Apple reveals AirPower wireless charging pad coming in 2018

Apple has a new wireless charging pad called the AirPower, which is essentially a mat with room for your new iPhone 8 or iPhone X, as well as your Apple Watch, and even AirPods with a new optional wireless charging case accessory. It’ll charge all of them without any cables required, but you’ll have to wait until 2018 to get one – Apple said it’s coming early next year.

The AirPower mat uses a new kind of charging standard that supports multi-device charging, which might explain why it’s not shipping right away: It probably requires more work to bring it to full scale production, which is actually something that was reported as a rumor earlier today prior to this event.

Apple’s AirPower accessory actually should do a lot to help bring about truly wireless device use, since it solves a lot of the inconveniences of using wireless charging today (support for only one device per pad, requiring specific placement). We’ll be watching to see updates on the shipping timeline, but Apple will probably sell a bunch, depending on pricing, which has yet to be announced.