Whatever happened to Apple AirPower? The California tech giant first unveiled the wireless charging pad last September alongside the Apple Watch 3, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. While those phones will work with third-party chargers from Belkin and others, AirPower is Apple's attempt to improve upon the wireless charging that's already out there.

Update, June 4: Will we see the AirPower mat today?? Word around the internet this morning ahead of WWDC 2018 is that Siri now recognizes the name "AirPower" and directs people to check out the Apple Store. (*insert thinking face*)

At its September 2017 event, Apple said AirPower would appear some time in 2018, but since then we've barely heard a peep about about it.

Now, Apple has another chance to share its vision for wireless charging at its Tuesday, March 27 event in Chicago. Although the event will center on education, we're hoping Apple uses the spotlight to pepper on some more details about products outside the classroom. 

It doesn't hurt that rumors (here and here) point to a late March ship date for AirPower, which lines up perfectly.

AirPower and Apple's new iPhones mark the company's deep dive into wireless charging and its adoption of the Qi standard. Wireless charging has been built into phones for years, but until January, two competing standards, Qi and Powermat, slowed innovation overall. 

Now that Apple has thrown its full weight behind Qi, and Powermat has joined that standard, the industry can get to work on faster, long-range charging, and putting wireless charging stations in more homes, libraries, coffee shops and cars.

What is AirPower?

AirPower is Apple's oval-shaped wireless charging pad that promises to work with the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, the Apple Watch and a new wireless charging AirPods case that Apple will release some time in the future.

You can see Apple's AirPower demo in the video below.

Why is AirPower different than other wireless chargers?

AirPower will charge multiple devices at the same time -- but other charging mats can do that, too. What's different here is that AirPower claims it can help devices communicate with each other to manage power consumption. We're not exactly sure how that works yet, but we're hoping Apple soon shines more light on this intriguing feature.

Apple's AirPower demo shows the iPhone screen tracking all the devices currently on the charger, and their battery status. It isn't clear if this will work with non-Apple devices, or if the technology has been built into the iPhone as well as the AirPower pad.

How fast will it charge my iPhone?

Apple didn't share any details about the charging speed, but the Mophie and Belkin charging pads sold through Apple's site claim output up to 7.5 watts, which is what the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X are certified for.  The Apple Watch, on the other hand, only supports charging up to 5 watts, which is as much as its charging base delivers.

Will I be able to charge non-Apple devices on AirPower?

AirPower will likely be able to charge any device that uses the Qi standard, but it isn't clear if Apple will prefer its own devices. We've reached out to Apple for more clarification, but it didn't respond to our request.

Will AirPower's benefits come to third-party chargers?

Apple says that it's sharing its AirPower technology with the Qi standards body (called the Wireless Power Consortium, or WPC), so other vendors can incorporate Apple's tech in future products.

When can I buy AirPower?

That's what we hope Apple will tell us at its March 27 event. Release date rumors like this and this peg a March shipping date, so it's possible that Apple could announce preorders or a retail date starting days later.

Of course, Apple could also launch AirPower independently, similar to how it released HomePod out of the blue after it was first unveiled at Apple's WWDC 2017 event.

And if Apple doesn't announce AirPower on March 27?

Apple said we should expect to see AirPower in 2018, which gives us a pretty wide range. If Apple doesn't release the device in March, we could see it during WWDC 2018, which we now know starts on June 4.

We're hoping Apple won't wait until its next iPhone launch (iPhone 11? iPhone X2?), which will probably take place next September, following Apple's yearly release cycle.

One more clue

Apple could also release AirPower around the same time it starts selling the AirPods wireless charging case. The two devices were shown off together and are meant to work hand-in-hand. A recent Bloomberg report claims that Apple may release a new version of AirPods "as soon as this year," but that isn't much more specific than the timeline Apple gave us for AirPower in the first place.

How much will AirPower cost?

This is another great question we don't have an answer to. In November an AirPower listing was spotted on a Polish retailer's website for 999zł, which translates to about $290, £205 or AU$375. Other rumors claim that AirPower will cost closer to $199.

For comparison, the third-party Qi chargers that Apple sells both cost $60, but these only work with one device at a time. Since Apple's AirPower can charge up to three devices, it'll likely cost more.

This piece was originally posted March 25, 2018, and is updated as new information is available.