A working AirPower prototype had some serious thermal issues early in development, including the device on the charging pad burning or melting, ultimately leading Apple to abandon the project.
AirPower is a multi-purpose charging pad designed by Apple to charge the Qi-based iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods released in September 2017 with iPhone X. AirPower is designed to allow users to charge their iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch by placing them on any part of the mat, which meant multiple overlapping charging coils had to be included.
When the device is placed on the charging pad, it prompts the device to display a unique iOS animation on the screen, as seen in Apple's early marketing materials. An iPhone using an AirPower charger will also display the battery level of any device placed on the charging pad. AirPower failed to meet its original 2018 release date target, and Apple canceled the AirPower project entirely in March 2019 after a large number of problems arose during development.
Photos depicting the AirPower prototype first appeared on social media in August 2020, showing off the multi-coil design and the device's internal circuitry, and the first video footage of the device appeared in August 2021. Multiple other AirPower prototypes have since appeared, but most were unusable.
An Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami" recently obtained an early version of the AirPower charging mat. The prototype had 15 charging coils, unlike later versions, which had as many as 22 coils with small gaps between them. Like other "AirPower" prototypes that have appeared in the past, the device does not come in the white casing that Apple uses to market the device, giving a clearer picture of its internal circuitry.
Compared to most other prototypes we've seen in recent years, Kosutami's unit essentially runs and reboots after issuing a command to initiate automatic calibration. A large amount of information can also be obtained from the prototype, such as the firmware installation date of March 17, 2017, the command to select a specific coil, etc.
Kosutami found that when the device was precisely aligned with one of its charging coils, the AirPower charged stably at a low voltage with no apparent thermal issues. However, if not placed properly, the AirPower can get very hot and may even leave scorch marks on the device. In fact, Kosutami's AirPods Pro charging case even started to melt when charging on AirPower.
Apple subsequently increased the number of coils inside AirPower in an attempt to alleviate the problem, but found that higher coil density only made overheating worse. No AirPower prototypes surfaced in 2018 or 2019, suggesting the short-lived device's hardware was developed almost entirely in 2017 or earlier. Instead, the software went through a period of iterations before the AirPower project was shelved due to an inability to resolve overheating issues.
This requirement for precise positioning between the device and the charging coil defeats the primary purpose of the accessory, which Apple claims is more convenient than other Qi wireless chargers that require careful placement. Apple eventually solved this problem with a different technology: MagSafe.
Rumors about Apple developing small wireless chargers in subsequent years seemed to be related to "MagSafe" or "MagSafeDuo" chargers, rather than "AirPower". Still, a report last year by reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman claimed that Apple was still looking at an AirPower-like charging solution for the future.