Air MagSafe Battery vs Anker MagSafe Charger

[RumorConsumer]

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.

This is exactly what I was thinking.

 

[ArchEtech]

I have 3 of the newer Anker. Their newer nano is basically like the Air pack but it will work on all the phones.

I have their 10,000 ultra thin model and it works great.

 

[illmatic41]

I have 3 of the newer Anker. Their newer nano is basically like the Air pack but it will work on all the phones.

I have their 10,000 ultra thin model and it works great.

It's only like the Air pack in that it is thin and can charge the phone, however it is not the same in the sense of how it behaves. It will charge the phone at a slower rate and when the phone charges to 90%, it will stop charging the phone and become the phone's battery until it is dead. This keeps the heat lower, saving the lifespan of both batteries. It is a smart battery because of the integration with iOS. I don't think it's worth $99, but it is double the price because of the smart function and not just the apple tax.

 

[4sallypat]

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.

Yes, the Air Magsafe battery is a great design, especially for heat reduction.

I have tested the Air with wireless charging:

EV car charging pad (OEM)
Anker MagGo Qi
Belkin Boost Qi
Apple Air Magsafe

Non Apple chargers (Anker & Belkin) got quite warm and the worst was my EV car Qi charging mat which got super hot.

The coolest: Apple Air Magsafe battery.

Great design by Apple !

 

[ArchEtech]

It's only like the Air pack in that it is thin and can charge the phone, however it is not the same in the sense of how it behaves. It will charge the phone at a slower rate and when the phone charges to 90%, it will stop charging the phone and become the phone's battery until it is dead. This keeps the heat lower, saving the lifespan of both batteries. It is a smart battery because of the integration with iOS. I don't think it's worth $99, but it is double the price because of the smart function and not just the apple tax.

I used an anker pack on my 16 pro max for 1/2 of its charging. I was at 99% capacity after 12 months. I think it worked just fine regardless of Apple Gobbltygook. It did get warm, and thats better for charging with the pack on, but I do not buy in to it making any difference on the life of the battery. In theory sure whatever. I wouldn't just use any wireless pack though, some of them aren't great, but the anker seem ok for me.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I used the Anker Ultra Skim 5k last night while I was out and about for 7 hours. Really bugs me how when the phone hits its max charge, it just stops charging - so every few hours I'd have to look at my phone then hit the button for it to resume charging again. Only complaint I have on this tiny little battery.

 

[robotphood]

I used the Anker Ultra Skim 5k last night while I was out and about for 7 hours. Really bugs me how when the phone hits its max charge, it just stops charging - so every few hours I'd have to look at my phone then hit the button for it to resume charging again. Only complaint I have on this tiny little battery.

If it’s maxed you don’t really need to worry about topping it off for a while anyway?

 

[BigMcGuire]

If it’s maxed you don’t really need to worry about topping it off for a while anyway?

I was doing some high drain activities (GPS, etc) (away from wall power) - so I was hoping it would continue to power the phone instead of turning off, and me having to keep clicking it every now and then after finding my phone draining like crazy. My wired batteries don't have this problem - they will trickle charge the phone and keep the battery at 80% (what I set the iPhone battery to) - so the phone consumes no cycles and runs off of the external battery.

Most old Ankers have a Trickle mode (you double press the button to get a green light) or they keep supplying power even when the draw is low.

 

[robotphood]

I was doing some high drain activities (GPS, etc) (away from wall power) - so I was hoping it would continue to power the phone instead of turning off, and me having to keep clicking it every now and then after finding my phone draining like crazy. My wired batteries don't have this problem - they will trickle charge the phone and keep the battery at 80% (what I set the iPhone battery to) - so the phone consumes no cycles and runs off of the external battery.

Most old Ankers have a Trickle mode (you double press the button to get a green light) or they keep supplying power even when the draw is low.

I believe the phone is still using cycles with a trickle charge. The only battery that seems to bypass this is the Apple MagSafe one? Personally, I don't care about cycles. Give me max output as long as my phone isn't turning into an oven.


If anyone is interested, I was able to test this wired magnetic bank. I wasn't expecting much because of the price and it turned out pretty mediocre. It took an Air from 0-40% in 30 min but got pretty toasty and I did see the output throttling at various points (as low as single digits according to my meter). I was able to get 87% total after 1.5 hours, which was twice as long as I expected. Pretty much the same performance as the Anker Nano but thicker/bigger, runs hotter and has a wire dongle.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I believe the phone is still using cycles with a trickle charge. The only battery that seems to bypass this is the Apple MagSafe one? Personally, I don't care about cycles. Give me max output as long as my phone isn't turning into an oven.


If anyone is interested, I was able to test this wired magnetic bank. I wasn't expecting much because of the price and it turned out pretty mediocre. It took an Air from 0-40% in 30 min but got pretty toasty and I did see the output throttling at various points (as low as single digits according to my meter). I was able to get 87% total after 1.5 hours, which was twice as long as I expected. Pretty much the same performance as the Anker Nano but thicker/bigger, runs hotter and has a wire dongle.

This was true up till the iPhone 14 Pro or 15 Pro. Since these generations, the phone (and iPads) can run off of wall power completely - not touching the battery.

iOS 26's battery does a better job of showing this than 18 did.

Note, 2.5 hours of screen active time, 2 hours 20 mins of idle - 0% battery used. Because it spent all day being plugged in.

How it looked on iOS 18:

Note 0% battery used despite 4.5 hours of screen on time on that Saturday - because it was plugged in. Previous days - despite 6+ hours of screen on time, tiny bit of battery used because it was plugged in most of the time.

If I leave it plugged in, it won't use any battery despite tons of screen on time ( see below ):



Perks of a desk job (personal health fails tho). lol.

One reason why my 15 Pro Max has 196 cycles despite a fair amount of use (I've read several 600+ page books on it).

 

[robotphood]

This was true up till the iPhone 14 Pro or 15 Pro. Since these generations, the phone (and iPads) can run off of wall power completely - not touching the battery.

iOS 26's battery does a better job of showing this than 18 did.

Note, 2.5 hours of screen active time, 2 hours 20 mins of idle - 0% battery used. Because it spent all day being plugged in.
View attachment 2563405

How it looked on iOS 18:

Note 0% battery used despite 4.5 hours of screen on time on that Saturday - because it was plugged in. Previous days - despite 6+ hours of screen on time, tiny bit of battery used because it was plugged in most of the time.

View attachment 2563409

If I leave it plugged in, it won't use any battery despite tons of screen on time ( see below ):

View attachment 2563406

Perks of a desk job (personal health fails tho). lol.

One reason why my 15 Pro Max has 196 cycles despite a fair amount of use (I've read several 600+ page books on it).

Very nice. That explains the lower than expected cycles on my 16P after a year.