Unfinished AirPower unit shown off in new video

Posted:
in iPhone edited August 2021
A rare Apple device collector has acquired a prototype of the cancelled AirPower wireless charging pad, and has published a video showing the device connecting to an iPhone.

AirPower shown in new video
AirPower shown in new video


Giulio Zompetti shared a short clip on Twitter with an allegedly working AirPower unit. Unfortunately, he didn't provide any additional information, though the unit appears unfinished.



The iPhone in the video shows the charging animation Apple originally showcased during the AirPower product reveal. However, it doesn't appear to be charging the iPhone since the battery icon is still black in the menu bar.

Apple cancelled AirPower after around 19 months of delays and no additional news from the company. Multiple rumors suggested AirPower could return in a smaller, less ambitious, charging pad, but it seems MagSafe is the true successor to the failed accessory.

While Zompetti didn't provide any information about the AirPower charger in the video, it could be authentic. He has a track record for showing off prototype devices like early Apple Watch units, but AppleInsider doesn't have a way to verify authenticity.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    Interesting that the charging animation was left in. Seems they finished the iOS software but never could get the charger to work properly. Which is pretty unfortunate since there are now AirPower style charging pucks available with 3 spaces. I wonder if there were limitations due to the nonstandard AW charging which they couldn't work around. Leaving things like this in the OS though is where exploits stem from - rarely used software that's not fully tested. It should be removed. 
  • Reply 2 of 7
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,123member
    elijahg said:
    Interesting that the charging animation was left in. Seems they finished the iOS software but never could get the charger to work properly. Which is pretty unfortunate since there are now AirPower style charging pucks available with 3 spaces. I wonder if there were limitations due to the nonstandard AW charging which they couldn't work around. Leaving things like this in the OS though is where exploits stem from - rarely used software that's not fully tested. It should be removed. 
    A charging puck "with 3 spaces" is not remotely close to AirPower, and there is nothing on the market currently that is functionally equivalent.  AirPower was designed with 20 coils so that it would not be necessary to align a device exactly with a coil for charging. Obviously 20 coils creates heat problems that aren't an issue with just 3 coils. 
    Rayz2016williamlondonStrangeDayscornchipwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 7
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    flydog said:
    elijahg said:
    Interesting that the charging animation was left in. Seems they finished the iOS software but never could get the charger to work properly. Which is pretty unfortunate since there are now AirPower style charging pucks available with 3 spaces. I wonder if there were limitations due to the nonstandard AW charging which they couldn't work around. Leaving things like this in the OS though is where exploits stem from - rarely used software that's not fully tested. It should be removed. 
    A charging puck "with 3 spaces" is not remotely close to AirPower, and there is nothing on the market currently that is functionally equivalent.  AirPower was designed with 20 coils so that it would not be necessary to align a device exactly with a coil for charging. Obviously 20 coils creates heat problems that aren't an issue with just 3 coils. 
    You sure about that?
    citpeks
  • Reply 4 of 7
    citpekscitpeks Posts: 242member
    elijahg said:
    flydog said:
    elijahg said:
    Interesting that the charging animation was left in. Seems they finished the iOS software but never could get the charger to work properly. Which is pretty unfortunate since there are now AirPower style charging pucks available with 3 spaces. I wonder if there were limitations due to the nonstandard AW charging which they couldn't work around. Leaving things like this in the OS though is where exploits stem from - rarely used software that's not fully tested. It should be removed. 
    A charging puck "with 3 spaces" is not remotely close to AirPower, and there is nothing on the market currently that is functionally equivalent.  AirPower was designed with 20 coils so that it would not be necessary to align a device exactly with a coil for charging. Obviously 20 coils creates heat problems that aren't an issue with just 3 coils. 
    You sure about that?

    Zens (with the Liberty) would also disagree.  Not as sophisticated as Aira's (integrated and fan-less) technology in Nomad's Base Station Pro, but both are shipping products.

    Both come at a price that a lot of consumers probably aren't willing to pay for the incremental benefits they provide.

    No doubt AirPower would have cost a pretty penny as well.

    Many people get along fine with the commodity chargers plucked from Amazon.
    elijahgwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 7
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    citpeks said:
    elijahg said:
    flydog said:
    elijahg said:
    Interesting that the charging animation was left in. Seems they finished the iOS software but never could get the charger to work properly. Which is pretty unfortunate since there are now AirPower style charging pucks available with 3 spaces. I wonder if there were limitations due to the nonstandard AW charging which they couldn't work around. Leaving things like this in the OS though is where exploits stem from - rarely used software that's not fully tested. It should be removed. 
    A charging puck "with 3 spaces" is not remotely close to AirPower, and there is nothing on the market currently that is functionally equivalent.  AirPower was designed with 20 coils so that it would not be necessary to align a device exactly with a coil for charging. Obviously 20 coils creates heat problems that aren't an issue with just 3 coils. 
    You sure about that?

    Zens (with the Liberty) would also disagree.  Not as sophisticated as Aira's (integrated and fan-less) technology in Nomad's Base Station Pro, but both are shipping products.

    Both come at a price that a lot of consumers probably aren't willing to pay for the incremental benefits they provide.

    No doubt AirPower would have cost a pretty penny as well.

    Many people get along fine with the commodity chargers plucked from Amazon.
    And then blame Apple when one of those commodity chargers blows up their device.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 7
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    citpeks said:
    elijahg said:
    flydog said:
    elijahg said:
    Interesting that the charging animation was left in. Seems they finished the iOS software but never could get the charger to work properly. Which is pretty unfortunate since there are now AirPower style charging pucks available with 3 spaces. I wonder if there were limitations due to the nonstandard AW charging which they couldn't work around. Leaving things like this in the OS though is where exploits stem from - rarely used software that's not fully tested. It should be removed. 
    A charging puck "with 3 spaces" is not remotely close to AirPower, and there is nothing on the market currently that is functionally equivalent.  AirPower was designed with 20 coils so that it would not be necessary to align a device exactly with a coil for charging. Obviously 20 coils creates heat problems that aren't an issue with just 3 coils. 
    You sure about that?

    Zens (with the Liberty) would also disagree.  Not as sophisticated as Aira's (integrated and fan-less) technology in Nomad's Base Station Pro, but both are shipping products.

    Both come at a price that a lot of consumers probably aren't willing to pay for the incremental benefits they provide.

    No doubt AirPower would have cost a pretty penny as well.

    Many people get along fine with the commodity chargers plucked from Amazon.
    I wouldn't be surprised if price was the concern more than heat or electromagnetic factors. It might have had 20 coils but they weren't all on at the same time, so that seems moot to me. 20 coils with associated tuning and driving circuitry would be mighty expensive. That and someone came up with the repurposed Magsafe which pretty much solves the issue anyway, and would be more efficient than Airpower ever could be due to perfect alignment every time.

    I have a cheap Ikea Qi charger (about $8) and it's only once failed to charge my phone, so alignment is a bit of a non-issue for me at least.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    lkrupp said:
    citpeks said:
    elijahg said:
    flydog said:
    elijahg said:
    Interesting that the charging animation was left in. Seems they finished the iOS software but never could get the charger to work properly. Which is pretty unfortunate since there are now AirPower style charging pucks available with 3 spaces. I wonder if there were limitations due to the nonstandard AW charging which they couldn't work around. Leaving things like this in the OS though is where exploits stem from - rarely used software that's not fully tested. It should be removed. 
    A charging puck "with 3 spaces" is not remotely close to AirPower, and there is nothing on the market currently that is functionally equivalent.  AirPower was designed with 20 coils so that it would not be necessary to align a device exactly with a coil for charging. Obviously 20 coils creates heat problems that aren't an issue with just 3 coils. 
    You sure about that?

    Zens (with the Liberty) would also disagree.  Not as sophisticated as Aira's (integrated and fan-less) technology in Nomad's Base Station Pro, but both are shipping products.

    Both come at a price that a lot of consumers probably aren't willing to pay for the incremental benefits they provide.

    No doubt AirPower would have cost a pretty penny as well.

    Many people get along fine with the commodity chargers plucked from Amazon.
    And then blame Apple when one of those commodity chargers blows up their device.
    Since the device being charged controls the charging current and received voltage though tuning the device's internal coil, the only one to blame if it blew up would be the device being charged.
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