Recently, it was announced that the possibility of Apple AirPods case as wireless phone charger for the iPhone may come to pass, according to Nikkei. I’m assuming it would be somewhat modeled after the wireless charging pad (called AirPower) that is slated for a September release. The AirPad and Apple Wireless Charging Dock sound convenient, but I’ve got plenty questions about the actual functionality and possibility of the latter coming to fruition.
My Questions Regarding Apple AirPods Case as Wireless Phone Charger
AirPower is going to operate off of Qi technology provided by the Wireless Power Consortium. This type of tech is a wireless transfer of power via coils in both items. Qi standard’s first version (1.0) was able to transfer about 5W of power. The latest version (1.2.4) can transfer up to 15W of power. At this time, the AirPods case can only charge AirPods once placed into the case. The case itself is not able to transmit any charge wirelessly. As The Verge explains, the case supplies a mere few hours of charge to AirPods with a 398mAh battery, anyway. So, a phone is going to require a lot more power. I’d be interested in learning how Apple plans to execute this sort of plan? Will the company build charging mats all over over the earth or force every place of public congregation to do so on their own?
And then what about the Lightning port? But really, what about the Lightning port that Apple made ALL of us switch over to? Does that mean there could potentially be a phone without a headphone jack or Lightning port? Well, I still doubt whether they’d give us back the headphone jack in the next iPhone release and I also don’t see Apple ditching the Lightning port just yet. But on the contrary, Apple’s move to the Lightning port was monumental, so it wouldn’t be unprecedented for them to make another move of this type in the future. I just don’t think it’s next season.
The Verge has a vision of the case being plugged in to the wall and then the case acting as the mat, which still means you are dealing with a wire, but it’s not as much of a hassle as what we’re dealing with now. I actually envisioned a similar set-up as The Verge and am hoping the case can indeed charge your phone and AirPods at the same time. Looks like time will tell.
What do you think of the possibility of Apple AirPods Case as wireless phone charger? Let us know in the comments section.
