Apple’s MagSafe Magnetic Battery for the iPhone 12 is $ 99. It charges the iPhone with the MagSafe magnets on the back of the iPhone. It’s a typical Apple accessory. It’s only available in white, works out of the box, and charges with Lightning.
But it is not without problems. It has a tiny 1460 mAh battery that can’t even fully charge the iPhone 12. There is no fast charging (it charges at the standard 5W rate). It has reverse charging, but it won’t activate until your iPhone is 80% charged.
Unless the integrated Apple experience is critical to you, the MagSafe battery pack isn’t worth the price. Especially when you can find third-party batteries that wirelessly fully charge your iPhone at half the price. But first…
What to Know Before Buying a Magnetic Battery Pack for iPhone
The world of magnetic battery packs for iPhone 12 is quite new. These are essentially wireless batteries with magnets that snap into place on the back of the iPhone 12 (and supported cases).
Before you buy one, here are a few things you should know.
- capacity: Most trustworthy magnetic battery packs reach 5000 mAh, and for good reason: 10000 mAh battery packs are not only heavy but also get quite hot. Compact 10,000 mAh batteries can be found on Amazon, but you should stay away from them for your own safety.
- Loading speed: The magnetic batteries listed here are only MagSafe compatible, not MagSafe certified. This means that the charging speed is limited to 7.5W, while most will charge your iPhone at 5W (based on the Qi charging standards). You will find batteries that advertise 15W charge speeds, but that’s just marketing hype, not reality.
Now to our recommendations.
