YouTuber Jon Prosser claimed in March that Apple has engineers working on its infamous AirPower charging mat, suggesting teams were trying to re-engineer the wireless charging coils to displace heat more effectively, after Apple announced the high-profile cancelation of its AirPower project last year.
Now, Prosser has shared an alleged leaked image of an updated version of the AirPower charging mat, offering some further details on how Apple is overcoming the overheating issues by using an A11 processor, the same processor used in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.
According to Prosser, Apple has given prototype units of “C68“, an internal code name linked to project “Callisto” to members of its ‘Sharing and Proximity’ team who are working remotely, like most of Apple’s workforce, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Apple’s objective for AirPower was simple: to create a wireless charging pad on which customers could simultaneously charge three products – iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods wireless charging case – at once.
In a string of tweets, the leaker claims Apple had AirPower units combust on them during testing, mainly when an Apple Watch was placed on the mat alongside other devices because the Apple Watch uses a tweaked proprietary charging method which requires more energy to charge.
Prosser says to overcome this issue, Apple is now testing the use of an A11 chip.
“Using the A11,” he continues, “this new prototype has the ability to route power to specific coil regions and can dynamically wait for temperatures to drop before applying more power – preventing it from overheating.”
Apple has openly said it wants to build a wireless future, so it is no surprise the company still is interested in turning the magic of AirPower into reality. Leading Apple-insider Ming-Chi Kuo suggested earlier in the year Apple may be developing a “small wireless charging mat,”said to be launching during the first half of 2020.