Video shows canceled Apple AirPower wireless charging mat in action for the first time

Apple had initially planned to ship the AirPower in 2018. It was supposed to simultaneously charge three devices: an iPhone, AirPods with charging case, and Apple Watch. The idea was that consumers would be able to juice up their devices no matter where they were placed.

This led to complex circuitry with multiple charging sensors and components of different sizes which supposedly caused overheating issues. A teardown video that emerged last year shows that the device had 14 coils.

The charger allegedly had an Apple chip that ran a toned-down version of iOS. It was placed inside for handling on-device power management and device pairing. This only added to challenges as the platform reportedly had a lot of bugs.

The device was seemingly pretty far along in development when it was scrapped. Per a 2018 report, Apple engineers were using it as their charger at their offices. The in-box paperwork of 2018’s iPhone lineup also referenced the charger and 2019’s AirPods had a photo of a charging mat on the box. The company also acquired the AirPower trademark a month before shelving the project.