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Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack Unlocks Long Rumored Reverse Charging Feature
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They always want their features to integrate perfectly into their ecosystem, something that no other company is even close to accomplishing!
You’re missing the point. My Anker packs are relatively huge. Try sticking an Anker power bank into your pocket, along with cables.
This is a convenience item, for a specific purpose, and it is very good for its intended use.
I think any iPhone with MagSafe will support charging the new AirPods, which will come with a MagSafe case. I don’t think any iPhone will be able to charge non-MagSafe AirPods. Makes sense really - with the inefficiency of wireless charging ensuring proper alignment is especially crucial when the power source side has limited capacity (ie its a battery, not a wall outlet).
For a while I said to myself that when this battery pack launched, I would the sell my iPhone 11 Pro and purchase an iPhone 12 mini. But because the mini will only last for one more year, I think it’s inevitable that I’ll always be using a 5.8”-6.1” device. Time to suck it up, even if it’s so hard for me to handle in the hand. So, with that, I’ll be keeping my 11 Pro for a few more years until we get promotion, some camera upgrades, under the screen Touch ID, and the elimination of the notch.
That makes sense because other wise the battery charges your phone, which is the point of the battery pack.
Heck i just learned you can charge the IPhone 12 Pro max off the new IPad 12.9 pro using the usb-c to lightening charger.
£99 and it only charges your phone at 5w? To enable 15w it has to be plugged into a 20w power adaptor. Surely if you had a 20w power adaptor with a lightning cable you would just plug that directly into the phone?
support.apple.com
How to use your MagSafe Battery Pack – Apple Support (UK)
Your MagSafe Battery Pack is designed to wirelessly charge iPhone models quickly and safely with MagSafe, giving you more time to use your device.
Is it just me? I think the Apple logo looks very strange off centred. My Apple MagSafe wallet is centred. Very inconsistent…
But but but … there is no revenue in flexible 😀
Honestly though, my iPhone 11 Pro runs three days on a charge and that is ok. To me it just feels wrong to add a bulky thing to compensate for one of the key features which such products should have right from the beginning.
And as others have said, the inefficiency of wireless energy transfer can’t be the new normal.
Watts in a Name? Why We’re Using Watt-Hours to Compare Batteries
We’re switching to watt-hours for battery measurements, because it’s easier to shop for battery-powered devices if you have a way to compare them directly.
www.nytimes.com
Apple’s new battery cases are its most powerful ones yet
Apple is claiming up to 75 percent extra usage time.
www.theverge.com
History has shown that with Apple (and other battery pack brands) the straight capacity is less important than the watt-hours over time. Who can tell how these perform until we get our hands on them next week.
That being said, I am absolutely positive there are better/cheaper ways of getting the battery juice some users need, but people like me will really enjoy the deep integration with iOS that comes with this.
The ring is not the coil. It's a series of alignment magnets. Many other brands of Qi chargers are massive and work with AirPods (like an old leather Samsung version I once had).
This could very likely happen.. if Apple releases new AirPods and give them MagSafe branding for charging.
But definitely not going to happen for current generation of AirPods regardless of whether they're Qi compatible or not.
Not really reverse charging, more like pass thru charging
Reverse charging means the phone's battery is charging the external device.
Here, the power is coming from the wall charger, not the phone's internal battery.
Apple needs to implement something like Samsung's Power share feature, where it can charge any Qi comparable device, including wireless.AirPod cases or even other phones.
No need to be plugged into a wall outlet.
Reverse charging means the phone's battery is charging the external device.
Here, the power is coming from the wall charger, not the phone's internal battery.
Apple needs to implement something like Samsung's Power share feature, where it can charge any Qi comparable device, including wireless.AirPod cases or even other phones.
No need to be plugged into a wall outlet.
There's certainly a market for people who the convenience of slapping on a magnetic battery pack and still being able to slip their iPhone into their pocket. The experience of using a magsafe battery pack doesn't really compare to a wired battery pack. You're right about $99 being overpriced though—the HyperJuice Magnetic Wireless Battery Pack is a much better deal at $39.99.
Have you read of any issues with reverse charging for Samsung phones not integrating well into their ecosystem?
I think these are different uses, but that said, I love the Anker one you are referring to for travel. But it is too big and heavy to want to carry around all the time in my purse. However, I'm still not going to buy this Apple one for my purse because I don't see how it is an improvement over the Anker wireless battery pack I bought a few months ago.
I agree with you completely in terms of the Anker's size and heft... compared to the Apple one looks pretty cool and is much more portable.
But in my humble opinion, the biggest con of the Apple battery is its cost, relative to the other battery options on the market. $99 is just too much when there are larger capacity batteries available that can charge other devices as well.
For example, I just got a nice Ravpower battery (that was on sale for $20 before Amazon kicked Ravpower off of its store) (see here: https://www.ravpower.com/products/rp-pb172-portable-charger-20000mah) that extends my iPad Pro's battery life for at least an additional 6 hours (I haven't tested beyond 6 hours). No way I'm giving Apple $99 for this. $49 would be the highest price I'd say is a fair price; $99 is robbery.
I normally don't buy battery packs. I'm usually close to charging cable/stand all the time (have charging cable for home, office, and car). But I'm getting this one so that I don't have to be tethered to the charging cable when my phone is low on battery. I would attach the battery pack for an hour to charge my phone to hopefully about 80%, then leave my battery pack to charge up. This way, I don't have to think about charging my phone at night (just attach the battery pack when it's low on charge)