If you can not wait for AirPower, this Qi AirPods deal is pretty good

It's been almost exactly a year since Apple announced AirPower at its iPhone X event, showing the world its ambitious support for wireless charging with a new rug that can power three devices at once : an iPhone, an Apple Watch and compatible case, AirPods.

There has been a total radio silence since then, leaving the entire world in endless purgatory of plugging cables into AirPod housings. If you had taken the position may not be unreasonable Apple's over-engineered solution and that it should have brought a normal Qi charge to the AirPods, or if you simply do not want to buy a new PowerPod charging mat Case can be for you.

Funded on Kickstarter, it's a silicone case for your AirPods case. There is a Lightning connector at the bottom connected to a Qi charging coil at the front; place your case face down on a compatible Qi pad and it will begin to load. Unlike Apple's AWOL AirPods case, there is no external LED to confirm charging status. You must therefore rely on any status indicator that the pad Qi can have.

Picture of Sam Byford / The Verge

The PowerPod case is not very thick at all and does not add much volume to the AirPods case. Black silicone can pick up lint, and you might see a little more friction when you take it out of your pocket.

Another special feature is that wireless charging produces a lot of heat; This is common to almost all Qi devices, but you do not insert a lot of Qi devices into your ears. At first, the AirPods are a bit odd to the touch.

Overall, the product does what it claims: it allows you to charge your AirPod box on any Qi charger. I've tested with the Mophie carpet that Apple sells in its stores, as well as a random load block with a panda that I bought for about $ 10 from Amazon Japan. . Both worked well; At one point, I removed the panda case to find that it had not been loaded, but it turned out that the Lightning plug was not fully inserted. The loading speed seemed consistent with what I thought of using a regular cable.

At this point, you should definitely wait and see what Apple announces on AirPower next week before thinking about choosing a PowerPod case. But at $ 40, this is probably a simpler and cheaper solution if all you are interested in is to operate your AirPod with your existing Qi configuration.