AirPower Prototype Seen Charging Apple Watch for First Time

A prototype of Apple's ill-fated AirPower wireless charger has been seen charging an Apple Watch for the first time.

airpower
‌AirPower‌ was an Apple-designed charging mat designed to charge Qi-based iPhones, the Apple Watch, and ‌AirPods‌ that the company announced in September 2017 alongside the iPhone X. ‌AirPower‌ was designed so that users could place an ‌‌iPhone‌‌, ‌AirPods‌, and Apple Watch on any part of the mat to charge them, which meant that multiple overlapping charging coils had to be included.

It would have prompted devices to display a unique on-screen iOS animation when they were placed on the charging mat, as seen in Apple's early marketing materials. An ‌iPhone‌ on the ‌AirPower‌ charger would also have shown the charge of all of the devices that were placed on the pad. ‌AirPower‌ missed its original 2018 launch date goal, and after a large number of issues with its development, Apple outright canceled the AirPower project in March 2019.

Images depicting ‌AirPower‌ prototypes first surfaced on social media in August 2020, showing a multi-coil design and the device's internal circuitry, and the first video footage of the device emerged in August 2021. Multiple other AirPower prototypes have appeared since then, but most are no longer functional.

A new video from the X user "Apple Demo," who has showcased various Apple prototypes in the past, demonstrates the ‌AirPower‌'s ability to charge an Apple Watch. The device features 16 coils and can charge a DVT prototype Apple Watch Series 4, but it apparently gets quite warm. Late last year, a functional AirPower prototype from early on in its development exhibited some of the severe thermal problems, including burning or melting devices placed on the charging pad, that ultimately led Apple to abandon the project.

‌AirPower‌'s ability to charge an Apple Watch would have been special because Apple's smartwatch is only able to charge via its magnetic charging puck and does not support Qi. Simply placing an Apple Watch anywhere on the ‌AirPower‌ pad with no magnetic alignment would have been a unique charging experience.

Rumors in subsequent years about Apple's work on a smaller wireless charger seem to have been related to MagSafe or the ‌MagSafe‌ Duo charger, rather than ‌AirPower‌. Nevertheless, a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in 2022 said that Apple is still looking into AirPower-like charging solutions for the future.

Update: Apple Demo has now shared a new video of the ‌AirPower‌ prototype.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Monday March 10, 2025 12:17 pm PDT by
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience. Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
ios 18 4 carplay

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
Apple One Apps Feature 2

Apple One's Best Plan Now Includes Two More Perks For Free

Monday March 10, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Apple One allows you to subscribe to up to six Apple services for one discounted monthly price. There are three Apple One tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier. Over the last month, the highest-end ‌Apple One‌ Premier plan has gained two additional perks. Here is what Apple One Premier already included, for $37.95 per month:Apple Music Apple TV+ Apple Arcade Apple News+ Apple Fitness+...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
iOS 18

12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Monday March 10, 2025 9:28 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.4 in early April, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed 12 new...
iphone 17 mockups idevicehelp

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on 'Internal Documents'

Monday March 10, 2025 4:41 am PDT by
YouTuber iDeviceHelp on Friday posted a video that shows off mockups of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models that are purportedly based on "internal documents." We're sharing the video here since it was made in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who last month published similar iPhone 17 renders that were widely corroborated by separate leakers with links to Apple's Chinese supply chain....
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.2 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Monday March 10, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple employees are internally testing iOS 18.3.2 for iPhones, according to our website's visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released in the next week or two. iOS 18.3.2 will be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Don't expect any new features. iOS 18.3.2 will be an interim...
Apple Maps vs Google Maps Feature

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.3.2 With Bug Fixes

Tuesday March 11, 2025 10:33 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.3.2 and iPadOS 18.3.2, minor updates for the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.3.2 and iOS 18.3.2 come a month after Apple released iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release...

Top Rated Comments

Mrkevinfinnerty Avatar
12 months ago
Footage of it charging the watch and an iPhone



● SD GIF
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xizdun Avatar
12 months ago

So showing a phone in fire and claiming it’s air power related without a citation and without air power seems like you’re trolling the forums.
Holy crap. It’s a joke! This guy doesn’t understand sarcasm. ?‍♂️
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jrlcopy Avatar
12 months ago
I think overall, it failing led to MagSafe?, and it feels like the superior product.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mrkevinfinnerty Avatar
12 months ago

Where’s the AirPower or is this just fake news?
It's completely real. ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arkitect Avatar
12 months ago

So showing a phone in fire and claiming it’s air power related without a citation and without air power seems like you’re trolling the forums.
Do you genuinely fail to see the joke?

You don't have to find it funny, but it is such an obvious joke…
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
truthsteve Avatar
12 months ago
I have a feeling they wanted to charge AirTags with builtin batteries the same way too
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)