibility with non-Apple Qi-compliant
products. But we don’t have confirmation yet. The iPhone 8, X, XS and XR are compatible with the Qi wireless charging standard and can be used with Qi chargers like the Belkin Boost Up (£34.99 from fave.co/2TxWn4T) or the Mophie Wireless Base (£54.99 from fave.co/2Bn5qid).
Fast charging
Apple has not released specifications on AirPower, which would include the charging rate that the AirPower works at. The Qi specification supports fast charging at 15W. The rate at which AirPower works at has not been disclosed. So it remains to be seen if it can support fast charging.
Price
Apple has not released any information as to how much it will cost.