Apple's AirPower wireless charger was expected to be able to simultaneously charge the iPhone, Apple Watch, as well as the AirPods. Apple announced that AirPower was being discontinued in March 2019 due to difficulties in bringing it to life. We've seen AirPower, some AirPower clones and Apples MagSafe batteries packs being dismantled. An Apple prototype collector now owns a working AirPower unit.Giulio Zampetti, a 28 year-old Italian man, told The Verge that he was able to buy a prototype AirPower unit using Chinese e-waste resources. Zompetti says that the unit is missing its exterior housing and instead shows a beautiful, heavy, stainless steel chassis.The Verge has photos of the AirPower mat running a prototype iPhone. It features 22 coils on its front and 22 controller circuits at the rear. To activate the coils, this AirPower prototype must be paired up with special prototype iPhone hardware.The coils can't be used with production devices because they are woken by the device. Zompetti says that he has been able to charge at least two prototypes simultaneously. Zompetti claims that he received the unit in December. He was able to use a serial lightning cable to first interact with it.It is an engineering prototype and not intended for plug-and-play, according to Zompetti. It was easy to see the serial lightning cable connected to it. Once I set the BAUD rate, I could read the log.Apple's canceled AirPower Pad was supposed to allow you to drop your devices anywhere to charge, thanks to multiple coils. Several reports indicated that Apple was experiencing heat issues as it developed. Zompetti says that although I was unable to reproduce the problem, it still seems possible.We have not been able to independently confirm the AirPower device, as it is extremely rare. However, Zompetti has a history collecting Apple prototype hardware. Since March 2018, Zompetti has been collecting Apple prototype hardware, including a very rare prototype of the Apple Watch. Zompetti says that finding the best looking prototypes has been my passion since then. Zompetti has accumulated around 35 units, and has a wide variety of rare iPhones and iPod prototypes.Zompetti has traveled to engineers to help them repair old devices because of this passion. Zompetti says that it's often about finding and fixing broken or incomplete units to bring them back into life. He says that an unreleased AirPower device is among the most valuable prototype hardware he's seen so far.
