Apple AirPower lives again in leaked images, and it may not have a Lightning port

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Better news: it looks like it’s charging an Apple Watch

Apple AirPower
(Image credit: Apple)

Is Apple still working on its AirPower charging mat? Judging by this leaked image, yes – and we may know a little more about the tech giant’s long-delayed recharging accessory. 

What’s new? First, that the AirPower is still being developed. Leaker Jon Prosser tweeted a pair of photos purportedly showing the Apple charging pad (if you remember, he claimed the project was once again in development back in March). But the leak also suggests the tech giant has been able to get their AirPower prototypes to charge an Apple Watch.

Judging by the above images, both the Apple Watch and the AirPods Pro pictured are charging simultaneously. One more interesting note, which Prosser himself confirms multiple times in the tweet’s replies: the cable does not plug in to the AirPower via a Lightning port. 

Presumably, this could be a USB-C port; Apple has abandoned the Lightning port in the newest iPad Pro models, and there’s rumor that the iPhone 12 might be the last Apple handset to feature it. 

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AirPower at last?

Despite this alleged progress, there’s no indication that AirPower is officially headed to the market yet. After a long silence about its development, Apple admitted in an email to press that the device it had been working on didn’t ‘achieve our high standards, and we have cancelled the project’ in March 2019. 

Reports had emerged that the AirPower overheated, and even competing products weren’t able to pull off what Apple aspired to do: charge three devices at once, including Apple Watches. 

Given the perpetual interest around an official Apple charging pad, we aren’t surprised that yet another leak affirming its resurrection has drawn so much attention – and with the Apple WWDC 2020 keynote just around the corner, we wouldn’t be surprised if we end up hearing more during or after its annual developer conference.

David Lumb
David Lumb

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.