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Apple to Allegedly Rekindle 'MagSafe' Brand for Magnetic iPhone Case and Wireless Charging Accessories

@jmgregory1 you might find this Anker model better suited for your bedside usage. I use one at my desk where it is helpful to have the phone on a stand. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753Z4PGC

As for flat pucks - I have them in the kitchen (side-counter) with a couple other charge cords, as well as on the bedroom dresser. Never look at my phone at night - DND avoids any notifications, and I've had a basic led clock on the dresser since long before the iphone (or any smart phone) existed.

Now that's just me - I can't speak for others. Certainly as you note there are times when a stand is more helpful. Though I suppose it'd be a bit more challenging to charge airpods w/ wireless charge case on a stand... :p

Another thought -- I'd hate to have the puck stick to the phone when I try to lift it off. That'd get really old really quick.
 
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MagSafe was a technology that had a functional reason rather than just do something because we can tech. It has saved my MacBook many times working in the field. USB C charging sucks IMO.

What exactly is the reason to attach a magnet to a wireless phone charger? The only thing I can think of is alignment but that's just silly since it's not difficult to place your phone in the center of a pad. Maybe for someone with a disability but this is an edge case rather than common use.
 
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russell_314 said:
MagSafe was a technology that had a functional reason rather than just do something because we can tech. It has saved my MacBook many times working in the field. USB C charging sucks IMO.

What exactly is the reason to attach a magnet to a wireless phone charger? The only thing I can think of is alignment but that's just silly since it's not difficult to place your phone in the center of a pad. Maybe for someone with a disability but this is an edge case rather than common use.
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Maybe Apple is laying the ground for a future iPhone with no charging port? The charger would then be a magnetic charging puck like the Apple Watch charger.
 
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Abazigal said:
Maybe Apple is laying the ground for a future iPhone with no charging port? The charger would then be a magnetic charging puck like the Apple Watch charger.
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That would be very interesting. I bet they would have something like the keyboard port that's in the iPad for emergency recovery.
 
It’s weird that people criticise the iPhone for having a proprietary charging port while also faulting the MacBook for dropping a proprietary port in favour of a universal one.
 
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Abazigal said:
It’s weird that people criticise the iPhone for having a proprietary charging port while also faulting the MacBook for dropping a proprietary port in favour of a universal one.
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It's probably not the same people doing both. I would like the iPhone to go USB-C, and I think it is good that the MacBooks dropped MagSafe for USB-C. Yes, MagSafe was a good idea, but the charging flexibility coming with USB-C (power banks, 3rd party chargers, plug in left or right) is the greater advantage to me.
 
MagSafe on an ARM MacBook pro, well that's everyones credit card maxed, begging, stealing and borrowing too... if magSafe returns to macbooks, sales will be rather magical to Apples cashflow!

MagSafe, the catnip of mac users... am I right? :D
 
Actually the magSafe is a Titanium case that is super-thin and super-light that sticks to the phone with embedded neodymium magnets. Available in the same colors as the iPhone, it will be thin enough (1mm) that the dimensions are essentially unchanged. Additionally the Titanium allows for pass-thru magnetic charging.
 
I would like to know if Apple is going to completely remove wired charging option and favor ONLY wireless charging. As for iTunes sync? “It’s a thing of the past and the only way you can listen to music is through streaming services”.

Given apple’s fierce stance against incorporating alternative biometric authentication methods, I can see this coming to iPhone very soon.
 
If this iPhone is getting the iPads‘ new form factor, it would only make sense that it should get the magnets as well to attach cases and accessories. The iPad has some great cases that attach to it magnetically. I’m not sure how these magnets would contribute to a charging accessory unless they come out with a very fast wireless charger that requires 100% alignment between the coils. But that’s pure speculation
 
Shirasaki said:
I would like to know if Apple is going to completely remove wired charging option and favor ONLY wireless charging. As for iTunes sync? “It’s a thing of the past and the only way you can listen to music is through streaming services”.

Given apple’s fierce stance against incorporating alternative biometric authentication methods, I can see this coming to iPhone very soon.
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I don’t think that battery and wireless charging technologies are there yet. What if my phone is about to die and I have to use it while it’s plugged into the charger? I honestly can’t see apple dropping wired charging until they have some type of a short range non-contact wireless charging in place. Or a battery that can last for a very long time and charge to a useable percentage very quickly.
 
Anyone else thinking it will be small enough to magnet to the back of the phone with a long cable and charge while using the phone... not a pad to place the phone on top
 
Alon1 said:
I don’t think that battery and wireless charging technologies are there yet. What if my phone is about to die and I have to use it while it’s plugged into the charger? I honestly can’t see apple dropping wired charging until they have some type of a short range non-contact wireless charging in place. Or a battery that can last for a very long time and charge to a useable percentage very quickly.
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Given apple’s track record of being user hostile, I am not going to be surprised if iPhone ends up with no wired charging solution at all. Screw people who needs it in the name of progress. “Wireless is the FUTURE!” just like some people already believe.
 
Well Jonny Ive is gone, so how about reinstating MagSafe into future Mac Books? It was a feature, like reliable keyboards that should never have disappeared. We've fixed one of them now, time for the other.
 
Shirasaki said:
I would like to know if Apple is going to completely remove wired charging option and favor ONLY wireless charging. As for iTunes sync? “It’s a thing of the past and the only way you can listen to music is through streaming services”.

Given apple’s fierce stance against incorporating alternative biometric authentication methods, I can see this coming to iPhone very soon.
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I hope not only for the reason I MUCH prefer connecting via USB in my vehicles. Sound quality is much better and stable plus has the benefit of charging at the same time. There are hundreds of millions of vehicles on the street without wireless charging ability.
 
Abazigal said:
It’s weird that people criticise the iPhone for having a proprietary charging port while also faulting the MacBook for dropping a proprietary port in favour of a universal one.
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If there was a standard quick release power port design then I would what it!

Sadly, there is nothing on the market other than 3rd party plug adapters which stickup and some just don't work really well. The MagSafe wasn't perfect but at least I didn't kill my laptop the few times I tripped on the cord. How many people have damaged their system with USB-C?? I personally know of two!

Whats sad is it wouldn't be overly hard to rig up a USB-C port which is dual use! And still offer USB-C. Apple just rigged up the Qi port with magnets on the new iPhones so its not a reach!
 
DanBig said:
The MagSafe wasn't perfect but at least I didn't kill my laptop the few times I tripped on the cord. How many people have damaged their system with USB-C?? I personally know of two!
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I was using Windows laptops for a couple decades before switching to macos in ~2009.

Maybe from that I learned not to lay out a power cord where someone could trip over it?

Omega Mac said:
MagSafe, the catnip of mac users... am I right? :D
Click to expand...

Maybe to some. I prefer having USBC charging vs Magsafe on my macbooks.
 
russell_314 said:
MagSafe was a technology that had a functional reason rather than just do something because we can tech. It has saved my MacBook many times working in the field. USB C charging sucks IMO.

What exactly is the reason to attach a magnet to a wireless phone charger? The only thing I can think of is alignment but that's just silly since it's not difficult to place your phone in the center of a pad. Maybe for someone with a disability but this is an edge case rather than common use.
Click to expand...
No, it’s not an edge case. The vast majority of the time, you aren’t perfectly aligning the coils, no matter how good you think you are. By simple physics, this means you are not charging at maximum efficiency. And the loss of efficiency increases by a square factor, not linearly, as you increase the offset.

So the magnets:
(1) assure maximum charging efficiency
(2) allow you to continue to charge even when you pick the phone up to interact with it
(3) allow a new ecosystem of cases, adapters, mounts, etc. So, for example, you could have a mount on your ebike that automatically charges your phone while you ride, without you having to plug anything into the phone. There will be a whole new ecosystem of devices for mounting in vehicles, photography, audio systems, etc. that previously would have required much more complicated fastening mechanisms.
 
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cmaier said:
No, it’s not an edge case. The vast majority of the time, you aren’t perfectly aligning the coils, no matter how good you think you are. By simple physics, this means you are not charging at maximum efficiency. And the loss of efficiency increases by a square factor, not linearly, as you increase the offset.

So the magnets:
(1) assure maximum charging efficiency
(2) allow you to continue to charge even when you pick the phone up to interact with it
(3) allow a new ecosystem of cases, adapters, mounts, etc. So, for example, you could have a mount on your ebike that automatically charges your phone while you ride, without you having to plug anything into the phone. There will be a whole new ecosystem of devices for mounting in vehicles, photography, audio systems, etc. that previously would have required much more complicated fastening mechanisms.
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To be honest I’ve had my eye on a magnetic car mount that charges wirelessly but I think it was like $60. I expect if one was made with MagSafe it would be more but if it was good I wouldn’t care. MKBHD had an unboxing and talked about MagSafe but he didn’t think the magnet was strong enough. If it is strong enough that would be awesome.
 
russell_314 said:
To be honest I’ve had my eye on a magnetic car mount that charges wirelessly but I think it was like $60. I expect if one was made with MagSafe it would be more but if it was good I wouldn’t care. MKBHD had an unboxing and talked about MagSafe but he didn’t think the magnet was strong enough. If it is strong enough that would be awesome.
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remember that the mount would have magnets, too, potentially stronger
 
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