Apple just last week announced a much-anticipated MagSafe external battery, which, if memory serves, is the second mobile power device to be launched by Apple after the Smart Battery Case was released in 2015. This currently only supports four members of the iPhone 12 family, namely the iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 12.
The MagSafe external battery design is novel in that it takes advantage of the iPhone 12’s magnetic back case design, allowing the external battery to be quickly attached to the iPhone for wireless charging, either as a mobile power source for the iPhone or as a wireless charging pad (with a 20w USB-C power adapter) for stable power charging of the iPhone, but it is not sure if the external battery can charge an Apple Watch device when used as a wireless charging pad?
The MagSafe external battery can be used with a 27 watt or higher charger, like the one that came with our MacBook, to further increase charging speed. When you want to use it as a wireless charger, just plug in the lightning cable and you can charge your device with up to 15 watts of power.
Questions
We don’t yet know how much capacity this external battery has, or whether it can charge all four iPhone 12 devices from 1% to 100%.
Form factor
The battery looks best on the Max and is the right size, while on the other three devices it is a little bulky and seems uncomfortable to hold in one hand, but we’ll have to test this in practice before we can say for sure.
How do I use the MagSafe external battery?
Before using the MagSafe external battery for the first time, fully charge this external battery with the Lightning to USB cable and a 20W or higher power adapter.
Plug one end of the lightning to USB cable into the lightning connector of the MagSafe external battery.
Plug the other end of the cable into a 20W or higher USB power adapter and then plug the adapter into a power outlet.
You will see the amber status light illuminate while the MagSafe external battery is charging, and you will briefly see the green status light illuminate when the MagSafe external battery is fully charged.
Attaching and removing the MagSafe external battery
The MagSafe external battery attaches magnetically to the back of your iPhone. To remove the MagSafe external battery, gently pull it away from the back of the device. When charging on the move, the MagSafe external battery can charge iPhone at a maximum of 5W. If connected to a 20W or higher power source, it will charge at up to 15W.
Checking the charge level of the MagSafe external battery
The first step is to make sure your iPhone is running iOS 14.7 or higher. When the MagSafe external battery is attached to your iPhone, the external battery will automatically start charging your iPhone and a widget will automatically appear on the screen showing the charging status. You can then see an indication of the charge status of your iPhone, MagSafe external battery, Apple Watch, AirPods and more.
The iPhone can reverse charge the MagSafe external battery
The idea is that the MagSafe external battery not only acts as a ‘rechargeable’ battery for the iPhone, but also allows the iPhone to charge it by attaching the MagSafe external battery to the iPhone and then plugging the iPhone into a power source, although Apple does not reveal for users However, Apple has not revealed for users how efficient this reverse charging is, but it is confirmed that if you charge both the iPhone and the MagSafe external battery, the iPhone will likely charge to 80% or higher before the MagSafe external battery starts charging.
