By 32 BBY, the human Shmi Skywalker, who was enslaved by the junk dealer Watto, had been given an aeromagnifier in a rare show of kindness by Watto as recognition for all her hard work. She kept the tool on the workstation in her home in Slave Quarters Row in the city of Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine.
Shmi Skywalker used an aeromagnifier at her workstation.
Skywalker used the aeromagnifier at the workstation to work long hours cleaning computer memory devices in order to earn extra wupiupi. Although the Skywalker home was poorly lit at night, the magnifier and light from the illuminator rings meant she could continue working on the devices long after Tatooine's twin suns set and her eyes had become fatigued. Shmi's aeromagnifier was floating above the workstation when her son, Anakin Skywalker, brought a group of off-worlders home during a sandstorm in 32 BBY. It was still above the station later when Anakin bid farewell to Shmi before leaving Tatooine.
An aeromagnifier appeared in the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, which was released on May 19, 1999. In the current Star Wars canon, the tool was identified in the 2017 reference book Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia. The name for the tool originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was first used in the reference book Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary, written by David West Reynolds and released on May 26, 1999. Aeromagnifiers can be collected as a scrap part in the 2015 video game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes and are used to upgrade characters' relic amplifiers.
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- Star Wars 100 Objects