Apple’s AirPower Wireless Charger Price Possibly Revealed

It’s been nearly a year since Apple announced the AirPower wireless charging mat, but it still doesn’t have a release date and a price tag. Rumors suggest that it may go on sale in September and a new report out of China says that the wireless charger might actually sell for around $149.

Industry insiders speculate that the Apple AirPower could sell for 1,000 Chinese yuan, according to Chongdiantou. If that is directly converted to U.S. dollars, it would cost roughly $145. However, MacRumors believes that the price will be rounded up to $149 when Apple officially announces the price. The Chinese website that reported the price for the AirPower wireless charger mat is the same source that leaked the alleged photos of Apple’s 18W USB Type-C power adapter for the 2018 iPhones. However, the website hasn’t established a solid track record yet, so it’s best to take its news with a grain of salt.

Apple announced the AirPower in September 2017 alongside the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X. Although the rumored $149 price tag may seem a bit steep, the wireless charger is capable of charging up to three devices simultaneously. During Apple’s demo last year, the company showed that it’s able to charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch and the AirPods at the same time. So far, there’s no other wireless charger that’s capable of doing that.

Chongdiantou also said that the AirPower charger would be able to charge Apple’s trio of 2018 iPhones. This includes the more affordable 6.1-inch model that’s expected to be equipped with an LCD display. As a refresher, Apple will be releasing two other 2018 iPhones equipped with OLED displays. One will have the same 5.8-inch screen like last year’s iPhone X, while the other will have a larger 6.5-inch screen which has now been dubbed as the “iPhone X Plus.” All three iPhones are expected to support Face ID and will have notches on top of their displays.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in June that Apple is planning to release AirPower in September. It’s likely that the AirPower charger will be released alongside the 2018 iPhones. Gurman also said at the time that Apple’s engineers encountered several technical hurdles which caused the delays. He also noted that the wireless charger will use an Apple-made chip and will run a “stripped down version” of iOS that will be responsible for power management and making easy connections with devices.