-
This is the current MagSafe charger, sold separately from the iPhone 12.
Samuel Axon
-
The MagSafe charger attached to an iPhone 12.
Samuel Axon
Bloomberg has released yet another report detailing a planned launch of Apple products. This time, the publication’s sources say Apple is working on a magnetically attached battery pack for iPhones — it would be the first Apple-designed iPhone battery pack that doesn’t double as a case.
The accessory is said to use the MagSafe feature introduced with the iPhone 12 series in October. It would attach magnetically to the back of new iPhones and presumably provide power wirelessly via the Qi standard that iPhones have adopted. According to Bloomberg sources, the first prototypes will have a “white rubber exterior”.
Apple has also already provided some MagSafe accessories for the iPhone, including a charging cable that uses the magnets and other components to optimally align the charging coils and produce faster charging speeds than was possible with previous iPhone models with non-MagSafe Qi charging capability. .
The MagSafe name was first used for Mac laptops with a magnetic charging port. Faster charging was then not part of the field; instead, the goal was to reduce the risk of damage to the computer if the power cord was kicked or pulled. With MagSafe, the cable would gently pop out instead of pulling on the device itself.
Apple has gradually removed MagSafe from its MacBook product line in recent years, but there are rumors that the company plans to reintroduce it with new MacBook Pro or MacBook Air models expected later this year.
There is no idea when Apple could ship this new iPhone MagSafe battery product. The report claims that Apple had intended to “launch in the months following the iPhone 12 line”, but that the product has been delayed due to issues on the software side of development.
Specifically, the software has reported to testers that the battery is overheating even when it isn’t.
Apple will likely take a conservative or cautious approach to introducing new battery or charging products, as the once-announced AirPower charging mat has never seen the light of day and several gadget companies (perhaps the most notorious Samsung) have faced widespread reports of fire or injury due to defective batteries and power systems.
List image by Samuel Axon