Power mats should work to charge your Apple Watch
Power mats have become pretty popular, but you almost always need a third-party case or other accessory to get your iOS device to charge with one. A recent report from AppleInsider shows the possibility of Apple Watch being compatible with certain power mats right out of the box, though.
A video submitted to AppleInsider by a reader shows the competing Moto 360 being charged by an Apple Watch charger. Since the Moto 360 is compatible with the Qi open charging standard, that would seem to confirm that Apple’s charger for the smartwatch is Qi-compatible, even though Cupertino has not announced that it supports the standard. The short video showing the Moto 360 working with the Apple Watch charger is below. If you cannot see the video, just click here.
This means that it is more than likely that Apple Watch could be recharged with a Qi-compliant power pad. There are a number of Qi chargers available, in a variety of form factors. Ikea even sells a collection of Qi-enabled lamps that feature charging pads at a convenient height for setting your device beside you to juice up.
Qi, which comes from the Chinese word for “natural energy,” was created by the Wireless Power Consortium to standardize inductive electrical power transfer. Apple has previously expressed its doubts about wireless charging, but seems to be coming around to the idea to at least some extent. While Apple chose not to go for the power mat approach, using a small magnetic disk instead, the fact that the charger for Apple Watch works with Qi-compatible devices should mean that Qi-compatible power stations should work fine with Cupertino’s smartwatch.