3 Apple Prototypes That Did Not Make It Past the Secret Labs

As a trillion-dollar tech corporation, Apple spends a lot of time and money researching, patenting, and working on prototypes before releasing actual products. But not all Apple prototypes see the light of day. For example, Apple has a lot of patents revolving around its iPhones and iPads that might never be a thing.

Likewise, there have been a lot of Apple prototypes before that are now considered to be “forgotten gems.” And it’s not like they did not get any public exposure. They did! To be exact, a couple of them have early units, which have been acquired by hobbyists. Wondering which products are they? You can learn about three of such products below.

Magic Charger – The Most Recent Discarded Apple Prototype

When Apple debuted the MagSafe charging standard for its iPhones, Apple was working on a prototype charging stand. While Apple did not publicly announce or release the product, several units of the MagSafe Magic Charger got out in the wild. And collectors who got to experience the device shared all about it with the world.

As shared by @KyoukoMizumi, the Apple prototype charging stand features a clean aluminum build with a flexible MagSafe puck. It comes with a braided USB-C cable, which allows users to pair the device with a separate charging brick. The hobbyist was able to connect it to a Mac, which revealed the official name of the prototype.

While this Apple prototype does not seem to have been referenced by Apple anywhere, the Cupertino giant did release something similar. Named MagSafe Duo, the official charging device offers both Apple Watch charging puck and MagSafe. As a result, users could charge two different devices at once.

However, MagSafe Duo capped out at 11W for the MagSafe when paired with a 20W brick, while you can get just 14W with a 27W brick. On the other hand, regular MagSafe chargers provide 15W of charging speed with regular bricks, making it a faster and cheaper option.

AirPower – The Well-Known Apple Prototype

Unlike Apple Magic Charger, the Apple AirPower made its official debut. Apple announced it back in September 2017. At the time, the Cupertino giant boasted about finding out a way that would make it easier to build this challenging accessory. But after a couple of years, this Apple prototype device got canceled.

If you are not familiar with this Apple prototype, it is basically a Qi wireless charging mat that was supposed to support Apple Watches, iPhones, and AirPods at the same time. So, the theory was that users could use one charging station to juice up all their devices.

For this prototype, Apple talked about how users could place their devices anywhere on the surface. And to deliver that, Apple needed to pack two dozen internal coils on the AirPower charging mat. Now, while the product looked great in concept, Apple could not make the charging mat meet its high standards.

To be exact, Apple had safety concerns regarding the device, which eventually made Apple cancel the product and throw the related prototypes in the trash in March 2019. And while Apple did not officially sell AirPower to consumers, a couple of enthusiasts got their hands on it. That eventually gave us a glimpse of the internals and how they would have actually looked like.

That said, while it’s confirmed that Apple is no longer working with AirPower, Tesla has released its Wireless Charging Platform. At the core, it is a device that basically replicates the Apple prototype. On Tesla’s offering, you can charge three Qi-enabled devices at once and get up to 15W of charging speed on each.

Although, it is not a 1:1 copy of the Apple AirPower as you do not get exclusive features that Apple has planned for the AirPower.

Dual-port iPad 1 – The Old And Forgotten Apple Prototype

The last prototype that we have for this discussion is a bit lesser-known than the other two Apple prototypes highlighted above. This one basically got indirectly materialized through some later Apple devices. One 2021, a hobbyist named @1nsane_dev got their hands on a dual-port 1st Gen iPad. It has two identical ports that allow you to use two compatible accessories at the same time.

Notably, Apple got the arrangement of the ports right on this prototype. One of them is at the bottom, while the other is at the left landscape edge. This positioning makes sense because it allows you to connect the iPad to a charger while the other port could supposedly support keyboards, docks, or other accessories. Basically, Apple was planning to offer support for devices that would let you get the most out of the landscape orientation.

Interestingly, this Apple prototype allows the use of both ports simultaneously. And while Apple did not launch any dual-port iPad, the idea behind it is still alive in the form of Smart Connector. That is available in modern iPad models, allowing users to connect external accessories through a three-dot connector.

In comparison, the Smart Connector looks more aesthetically pleasing as it does not sacrifice the overall looks of the iPad. Moreover, the Smart Connector does not look out of place on the tablet compared to the dual-port design. But still, it’s interesting that Apple thought of offering support for connecting multiple accessories from the very first iPad.