By Hartley Charlton
A prototype of Apple's ill-fated AirPower wireless charger charges the Apple Watch for the first time.
AirPower is an Apple-designed charging mat designed to charge Qi-based iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods, which the company announced in September 2017 along with the iPhone X. AirPower was designed so that users could place iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch on any part of the mat to charge them, which meant that multiple overlapping charging coils had to be used.
This would encourage devices to display a unique animation on the iOS screen when they were placed on the charging mat, as seen in early Apple marketing materials. iPhone on AirPower the charger would also show the charge of all devices placed on the tablet. AirPower missed its initial goal of a 2018 launch date, and after many problems with its development, Apple canceled the AirPower project entirely in March 2019.
Images depicting AirPower Prototypes first appeared on social media in August 2020, showing off the multi-coil design and internal circuitry of the device, with the first footage of the device appearing in August 2021. Since then, many other AirPower prototypes have appeared, but most of them are no longer operational. .
Apple AirPower prototype with 16 coils (PROTO1) charging the Apple Watch Series 4 prototype (DVT). It's surprising that charging the Apple Watch works, considering that wireless chargers today typically can't charge the Apple Watch. However, Apple Watch on AirPower gets very hot. #appleinternal pic.twitter.com/GfywG3KZS9 — Apple Demo (@AppleDemoYT) April 7, 2024
A new video from user X “Apple Demo”, who has demonstrated various Apple prototypes in the past, demonstrates AirPower' ability to charge Apple Watch. The device has 16 coils and can charge the prototype DVT Apple Watch Series 4, but appears to get very hot. Late last year, a functional AirPower prototype showed some serious thermal issues early in its development, including fires or melting of devices placed on the charging pad, which ultimately led Apple to abandon the project.
Ability AirPower charging the Apple Watch would be special since Apple smartwatches can only be charged using a magnetic charging puck and are not Qi-enabled. Simply by placing your Apple Watch anywhere on AirPower a panel without magnetic alignment would be a unique charging experience.
Rumors in subsequent years about Apple working on a smaller wireless charger seemed to be related to MagSafe or MagSafe Duo charger instead of AirPower. However, a 2022 report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman states that Apple is still exploring charging solutions like AirPower in the future.
Update: Apple Demo has now shared a new video . AirPower prototype.
Tags : AirPower Guide, Prototypes [54 comments]
