Wondering will there be an iPad with wireless charging? Let's find out!
Apple iPads are some of the most widely used tablets in the world. They are used by people all over for work, play or both thanks to the amazing features, performance and the screen space it offers its users is unmatched.
The Apple iPads big screen makes it the go to device for watching movies and playing games, it makes them more fun and entertaining when compared to doing the same on an iPhone or any other smartphone.
All iPads provide about 10 hours of battery life on average when used for normal tasks like browsing, checking your emails and messaging. Some changes can be found in devices that have been set up again, more so if you have used a backup from a different device to restore it.
Even shifting to the newest iPadOS 16 can cause your battery to drain a little faster due to the new updates and the additional features that come with it.
Apple iPads with all their features still miss out on one thing, wireless charging. For some reason Apple has still not released an iPad with wireless charging even though wireless charging has been available with the iPhone from the iPhone 8, we will discuss more about this later.
Wireless charging is a lot more convenient for today's fast paced world and is a lot safer than having an open charging pin lying around as well, especially if you have kids and pets.
Will There Be An iPad With Wireless Charging
Since wireless charging comes with the iPhone for a while now, it is just a bit disappointing that Apple has not put it into the iPad even in the high end models, because for a company like that it's not too hard to get done.
Apple though has its reasons for not doing so.
In this article, we will look into whether Apple plans to bring wireless charging to its iPads anytime in the near future, the advantages it could possibly bring to the iPad and what are the other options available for you in the market to do this with your current iPad.
For now, Apple is quiet about this topic and according to currently available official Apple information and news there is no talk of Apple introducing wireless charging to the iPad anytime soon.
Do Any iPads Currently Come With Wireless Charging
When you are looking to buy a new tablet for yourself, an iPad right now will undoubtedly be the best choice and this is the case not for lack of competition because there are a lot of Android tablets available, most of them are even cheaper than iPads but unfortunately, none of them right now can still keep up with the performance and build quality Apple offers.
Although Apple did make a switch to the USB C type connector to improve charging, when it comes to the question of iPads having wireless charging the answer for everyone right now is No.
As for wireless charging, there are a few aftermarket devices such as Wireless Receiver Adapters that can work around this problem, you will still need to have your lightning or USB C port free, despite that you will now be able to charge your iPad using just the wireless charging mat.
Knowing that some users use third party devices to charge iPads wirelessly, Apple has still not made much effort to introduce this to iPads. Let us look at some of those reasons now.
Why iPads Currently Don't Support Wireless Charging
As we mentioned before, Apple released wireless charging with the iPhone 8, so why has the technology not crossed over to the iPads yet because it is not that tough to implement. Some of the reasons why Apple has not done so are below,
One of the main reasons the current and previous generations of iPads cannot support wireless charging is the lack of coils built into them. If you have ever viewed tear down videos of wireless charging devices you would have noticed the magnetic coils at the back of the device, these coils covert the magnetic field from the charger into usable electricity for the battery.
Another reason iPads currently cannot support wireless charging is due to their size and the big batteries they come with. Wireless charging produces a good amount of heat and is therefore restricted to smaller devices.
Speed is also an issue, being slower than wireless charging due to the heat, charging capabilities have to be limited, this means it would take an iPad forever to charge wirelessly with the current technology.
Apple however has always been a bit behind in the charging sector, always having slower charging speeds compared to its close competitors.
The next reason would be the current choice of build materials Apple has chosen for its iPads. The iPads available today all come with a back casing made of aluminium, while this looks amazing, devices that have rear casings made of metal cannot support wireless charging due to the issues that arise with induction. All electronic devices that do support wireless charging come with glass or plastic backs. So Apple would have to change the iPad design to incorporate this.
Lastly, costs, for Apple to redesign and add coils to their iPads would mean massive expenses for them and adding additional parts would mean an increase in the price of an already expensive device for the consumer as well.
So due to the technology not being advanced enough for large devices and the extra price burden it would add to a customer, Apple tends to be more practical when designing their products and feels it is not worth putting wireless charging in at the moment.
Advantages Of Having Wireless Charging For iPads
Although wireless charging has not made it to the iPad yet, there are many advantages that the technology would bring to the iPad to make the user experience better.
The biggest and most noticeable advantage would be convenience, no more searching for the point to plug the charger, just drop it on the charging mat, users can even continue to use it more comfortably when it is on the mat.
If the iPad were fitted with wireless charging coils in combination with the big sized battery that comes with the iPad already, this would easily allow the iPad to be used for reverse charging, meaning that it could charge other Apple devices like your iPhone or AirPods by simply placing them on the back of the iPad similar to how the Apple pencil gets charged.
Safety is another aspect, compared to open ended cable type chargers that can be touched by mistake, especially by pets or kids and can lead to electrical shock, touching a wireless charging pad has no effect on the body.
And last but equally important, you will be able to charge all your devices that support wireless charging with the same charging pad, this reduces the need to have one charger for each device you own.
If we look at the advantages and disadvantages that come with having wireless charging on the iPad, the benefits it would bring provided the technology becomes a little more advanced itself would far out way the reasons Apple has not implemented it already. Having it would help make the whole Apple network better.
Current Wireless Charging Possibilities
Since Apple has not taken the first step to bring wireless charging to the iPad, there are some other private players that have taken on the challenge, one of the best options in the aftermarket section of iPad wireless charging is manufactured by a company called iPort.
The LaunchPort is a device that is made by iPort specifically for the Apple iPad. iPort designed this case for three core reasons, protection of the iPad against accidental drops and scratches, to create a dock to mount the iPad so that it can be fixed anywhere and to allow for wireless inductive charging.
LaunchPort cases come with the amazing combination of inductive charging and embedded magnets, these allow you to mount your iPad easily on the table or wall and will charge when you do.
The case also gives easy access to all required buttons, the microphone and cameras as well.
The case when combined with either the base station or wall station makes for easy use and viewing of content. The magnets enable simplified mounting which takes seconds to either station and even other metallic surfaces.
The build quality of the case is brilliant as well and the extra durability it gives to protect your iPad from drops up to an amazing 6 feet is worth it.
LaunchPort can also be used in cars and connected to the available in car 12 V power supply.
So if you have been waiting for a good case that also brings wireless charging to your iPad this is definitely a product you will find interesting.
Other options like getting a universal Qi adapter that comes with a lightning connection are a possibility, but you end up still plugging stuff in all the time so you might as well stick to your usual charger in my opinion.
The Future Of iPads
Since Apple has been using wireless charging technology for a while now in some of its products like iPhones, Apple watches and AirPods, Apple putting the technology into all iPads anytime soon does not seem likely but there may be some rumours about the iPad Pro.
Apple will have to re think the whole design of the iPad to incorporate wireless charging, having a glass or plastic will allow for it but comes with drawbacks as well, both these materials can break easily if dropped especially the glass due to its size and the iPads weight, they scratch more easily than aluminium as well.
Plastic will probably not be an option for Apple because they build only premium products with good quality materials.
As for those rumours, according to a Bloomberg report, Apple plans to introduce the first iPad Pro with wireless charging sometime in 2022, but right now there is no news of the said release.
Apple is apparently planning to switch to a glass back to fit in this technology. Reverse charging may also be introduced in this model allowing the iPad to be a standalone charging point itself.
So we will just have to wait and see for now.
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