A working AirPower prototype initially suffered some serious thermal issues, including devices burning or melting on the charging pad, which eventually forced Apple to abandon the project.
air power It is a charging pad designed by Apple to charge iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods, based on the Qi standard that Apple announced with the iPhone X in September 2017. AirPower is designed so users can place iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch on any mount. the mat had to be used to charge them, which meant that multiple overlapping charging coils had to be included.
This caused the devices to display a unique iOS animation on the screen when placed on the charging mat, as seen in early Apple marketing materials. An iPhone on an AirPower charger also shows the charge of any devices docked into the tablet. AirPower missed its original launch date of 2018, and after many problems in its development, Apple canceled the AirPower project altogether in March 2019.
Images of the AirPower prototype showing the multi-coil design and internal circuits of the device first appeared on social media in August 2020, and the first videos of the device appeared in August 2021. There are a few more AirPower prototypes, but most are no longer functional.
An Apple-loving prototype collector known as “Kosutami” recently received an early version of the “AirPower” charging mat. The prototype has 15 charging coils with small gaps between them, unlike later revisions that included up to 22 coils. Like other AirPower prototypes that have appeared in the past, the device does not have the white outer shell that Apple sells the device in, giving a clearer view of its internal circuitry.
Unlike most other prototypes seen in recent years, Kosutami’s unit basically works even while charging the Apple Watch. Restarting after giving commands to start automatic calibration, March 17, 2017 firmware upload date from prototype, commands to select specific coils, etc. It enabled me to read a lot of information such as.

Kosutami found that when the devices were finely tuned to one of the charging coils, “AirPower” charged steadily at low voltage with no noticeable temperature issues. Kosutami said MacRumorsIf AirPower is placed incorrectly, it will overheat and may even leave burn marks on the device. In fact, Kosutami’s AirPods Pro charging case started to melt while charging with AirPower.
The requirement for precise placement between devices and charging coils defeats much of the purpose of the accessory, which Apple touts as being more convenient than other Qi wireless chargers that require careful placement. Apple eventually solved this problem with another technology: MagSafe.

Apple later increased the number of coils in the AirPower in an attempt to alleviate the problem, but found that the higher coil density only made overheating worse. No “AirPower” prototypes have emerged since 2018 or 2019, suggesting that the short-lived device’s hardware was developed almost entirely in 2017 or earlier. Instead, the software was subjected to some iteration before the “AirPower” project was terminated due to overheating issues not being resolved.
Rumors that Apple is working on a smaller wireless charger in the coming years appear to be related to the “MagSafe” or “MagSafe” Duo charger, not the “AirPower” one. With all this, a reliable journalist’s report last year Bloomberg Marc Gurman said that Apple is still looking for charging solutions similar to AirPower for the future.