It's fair to say MagSafe hasn't had the most auspicious start on iPhone. From damage-prone cases to wallets that won't stick, the magnetic charging tech wasn't an immediate hit. But Apple's brand new MagSafe accessory feels like exactly the gadget MagSafe was made for.
Quietly released last night, the MagSafe Battery Pack snaps to the back of your iPhone 12 to offer some extra juice. As anyone who's used any of the best power banks will attest, they can be an absolute life-saver – but will Apple's be up to scratch?
Apple's new MagSafe Battery Pack (Image credit: Apple/Future owns)
Like the MagSafe wallet, the new battery pack magnetically snaps to the back of the iPhone, matching the shape of the iPhone 12 mini and sitting a little smaller on the rest of the larger models. And it's available in any colour you like – as long as it's white. Yep, unlike the rest of Apple's MagSafe accessories, you're limited to the company's signature shade here.
MagSafe didn't have a great start – but things are looking up (Image credit: Apple)
The MagSafe Battery Pack charges an iPhone 12 model at 5W, and features its own Lightning port to charge. If you want to charge both the iPhone and battery pack, you can connect a Lightning cable to either device while they're connected. And as many of observed, this is rather interesting. The fact that the iPhone 12 is able to essentially charge the battery pack means it's capable of reverse charging – leading many to speculate what else the iPhone could potentially charge. Those rumours about the iPhone 13 being able to reverse charge AirPods are starting to sound a lot more believable.
The MagSafe Battery Pack comes with a typically high price tag for Apple – it'll set you back a cool $99/£99 (but hey, compared with those $699 Mac Pro Wheels this is a bonafide bargain). That said, despite those early wallet woes, MagSafe is suddenly looking a lot more attractive – as is the iPhone 12. Check out today's best deals below, and be sure to visit our main Apple deals page.
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Daniel John is Senior News Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
