Air MagSafe Battery vs Anker MagSafe Charger

[gomakoto]

Anyone have a comparison of the official Apple MagSafe Battery vs something like the Anker 5000mw one? What I see is that the Apple one acts as one big battery and the device will prioritize the external battery to maximize time.

However it doesn’t charge (or charges very slowly) the actual battery.

Whereas the Anker one lacks the software/intelligcne side of things, but makes up for it by having a bigger battery. It charges right away and that is all it does.

The Anker is also much cheaper at half the cost. Anyone have any more details or anyone who owns either one care to comment? Does the Apple Battery charge the device?

 

[4sallypat]

Anyone have a comparison of the official Apple MagSafe Battery vs something like the Anker 5000mw one? What I see is that the Apple one acts as one big battery and the device will prioritize the external battery to maximize time.

However it doesn’t charge (or charges very slowly) the actual battery.

Whereas the Anker one lacks the software/intelligcne side of things, but makes up for it by having a bigger battery. It charges right away and that is all it does.

The Anker is also much cheaper at half the cost. Anyone have any more details or anyone who owns either one care to comment? Does the Apple Battery charge the device?

I have the Air Magsafe battery and love it.

It's very smart and will prioritize charging the phone first, then recharge itself when connected to a charger.

The widget showing up on the phone is also a nice way to monitor the battery conditon and charging.

Also love the orange / green charge light on the Magsafe Air battery - it reminds me of the Magsafe 1/2/3 Macbooks I have had....

 

[mikedude86]

I went with the Anker MagSafe ultra slim, I already had 2 other anker MagSafe batteries and they’ve worked well but I def wanted something slimmer to go with my new Air. So far I love it, only trade off is that it’s half the capacity as my other two batteries but I understand the trade off for the slimmer design (and it’s still better than the Apple version). I’ve had apple branded batteries, the older ones built into the cases, which were awful after about 6 months and the last MagSafe battery they made before the Air one. For the price I just couldn’t justify it and so far I’m happy. I haven’t had the best luck with the charging bricks or non-MagSafe batteries with Anker but their MagSafe batteries seem to hold up well **knocks on wood**

 

[robotphood]

The Apple MagSafe battery is pretty nice but I went with the Anker because it’s half the cost, smaller (albeit 2mm thicker) and charges faster (15w vs 12w). I won’t be using it much so it’ll be going in my car or travel bag for situations where I need a quick portable top off.

I’m actually looking for an even slimmer/conpact bank (2500-5000mah) that has a built in usb c cable but has a high output (>15w). Preferably magnetic (not MagSafe) but I could always add that on. The only ones I’ve seen are 5-7.5w. If anyone has come across one please add a link.

 

[ZipZap]

I went with the Anker MagSafe ultra slim, I already had 2 other anker MagSafe batteries and they’ve worked well but I def wanted something slimmer to go with my new Air. So far I love it, only trade off is that it’s half the capacity as my other two batteries but I understand the trade off for the slimmer design (and it’s still better than the Apple version). I’ve had apple branded batteries, the older ones built into the cases, which were awful after about 6 months and the last MagSafe battery they made before the Air one. For the price I just couldn’t justify it and so far I’m happy. I haven’t had the best luck with the charging bricks or non-MagSafe batteries with Anker but their MagSafe batteries seem to hold up well **knocks on wood**

Read the reviews

 

[RumorConsumer]

Have seen some hate about Apple's MagSafe Battery for the iPhone Air.

Like this:

Two things stand out. It's both highly efficient charging the iPhone wirelessly and it charges the phone 7% faster than average (28% in 30 min). It also runs extremely cool. This is all very deliberate. Apple wants users to feel like the performance is acceptable while hitting no alarm bells around heat.

As an iPhone Air owner, I have been getting consistently a day out of my battery if not a bit more. Less when Im traveling and using GPS, but thats to be expected. I think I want one of these around just in case. My guess is the Anker charges faster but throws off more heat and is not as efficient.

 

[4sallypat]

...........
Two things stand out. It's both highly efficient charging the iPhone wirelessly and it charges the phone 7% faster than average (28% in 30 min). It also runs extremely cool. This is all very deliberate. Apple wants users to feel like the performance is acceptable while hitting no alarm bells around heat.

As an iPhone Air owner, I have been getting consistently a day out of my battery if not a bit more. Less when Im traveling and using GPS, but thats to be expected. I think I want one of these around just in case. My guess is the Anker charges faster but throws off more heat and is not as efficient.

Agree about the Magsafe battery charging the Air much cooler than a non Apple Qi charger.

I haven't had the need to fully use the battery as the battery life on my Air is much better than the 16 Pro I traded in.

I get 2 days of life which reminds me of my 14+.

 

[RumorConsumer]

Agree about the Magsafe battery charging the Air much cooler than a non Apple Qi charger.

I haven't had the need to fully use the battery as the battery life on my Air is much better than the 16 Pro I traded in.

I get 2 days of life which reminds me of my 14+.

Jesus 2 days? You must be very light on that thing yeah? Do you have the Apple MagSafe battery? How's it feel to you?

 

[4sallypat]

Jesus 2 days? You must be very light on that thing yeah? Do you have the Apple MagSafe battery? How's it feel to you?

Yes, I am a light user coming from a 16 Pro that didn't last all day and would not last 2 days like the Air.

During the week, I also carry my work 14PM which does most of the work so it's nice to pick up the Air and then realize it's super light in comparison.

Yes, I have the Air Magsafe battery thinking I would need it based on all the pre-release MR hype and conjecture that the internal battery would not last a full day.

Then Apple's "all day battery life" presentation was so true when I actually used it. 2 days of charge is amazing - like my 14+...

Love the orange "Magsafe" battery light:

 

[robotphood]

Have seen some hate about Apple's MagSafe Battery for the iPhone Air.

Like this:

Two things stand out. It's both highly efficient charging the iPhone wirelessly and it charges the phone 7% faster than average (28% in 30 min). It also runs extremely cool. This is all very deliberate. Apple wants users to feel like the performance is acceptable while hitting no alarm bells around heat.

As an iPhone Air owner, I have been getting consistently a day out of my battery if not a bit more. Less when Im traveling and using GPS, but thats to be expected. I think I want one of these around just in case. My guess is the Anker charges faster but throws off more heat and is not as efficient.

That's a good point. The Anker is around 60% so the extra capacity is not a big difference in the end. This is why I'm still looking for a slim bank with a built in cable with high output. More efficient, faster and less heat. I had this Anker for my 16P and could sustain 20W+ so it was quite fast for top ups. I lost it on my last vacation so I've been looking for an alternative that is less bulky to pocket. My wife has this clutch charger which is the perfect form factor but it only outputs at 5W so the thing is pretty much living on your phone when you're depleted.

Yes, I am a light user coming from a 16 Pro that didn't last all day and would not last 2 days like the Air.

During the week, I also carry my work 14PM which does most of the work so it's nice to pick up the Air and then realize it's super light in comparison.

Yes, I have the Air Magsafe battery thinking I would need it based on all the pre-release MR hype and conjecture that the internal battery would not last a full day.

Then Apple's "all day battery life" presentation was so true when I actually used it. 2 days of charge is amazing - like my 14+...

Love the orange "Magsafe" battery light:
View attachment 2562042

That's interesting. My 16P lasts a bit longer than my Air on average but both are adequate for "all day" most days of the year for me.

 

[RumorConsumer]

That's a good point. The Anker is around 60% so the extra capacity is not a big difference in the end. This is why I'm still looking for a slim bank with a built in cable with high output. More efficient, faster and less heat. I had this Anker for my 16P and could sustain 20W+ so it was quite fast for top ups. I lost it on my last vacation so I've been looking for an alternative that is less bulky to pocket. My wife has this clutch charger which is the perfect form factor but it only outputs at 5W so the thing is pretty much living on your phone when you're depleted.




That's interesting. My 16P lasts a bit longer than my Air on average but both are adequate for "all day" most days of the year for me.

Yeah I’m looking too and the Apple seems to be the closest to the Goldilocks feature combo that exists.

 

[robotphood]

Yeah I’m looking too and the Apple seems to be the closest to the Goldilocks feature combo that exists.

Found a couple ones to test. Got this one in today. Only 2500mah but I was curious how small it actually was and it’s tiny. 4mm thick and a bit bigger than a credit card. It doesn’t have a magnet but an adhesive magnet ring would work. Maxes out at 7.5w but would be easy to stow anywhere if space is limited. There is a 3500 and 5000mah version as well.



Also waiting on this one. Ideally it’d be thinner and the cable could be hidden. I bought it to test and see if it can actually output 20w. If it holds up I’ll probably keep it in the car for random emergencies. Cheap enough for something I’ll rarely use.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I have the Anker MagSafe Ultra Slim for my 15 Pro Max and it's nice. It does get kinda hot, but it sheds heat so much better than any other wireless MagSafe battery that I've ever used (maybe because of its size). I use it at my weekend jobs where I don't have access to a wall outlet - with a tiny little USB C to USB C cable - to keep my phone topped off (I have my phone set to 80%).

Have seen some hate about Apple's MagSafe Battery for the iPhone Air.

Like this:

Hah, I really like this YouTuber. Go Monty!

 

[Gregintosh]

Saw this video and it changed my perspective completely:

The TLDR is that people think of it wrong.

We are used to thinking of MagSafe battery banks as a way to charge up when the battery gets low. Like any other power bank which you can flip on and it’s just feeding power as fast as it can to the device it’s attached to (with no regard for heat, efficiency, etc)

In the regard the Air battery sucks compared to other options.

But that’s not how it’s supposed to be used.

It’s supposed to be an extender. Basically it’s like this: If you anticipate a heavy day ahead, slap it on in the morning.

Then what it does is let your power drop to around 90% and then it keeps it there. From that point on the MagSafe battery is powering your phone until it dies. Then when it’s done and you remove it, you got 90% left on the phone itself.

I tried this method out and it’s a game changer. Here’s why:

Wearing the MagSafe battery for a long time did not produce much heat at all. At no point was my phone (or the battery) very warm or hot the touch. It did say it stopped charging briefly when I was out in the Manila sun but outside of that it trickles the power without any major noticeable heat.

A regular MagSafe battery bank (of which I’ve owned many over the years) would be basically a hot plate after a half hour to an hour of use.

About 5 hours of regular use in, my iPhone is at 90% and the MagSafe battery is at 44%. Oh, and I started the day with it only at 94% (phone was at 100).

I been watching a bit of YouTube, did some social media, some chatting, a few hours of listening to music and podcasts, and looking some stuff up on google and ChatGPT throughout the day.

At this rate, this thing is going to last maybe 4 to 5 more hours, bringing my usage to 9 to probably 10 hours after which I’ll still have 90% of my phone battery left.

I think the best use case for this will be to bring it when planning an entire day out somewhere. I’ll be taking a vacation soon where I might spend the whole day from morning to night at tourist spots.

Snapping this on will give me peace of mind, halfway through the day I can take it off and enjoy the rest of my time lighter.

With a traditional battery bank I’d have to snap it on and off during the day to as the phone and battery overheat from the lack of managed power distribution.

Great product!!!

 

[4sallypat]

Saw this video and it changed my perspective completely:

The TLDR is that people think of it wrong.

We are used to thinking of MagSafe battery banks as a way to charge up when the battery gets low. Like any other power bank which you can flip on and it’s just feeding power as fast as it can to the device it’s attached to (with no regard for heat, efficiency, etc)

In the regard the Air battery sucks compared to other options.

But that’s not how it’s supposed to be used.

It’s supposed to be an extender. Basically it’s like this: If you anticipate a heavy day ahead, slap it on in the morning.

Then what it does is let your power drop to around 90% and then it keeps it there. From that point on the MagSafe battery is powering your phone until it dies. Then when it’s done and you remove it, you got 90% left on the phone itself.

I tried this method out and it’s a game changer. Here’s why:

Wearing the MagSafe battery for a long time did not produce much heat at all. At no point was my phone (or the battery) very warm or hot the touch. It did say it stopped charging briefly when I was out in the Manila sun but outside of that it trickles the power without any major noticeable heat.

A regular MagSafe battery bank (of which I’ve owned many over the years) would be basically a hot plate after a half hour to an hour of use.

About 5 hours of regular use in, my iPhone is at 90% and the MagSafe battery is at 44%. Oh, and I started the day with it only at 94% (phone was at 100).

I been watching a bit of YouTube, did some social media, some chatting, a few hours of listening to music and podcasts, and looking some stuff up on google and ChatGPT throughout the day.

At this rate, this thing is going to last maybe 4 to 5 more hours, bringing my usage to 9 to probably 10 hours after which I’ll still have 90% of my phone battery left.

I think the best use case for this will be to bring it when planning an entire day out somewhere. I’ll be taking a vacation soon where I might spend the whole day from morning to night at tourist spots.

Snapping this on will give me peace of mind, halfway through the day I can take it off and enjoy the rest of my time lighter.

With a traditional battery bank I’d have to snap it on and off during the day to as the phone and battery overheat from the lack of managed power distribution.

Great product!!!

Well said and this explains why the phone never gets warm while the Air Magsafe battery is attached.

I will also be taking a trip next week to Hawaii and will come in handy for the remote hikes.

 

[Gregintosh]

I finished my test today, the MagSafe battery pack lasted 8 hours. The phone was left at 90% from the 100% it started with.

So I’d say a fully charged battery pack should add about around 7 hours to the iPhone Airs runtime for normal use.

Normal use = some social media scrolling, messaging on various apps, a bit of YouTube watching, few hours of music and audio playback to AirPods, and light web surfing.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Yep yep - spot on. The idea is to keep the phone topped up instead of brute force charging it up from a low charge. Produces a LOT less heat and helps the tiny little MagSafe battery to last a lot longer.

Looks like the Apple Air battery was designed for this. And WOW - 7 hours.

The Anker Ultra Slim stops charging once it gets your phone topped off so it’s hard to use it without generating a ton of heat - really annoys me (I have my charge limited to 80% and try to use it to power the phone when I’m out and about, but it just shuts off).

 

[robotphood]

Saw this video and it changed my perspective completely:

The TLDR is that people think of it wrong.

We are used to thinking of MagSafe battery banks as a way to charge up when the battery gets low. Like any other power bank which you can flip on and it’s just feeding power as fast as it can to the device it’s attached to (with no regard for heat, efficiency, etc)

In the regard the Air battery sucks compared to other options.

But that’s not how it’s supposed to be used.

It’s supposed to be an extender. Basically it’s like this: If you anticipate a heavy day ahead, slap it on in the morning.

Then what it does is let your power drop to around 90% and then it keeps it there. From that point on the MagSafe battery is powering your phone until it dies. Then when it’s done and you remove it, you got 90% left on the phone itself.

I tried this method out and it’s a game changer. Here’s why:

Wearing the MagSafe battery for a long time did not produce much heat at all. At no point was my phone (or the battery) very warm or hot the touch. It did say it stopped charging briefly when I was out in the Manila sun but outside of that it trickles the power without any major noticeable heat.

A regular MagSafe battery bank (of which I’ve owned many over the years) would be basically a hot plate after a half hour to an hour of use.

About 5 hours of regular use in, my iPhone is at 90% and the MagSafe battery is at 44%. Oh, and I started the day with it only at 94% (phone was at 100).

I been watching a bit of YouTube, did some social media, some chatting, a few hours of listening to music and podcasts, and looking some stuff up on google and ChatGPT throughout the day.

At this rate, this thing is going to last maybe 4 to 5 more hours, bringing my usage to 9 to probably 10 hours after which I’ll still have 90% of my phone battery left.

I think the best use case for this will be to bring it when planning an entire day out somewhere. I’ll be taking a vacation soon where I might spend the whole day from morning to night at tourist spots.

Snapping this on will give me peace of mind, halfway through the day I can take it off and enjoy the rest of my time lighter.

With a traditional battery bank I’d have to snap it on and off during the day to as the phone and battery overheat from the lack of managed power distribution.

Great product!!!

Yes this does seem like how it’s designed and is nice workaround for heat and efficiency. Not for me though. I didn’t pick the Air to ever have to attach a battery pack to it all day. It’s a shame Apple can’t pull off higher output charging, at least wired. Some of my android devices can get from 0-50% in 15 minutes.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Yes this does seem like how it’s designed and is nice workaround for heat and efficiency. Not for me though. I didn’t pick the Air to ever have to attach a battery pack to it all day. It’s a shame Apple can’t pull off higher output charging, at least wired. Some of my android devices can get from 0-50% in 15 minutes.

This is something that has kind of bothered me for a while now. The last few years I’ve noticed my android friends don’t even care about their battery charge state anymore. For example, we were getting ready to go out for an entire day and I noticed a friend staying with us, with an android phone, at 10% so I was getting ready to grab a battery to take it on the trip with us. He said nope I’m good and I watched him plug in the phone and less than the time it took for us to get ready to hop in the car (12 mins), he had enough charge for the rest of the day. Lol

While I understand that rapid charging harms battery longevity, it would absolutely change how I use my devices. Maybe in the next few generations.

 

[Gregintosh]

Yes this does seem like how it’s designed and is nice workaround for heat and efficiency. Not for me though. I didn’t pick the Air to ever have to attach a battery pack to it all day. It’s a shame Apple can’t pull off higher output charging, at least wired. Some of my android devices can get from 0-50% in 15 minutes.

I get what you’re saying. I didn’t buy the air only to make it thick and heavy either.

But I also think the battery pack isn’t supposed to be a daily thing.

If I’m staying at home or for sure will be home in the middle of the day (like go out to work morning and rest at home before going out for an evening) then it’s probably better to plug it into a proper charger and top it back off to 100% and be fine the rest of the day.

Easy to do, just plug it in when you’re having a shower and eating dinner. Within a half hour to an hour you’ll be fully charged (I assume your phone didn’t go to total 0, more likely ended up around 50% by the early evening at worst).

BUT on the days you will be out all day (vacation days, long errands, hikes/beach days, may be doing a lot of pictures and videos which drain battery fast, etc) good to snap on the battery pack for that day.

I’m surprised how many people don’t plug in their phones at home when they’re napping, watching tv etc and the phone just sits there draining.

With half decent battery discipline at home, the MagSafe battery occasionally for those situations I mentioned should be more than enough. Don’t really need any other power banks.

 

[robotphood]

I get what you’re saying. I didn’t buy the air only to make it thick and heavy either.

But I also think the battery pack isn’t supposed to be a daily thing.

If I’m staying at home or for sure will be home in the middle of the day (like go out to work morning and rest at home before going out for an evening) then it’s probably better to plug it into a proper charger and top it back off to 100% and be fine the rest of the day.

Easy to do, just plug it in when you’re having a shower and eating dinner. Within a half hour to an hour you’ll be fully charged (I assume your phone didn’t go to total 0, more likely ended up around 50% by the early evening at worst).

BUT on the days you will be out all day (vacation days, long errands, hikes/beach days, may be doing a lot of pictures and videos which drain battery fast, etc) good to snap on the battery pack for that day.

I’m surprised how many people don’t plug in their phones at home when they’re napping, watching tv etc and the phone just sits there draining.

With half decent battery discipline at home, the MagSafe battery occasionally for those situations I mentioned should be more than enough. Don’t really need any other power banks.

Yeah I’m rarely away from a charger and my office desks have MagSafe stands. I think I’m just used to topping off in situations if I’m out all day and anticipate heavy usage. I have a couple MagSafe banks (even the original Apple one) but I rather carry a small fast charger with me and throw it on for 15-20 min once my battery hits low power mode. That usually gets me enough juice to end the day. But I do see how useful it’d be if need more capacity than that on a particular day. My wife uses her Clutch battery pack like this.

 

[RumorConsumer]

Great video by the guy explaining how it actually works. I think this is a beauty is pain moment. I was out walking around all day in downtown DC and ended up going to the Apple Store and picking up a battery. Effectively, it acts like a power bank until 90% then it depletes itself. That is really cool. It is also super light and feels like nothing in my bag or pocket so I think this is a keeper accessory. It's not often that I am in a day like that where Im on GPS and super mobile, and in those situations I expect the Air battery to get punished. I also picked up the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro and am feeling very happy about the Air. Those are nice phones but my god they are heavy. When I think about what I get for that weight and how often I use the cameras etc I am all good with my Air.

 

[RumorConsumer]

Another realization - if you don't want to use the battery during the day, it actually serves as a MagSafe charging pad (with a magnet). I can literally just leave it on the desk charging and throw the phone on it overnight. I wonder if it will really only get to 90%. We'll see... will report back tomorrow.

 

[Gregintosh]

I think if it’s plugged in then it will act as a MagSafe charging puck, and charge all the way. But it will be good to know for sure.

The one advantage of using it as a charger is being sure it’s always charged when you do need to take it out.

 

[RumorConsumer]

Also a great doc:

How to use your iPhone Air MagSafe Battery - Apple Support

Your iPhone Air MagSafe Battery is designed to quickly and safely wirelessly charge your iPhone Air, extending the battery life of your device. iPhone Air MagSafe Battery was designed to pair only with iPhone Air.

support.apple.com

"Plug iPhone Air MagSafe Battery into a power adapter and then attach your MagSafe Battery to your iPhone Air. If you use a 30W or higher power adapter, the MagSafe Battery can charge your iPhone Air with up to 20W of charging power.

When you charge your iPhone Air and iPhone Air MagSafe Battery at the same time, your iPhone might charge to 80% or higher before your iPhone Air MagSafe Battery begins charging. This ensures your iPhone charges first in case you need to use it before all charging completes."

"When you're using your MagSafe Battery to charge your iPhone, you might get a notification that says your iPhone will charge only up to 90%. To charge past 90%, open Control Center, press and hold the Low Power Mode icon, then tap Continue. If you don't see the Low Power Mode icon, learn how to add it to Control Center."

Kind of interesting that it seems to conflict with this:

iPhone Air MagSafe Battery - Tech Specs - Apple Support

iPhone Air MagSafe Battery - Tech Specs

support.apple.com

"Fast charging

For even faster charging of your iPhone Air, attach the MagSafe Battery and connect it to a 20W or higher power adapter at the same time.²"

Does anybody have a different reading of this? It sounds contradictory but sometimes these articles require a deeper reading to understand.