AirPower was an ambitious proposal from Apple. The wireless charger promised to charge the iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time, all on the same basis. The manufacturer, however, canceled the accessory in 2019, before it even hit the shelves. Even so, it is possible to take a look at a functional prototype of the accessory thanks to photos and videos revealed by Giulio Zompetti on Thursday (5).
How induction-charging phones work
The Apple AirPower prototype went public in the Apple product collector’s profile. By Twitter, Zompetti revealed a prototype video without the white housing, only with the inside of the wireless charger. He placed an iPhone on the base, which triggered an animation before displaying the information about recharging.
The Verge contacted the collector and had access to photos of the accessory. Zompetti explained that he purchased the unfinished AirPower unit through a Chinese junk mail source and was able to charge two devices at the same time through the accessory. The device has 22 coils on the front and 22 circuits on the back, but only works with a special prototype of the iPhone to trigger it.
“It’s an engineering prototype; it was not meant to be plug and play,” he explained to the site. “When I connected my Lightning serial cable to it, I could see some characters in the log. So after setting the baud rate, I was able to read an understandable log.”
AirPower was cancelled by Apple in 2019; understand the case
The story of Apple AirPower began in 2017, alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. That year, Apple announced a wireless charger that could recharge an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods simultaneously, either next to the other and on the same basis. The accessory, according to the manufacturer at the time, would only be released in 2018.
Apple, however, did not begin selling the product within the promised timeframe. The accessory then became the target of a variety of behind-the-scenes information, such as the 2019 release forecast given by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in October 2018. On March 20, 2019, sources heard by the Wall Street Journal reported that mass production of the charger had been approved. But the device never made it to stores.
It didn’t take long and Apple stopped the launch of the device. On The 29th of the same month, the iPhone maker announced the cancellation of AirPower, ending its ambitious project of being able to charge up to three devices on a single wireless charging base. According to the company, the device did not meet its standards. The company also apologized to consumers for the setback.
