Functional AirPower prototype shown in the video clip

A video of a seemingly functional AirPower prototype was shared on Twitter by an Apple device collector Giulio Zompetti, in what appears to be a unique glimpse of the elusive Charger in action.

The video shows a single on-screen iOS animation when the iPhone is placed on the ‌AirPower‌ charging mat, which was only seen in early Apple marketing materials, making it the first time this animation is seen in nature. An ‌iPhone‌ on the ‌AirPower‌ charger would have shown the charging of all the devices that were placed on the pad.

‌AirPower‌ was a charging mat designed by Apple to charge Qi-based iPhones, Apple Watch, and ‌AirPods‌ that Apple announced in September 2017 alongside the iPhone‌ X. It was designed for users to place an ‌‌iPhone‌‌, ‌‌AirPods‌‌, and an Apple Watch on any part of the mat for the device to charge, which meant multiple overlapping charging coils had to be included.

‌AirPower‌ missed its launch date in 2018, and after a number of issues with its development, Apple canceled the AirPower project in March 2019.

Photos purportedly depicting the AirPower‌ surfaced on social media in August 2020, showing a multi-coil design and the device’s internal circuitry, but this is the first video footage of a rare and apparently functional prototype. which presumably leaked from Apple’s development supply chain.

According to reliable Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple is still exploring AirPower-type charging solutions for the future.

Zompetti is an avid collector of Apple device prototypes and has previously shared images of a prototype Apple Watch Series 3 with additional connectors, an original iPad with two 30-pin ports, a prototype iPhone 12 Pro, a third generation iPod touch with a camera and rare original Apple Watch prototypes.