Hands-On With Apple's MagSafe Charger for iPhone 12

[Deinocheirus]

I agree with your points and I very much hope you're right.

But this is after all the company that got rid of the headphone jack and, with a straight face, sold a MacBook with a single USB-C port that was also the only way to charge the battery. This is also the company that for several years put one of the worst keyboards in recent memory into its flagship laptops. I would not at all put it past them to sell a sealed glass slab and say "deal with it" to anyone who wants to plug their phone into anything else.

I hear you but it’s not that simple. All of those things can easily be explained.

iPhone has some unsolved issues with losing the port. CarPlay depends on it, and will for the foreseeable future. Wireless development barely works, and wireless syncing is the same. The only way to recover from those issues is to plug it in. And speaking of recovery, there is no such thing as wireless rescue/restore/recovery.

 

[gmanjeff]

This doesn't inspire a lot of confidence with the wallet...

https://imgur.com/jdMz0M8

Looks like an iPhone 11 Pro, which doesn't have the new built-in magnets to properly secure the leather wallet with MagSafe.

 

[Gjwilly]

Looks like an iPhone 11 Pro, which doesn't have the new built-in magnets to properly secure the leather wallet with MagSafe.

Look again

 

[Michael Scrip]

Looks like an iPhone 11 Pro, which doesn't have the new built-in magnets to properly secure the leather wallet with MagSafe.

But the phone looks blue... that would be the iPhone 12... right?

 

[lederermc]

Outside frame is different size even though screen size is the same. Case won’t fit

Would an 11 Pro case squeeze onto a 12 Pro?

 

[n4uaj]

I’m wondering about the strength of the magnets in the phone. Like getting it too close to the paper clips on the desk or pulling your key ring outta your pocket with it.

 

[Gjwilly]

I’m wondering about the strength of the magnets in the phone. Like getting it too close to the paper clips on the desk or pulling your key ring outta your pocket with it.

One of the unboxing videos showed holding a small flexible refrigerator magnet to the back of the phone and it looked like it barely held.

 

[gmanjeff]

Look again

Yup, my bad. It's definitely an iPhone 12 Pro alright. Glad I didn't order the leather wallet. Several reviewers noted issues with the wallet easily coming off the phone when slipping it into their pocket. Sure seems like Apple needs to strengthen those magnets.

 

[MacBH928]

any one thinks the magnets compacted so close and firm to an SSD, a battery, and a screen might affect the performance of the phone?

 

[Abazigal]

any one thinks the magnets compacted so close and firm to an SSD, a battery, and a screen might affect the performance of the phone?

Not the first time Apple is using magnets with their products. If there were problems, they would have surfaced long ago.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Would an 11 Pro case squeeze onto a 12 Pro?

The 6 through 11 series phones are a different shape than the 12s. Seriously, why are so many on this thread obsessed with putting a rounded peg into a square hole?

 

[jdiamond]

As far as I can tell, this is not much more wireless than using a regular charging cable. People who prefers this new magsafe, what do you consider the benefit of using this magnet on the back over the lightning port?

For me it helps for car use to partially replace the list headphone jack. I always need to charge my phone while listening to it. Bluetooth Audio is a non starter, and I've tried dozens of those lightning adapters with headphone + charger, and few work for more than a few weeks, if ever.

This at least offers the hope of high quality (wired) audio output via the lightning port and a converter WHILE getting power - it's basically like getting a second port again.

Otherwise, of course the lightning plug is infinitely better than Magsafe - it delivers more power, PLUS signals, PLUS it holds the phone, PLUS you can easily use the phone while plugged in - Lightning is like 20 years ahead of MagSafe in what it can do. And what'll track my phone in the car when it flies off the holder and ends up falling beneath the seats? A string with scotch tape? Lightning is much more convenient.

Seems similar to FaceID - it's not better than the simpler alternative - but Apple might feel it makes their phones seem different.

 

[Airborne-Ape]

Buyer beware, the charger is complete garbage when used on the iPhone 11 pro or older devices. Hopefully Apple will address this problem with a firmware update to the charge logic in older iPhones but it could be a hardware problem. If you plan on using it with an iPhone 11 pro or older it will take longer to charge than the iPhone 3G power brick!

 

[Pirate!]

So really bizzare, just took a graphite 12P out of the box and on the back you could see the mag ring inside the casing. After dinner I went to go take a pic to post and it was gone and can’t get it to come back. Looks completely normal now! (And very nice)

 

[MrTemple]

No, it's only 30% waste, on every charge.

...when you're not heating your home with a device controlled by thermostat.