Apple has just announced the upcoming release of its MagSafe Battery Pack, which is designed to work with the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The MagSafe Battery Pack attaches magnetically to the back of the iPhone 12 models and charges them wirelessly. It requires iOS 14.7 or later and has an 11.13Wh battery. That’s enough juice to charge an iPhone 12 Mini to 52%, and iPhone 12 Pro to 41%, and an iPhone 12 Pro Max to 31%. Users will not be able to top-up fully, but it is enough to keep the phone going for several more hours. When it is not plugged in, the MagSafe Battery case charges at a modest — and relatively slow — 5W.
There have been plenty of third-party battery packs and chargers from companies like Native Union, Satechi, and Twelve South that attach magnetically to the back of the iPhone 12, allowing users to wirelessly charge their phones, but this is the first official one to come from Apple. Perhaps the real value of the MagSafe Battery Pack comes not so much from the charging speed or even the capacity but from the convenience of being able to wirelessly charge automatically without having to fiddle with any cables. While there is no on or off button, users can keep track of the status of their charge on their iPhone’s lock screen. The Apple MagSafe Battery Pack will be available starting on July 19th.
In other Apple news, check out its International Collection of Sport Loop Bands.