Polish site pegs Apple's AirPower charging mat at $199

AppleInsider

A Polish online store has posted a listing for Apple's AirPower charging mat, due in 2018, claiming the product will cost 999 zlotys or about $273.99 -- which one news site suggests will translate to about $199 in the U.S.

The pricing -- noticed by ThinkApple -- is most likely the retailer's speculation, but might theoretically come from Apple. Regardless, both the $199 and $273.99 figures are probably higher than what U.S. customers will actually pay.

$199 would be a tough ask, despite the premium Apple accessories command and the AirPower's ability to charge up to three devices at once. Single-device charging pads sold by Belkin and Mophie cost $59.95.

Consider that at $199, the AirPower would be more expensive than Apple's own AirPods, which sell for $159.

Neither Apple nor the Polish store -- X-Kom -- have set out a firm launch date.

The AirPower will support the iPhone 8, iPhone X, and Apple Watch Series 3, as well as an upcoming AirPods case that might arrive as soon as December. Still unknown is how much wattage the pad will offer. By default the iPhone X supports just 5 watts, but a future software update will raise that ceiling to 7.5 watts.

jungmark

That's ridiculous. I paid $15 for my charging pad. I can maybe see $100 but not $200 unless or cleans my devices. 

sendmcjak

Goats.  Blows them.

nhughes

AirPower : wireless charging :: AirPods : Bluetooth.

That said, I don't see this costing $200. $100 makes more sense.

rayz2016

Whhhhhaaaat???

Hope not. 

jdgaz

Dont really want it. Unless it does the watch in a fashion that allows for alarm clock mode then its worthless to me.

doozydozen

Nightstand mode on Apple Watch has proven itself exceptionally useful. AirPower cannot support said feature, and thus a hard pass for my use case. The Magnetic Charging Dock by Apple ($79) has been a absolute pleasure to use.

soli

jungmark said:

That's ridiculous. I paid $15 for my charging pad. I can maybe see $100 but not $200 unless or cleans my devices. 

$200 does seem excessive, but we can't compare it to any single device Qi charger from a 3rd-party vendor at this point. There's the Qi standard, the power throughput, number of devices, and even other complexities, which may be what Apple will be introducing wit AirPower with their PowerbyProxi acquisition.



 I don't know since we haven't seen teardowns and tests, but might be like buying a knockoff PSU v a quality PSU from Apple.

• http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html

edited November 2017

yosamcapsfan

I'm digging the $11.99 one from Ikea. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40360217/

jungmark

Soli said:

jungmark said:

That's ridiculous. I paid $15 for my charging pad. I can maybe see $100 but not $200 unless or cleans my devices. 

$200 does seem excessive, but we can't compare it to any single device Qi charger from a 3rd-party vendor at this point. There's the Qi standard, the power throughput, number of devices, and even other complexities, which may be what Apple will be introducing wit AirPower with their PowerbyProxi acquisition.

• 

 I don't know since we haven't seen teardowns and tests, but might be like buying a knockoff PSU v a quality PSU from Apple.

• http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html

I have no doubt Apple’s pad will be more complex and better quality but 10x the price of a good-enough pad is too much. 

tallest skil

jungmark said:

That's ridiculous. I paid $15 for my charging pad. I can maybe see $100 but not $200 unless or cleans my devices. 

Prepare to be ridisappointulous.

soli

jungmark said:

Soli said:

jungmark said:

That's ridiculous. I paid $15 for my charging pad. I can maybe see $100 but not $200 unless or cleans my devices. 

$200 does seem excessive, but we can't compare it to any single device Qi charger from a 3rd-party vendor at this point. There's the Qi standard, the power throughput, number of devices, and even other complexities, which may be what Apple will be introducing wit AirPower with their PowerbyProxi acquisition.

• 

 I don't know since we haven't seen teardowns and tests, but might be like buying a knockoff PSU v a quality PSU from Apple.

• http://www.righto.com/2012/05/apple-iphone-charger-teardown-quality.html

I have no doubt Apple’s pad will be more complex and better quality but 10x the price of a good-enough pad is too much. 

Qi is already convenient enough that if I need 3 next to each other that's fine, and it's not like the AirPod Qi charging case needs to be done every day, and both it and the Watch don't take long so if this is really at $200 I think it could be a product fail. That said, Apple's been very good about pricing to mean convince and features so this report is either incorrect (even if we say it's $149 for US market) or there's some major tach that we're missing; which may be possible since it's not slated for release until 2018. 

PS: One thing AirPower doesn't do is allow you to use Nightstand mode since the watch has to lay flat. This may also affect those with metal bands that create loops. Sounds like a good business option for something to create a vertical Watch stand to sit at the back of the AirPower (and separately) that will allow power passthrough betwee the cable and AirPower stand. If it's a Lightning cable that might not be possible, but if they're using USB-C it would be. If the former is in play (which I'd think it is), you could ways have a Qi stand that sits on the AirPower charger and passes power via wires to another Qi charger sitting vertically with a magnet so you can have Nightstand Mode. This could even be the included charger from ALL Apple Watches that plugs into the stand and wraps the cable around the base.

slprescott

YoSamCapsFan said:

I'm digging the $11.99 one from Ikea. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40360217/

Can the phone have a case that covers its back, or must the phone frame itself be in direct physical contact with the mat?

soli

slprescott said:

YoSamCapsFan said:

I'm digging the $11.99 one from Ikea. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40360217/

Can the phone have a case that covers its back, or must the phone frame itself be in direct physical contact with the mat?

It depends several factors. The Qi standard used, material of case, thickness of case, and radius of the electromagnetic arch. Distance will also affect charging speed and power use efficiency.

• https://www.wirelesspowerconsortium.com/about/benefits.html

cottontheprt

I got the Anger charger from Amazon ( http://amzn.to/2zYr9de ) for $25 when I got my iPhone 8, it has worked flawlessly. Granted it can only charge one device, but it works fine for that!

bestkeptsecret

I'd have to remove the Milanese Loop strap, or the linked bracelet strap before I can put the Watch on the charging pad. Hope a more flexible solution turns up.

soli

bestkeptsecret said:

I'd have to remove the Milanese Loop strap, or the linked bracelet strap before I can put the Watch on the charging pad. Hope a more flexible solution turns up.

There's always the solution that ships with the device. This solution, with or without a 3rd-party stand by your bed at home or for travel, will also allow for Nightstand Mode.

bestkeptsecret

Soli said:

bestkeptsecret said:

I'd have to remove the Milanese Loop strap, or the linked bracelet strap before I can put the Watch on the charging pad. Hope a more flexible solution turns up.

There's always the solution that ships with the device. This solution, with or without a 3rd-party stand by your bed at home or for travel, will also allow for Nightstand Mode.

Yup, that's what I'm currently using - the standard charger on a third party stand.

soli

bestkeptsecret said:

Soli said:

bestkeptsecret said:

I'd have to remove the Milanese Loop strap, or the linked bracelet strap before I can put the Watch on the charging pad. Hope a more flexible solution turns up.

There's always the solution that ships with the device. This solution, with or without a 3rd-party stand by your bed at home or for travel, will also allow for Nightstand Mode.

Yup, that's what I'm currently using - the standard charger on a third party stand.

I'm pretty sure that's the best you'll get, at least for awhile.

I did have this conversation a few days about how AirPower could work with the connected band (I know many people using their SS band) and/or Nightstand Mode. I came up with two possible solutions:

The first is having a small Watch pedestal with a Qi charger receiver on its base that will pull power from the AirPower pad—perhaps with something that tucks in underneath the back edge for better support—that will then send power up to another inductive charger. This would potentially allow you to place your Watch either so that connects band hangs below, placed sideways and even turned (depends on how the AirPower pad is placed in your bedroom) so that you can have Nightstand Mode.

Additionally, because it's a 3rd-party device, it could be made to work with Series 0–2 Watches, which don't support the Qi standard like Series 3, but that likely means that this pedestal concept would need a USB-A port for the Apple-branded inductive charger for Series 0-2 could be charged as I don't Apple licenses that. That actually makes this cheaper, even for Series 3, but could be a design issue in terms of size since Series 0 came with that 2 meter cable.

The second option I considered isn't much different from the first, except that instead of pulling power from AirPower's charging pad It uses a power pass through from the cable that clearly plugs into the back of the AirPower pad. If this is Lightning then this would be an issue for female Lightning ports as I think MFi only allows for male plugs, but if it's USB-C then it's doable.