Apple’s MagSafe iPhone 12 Battery Pack Is Here, and I’m Not Impressed

When Apple announced theiPhone 12 ’s MagSafe magnetic charging feature , we assumed that a MagSafe translation of Apple ’s Smart Battery Case would follow closely behind . After all , it now seemed like the most obvious utilization of the new , and arguably good , iPhone 12 lineament . Why it was n’t ready to go when the iPhone 12 card became uncommitted is unknown , butApple ’s MagSafe Battery Packis here , and at first glance it ’s a trivial underwhelming .

For starter , Apple ’s MagSafe Battery Pack has a capacity of 1,460 mAh at 7.62V , according tolabels on the back of the accessory . The iPhone 12 Mini , 12 , 12 Pro , and 12 Pro Max have bombardment capacity of 2,227 mAh , 2,815 mAh , 2,815 mAh , and 3,687 mAh , severally , at around 3.85V. That ’s enough to get a dead 12 Mini back to around 90 % capacity , but a dead 12 Pro Max will onlyrecharge to around 55 % , and perhaps even less than that , given how ineffective radio set charging in reality is . ( The mental process produces a lot of heat , which is wasted energy . )

By comparability , theAnker PowerCore Magnetic 5 K Wireless Power Bank , which has been available for months already , packs a 5,000 mAh battery at 3.7V open of almost entirely recharge the gravid iPhone 12 good example , while it can get the 12 Pro Max back to about 75 % capacity . It also costs just $ 40 , where asApple ’s MagSafe Battery Pack is $ 99 . Yikes .

Image:Apple

But Apple ’s late - to - the - game solution does come with some benefits that third - company chargers like Anker ’s do not . With the upcoming iOS 14.7 update install , the MagSafe battery ’s rest assault and battery life can be supervise within iOS , the same way the electric battery life for accessories like AirPods and the Apple Watch are . Apple also promises that its special 5W charging speeds can be boosted to up to 15W when the assault and battery is connect to a “ higher than 20W office arranger , ” but that negates the gizmo of a wireless battery gang .

The iPhone can also be used to excite the MagSafe Battery Pack while it ’s piggybacking by plainly plugging the smartphone into a baron source , but it will saddle slower than if it ’s straight tethered to a power source . It ’s an interesting feature , but a recess one , and it might not be quite enough to free $ 99 when other alternatives can do more for less . We have n’t yet tested the MagSafe Battery Pack , so stay tuned to see if Apple ’s pricy new accessory is deserving the price .

Updated 7/13/21 at 3:40 p.m. ET : This article has been update to properly reflect the MagSafe Battery Pack ’s electrical capacity and electric potential .

Ugreentracker