Apple first revealed its AirPower wireless charger back in 2017, before cancelling it last year. Though it looks like the company is giving it another shot, and it’s giving it a very powerful piece of hardware.
Leaker Jon Prosser shared on Twitter that some of the company’s engineers are getting prototypes of a “C68”. The accompanying image suggests that the model refers to the Apple AirPower wireless charger. On the outside, there’s a slight tweak in its design. But on the inside, the wireless charger prototype reportedly comes with an A11 Bionic chip. If it sounds familiar, it’s the same chip that runs the iPhone X.
You might be thinking, why would a wireless charging mat need such a powerful chip? Prosser says in his tweet that the chip is used 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/q4UvnF4ksx
— jon prosser (@jon_prosser) April 10, 2020
Apple previously stated that the reason behind cancelling the AirPower wireless charging mat was that it didn’t meet the company’s own high standards. Reports at the time indicated that the mat suffered from overheating problem. This likely happened when it was charging an iPhone, an AirPod case, and an Apple Watch simultaneously.
Maybe a fast chip is the magic ingredient that the Apple AirPower needed to manage the generated heat. Of course, this is ultimately a leak regarding the company’s engineers getting a prototype. So even id this is accurate, it’s a long way away from the company making an official announcement about it.
(Source: Jon Prosser / Twitter via SlashGear)
