What you need to know
- Apple is reportedly trying to resurrect its failed AirPower charging mat.
- Jon Prosser has previously shared some low-res photos of the unit.
- He has now released higher-quality photos of 'C68'.
Jon Prosser has shared new higher-quality photos of Apple's rumored AirPower revamp dubbed 'C68'.
In a tweet today Prosser said:
Well, you guys wanted a better picture of "C68"...Remember how I said that the main problem was that current prototypes didn't support Apple Watch?Yeah. Well.They got the Watch working...
Well, you guys wanted a better picture of “C68”... 😏
Remember how I said that the main problem was that current prototypes didn’t support Apple Watch?
Yeah.
Well.
They got the Watch working... 👀 pic.twitter.com/LvBeNAAtt3Well, you guys wanted a better picture of “C68”... 😏
Remember how I said that the main problem was that current prototypes didn’t support Apple Watch?
Yeah.
Well.
They got the Watch working... 👀 pic.twitter.com/LvBeNAAtt3— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) June 18, 2020June 18, 2020
The big news here is that Apple seems to have cracked charging Apple Watch on the mat.
We first learned that Apple was working on trying to revamp AirPower back in March, when Jon told us that the project was back on internally. Then, in April, Jon shared photos claiming to show the C68, which Apple engineers are working on at home during COVID-19. From that report:
While working from home, engineers on Apple's 'Sharing and Proximity' team are receiving prototype units of something called "C68".They are being asked work on software communication between devices for a "future product" that has an A11 inside to "dynamically manage heat".
While working from home, engineers on Apple’s ‘Sharing and Proximity’ team are receiving prototype units of something called “C68“.
They are being asked work on software communication between devices for a “future product” that has an A11 inside to “dynamically manage heat”. pic.twitter.com/q4UvnF4ksxWhile working from home, engineers on Apple’s ‘Sharing and Proximity’ team are receiving prototype units of something called “C68“.
They are being asked work on software communication between devices for a “future product” that has an A11 inside to “dynamically manage heat”. pic.twitter.com/q4UvnF4ksx— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) April 10, 2020April 10, 2020
Previously, Apple had run into issues with Apple Watch because it uses "a tweaked proprietary charging method" which takes more energy, and in the previous prototypes charging an Apple Watch alongside other devices would overheat the mat, causing it to literally combust. Using the A11 chip, Apple has reportedly been able to create a new prototype that can route power to specific coil regions, waiting for temperatures to drop before applying more power to stop it overheating.
Given its in the prototyping stage, its not clear from any of this when we might some kind of official launch or release of this.
