Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I appreciate what Apple is trying to do here. The 1m cable and the weight of the Apple Magsafe charger that is available now makes that device, for me, a non-starter -- there is no way this is in any way more convenient than just getting a 2m lightning cable, if anyone were just being honest with themselves, plus you save $5 and get faster charging with a longer cable.

But I love the convenience of Qi and was hoping it would be universal 15w. I presume that 3rd party developers can probably get something going with minimal effort - I like Logitech 3-in-1 stands, but I don't want to fight against magnets to pull my phone away. There's got to be a middle ground here. Like honestly, can you be "magsafe" while still having incredibly weak magnets? I'm thinking of the kind of cradle systems like this one from Logitech.

It would seem unfair to be limited to 7.5w.



It's kind of related to the above reply. If the sensors don't detect perfect alignment it won't provide the 15w charge, or maybe a charge at all.

You have to consider -- what exactly will it "adjust"? The only thing it can .. the pull of wattage from the charger. It's not like little Apple gnomes pop out of your iPhone and adjust the phone on the MagSafe device. That would be magical.

Apple is basically answering the reason why Qi chargers are energy inefficient by slightly enforcing alignment via batteries. If you don't have perfect alignment it won't supply the juice - or at least not all 15w of it.



Not for MagSafe devices. 1m only at present.


Oh I am sure they will release a 2m MagSafe for something like $20 dollars more and people will buy it like hotcakes. This whole MagSafe is gimmicky to me but my goodness is it going to rake in some serious $$$ for Apple. On top of that these magnets probably cost almost next to nothing. I personally only have to charge my phone overnight so could care less if I am charging at 5w or 7.5w as long as its full by morning.
 
I'm not deliberately trying to catch Apple at anything here, but the point is that they had a chance to show it off a bit at the presentation, but deliberately did not. You can see the Apple-sold MagSafe charger now. There's no way that's going to be a one-handed operation on a desk or nightstand. Right now we're all like "Ooh magnets!" but then realize it's more annoying than useful.

So just looking at the comparisons here and the few experiences that are presented -- yes, it's a concern.

As a responder said, it could be non-standardized and determined by how many magnets are actually in the 3rd party devices, and that makes some sense. But still, there's no way this ends up being convenient except in some fringe cases. Like I said, it's a real goldilocks problem, and Apple isn't known for nailing this kind of thing...

I suspect that's why the Apple magsafe duo charger isn't out yet, because the experience of using it would be substandard as a day-to-day device, perhaps good only as a travel kit, which I do appreciate, but as a desk/nightstand/countertop device, no way.

Qi charging is pitched in and of itself as "effortless, safe, reliable, easy" but Apple just pitches it as "easy to connect." Uh huh... try disconnecting it. :)

Don't use it then. It does not come in the box and it is not necessary at all. Actually, both the old and the new USB-C lightning chargers are faster than MagSafe. You people see inconvenience where others see just options. I have a Qi mat right now and it is annoying to me to have to align the phone every night, but that is the way it is and I can spare those 2 seconds of my life everynight. I'll see what MagSafe is all about and if I like it, I'll buy it. If not, I won't. Last year you did not have the option at all, so what is the problem if they added one more option for users to choose?
 
Don't use it then. It does not come in the box and it is not necessary at all. Actually, both the old and the new USB-C lightning chargers are faster than MagSafe. You people see inconvenience where others see just options. I have a Qi mat right now and it is annoying to me to have to align the phone every night, but that is the way it is and I can spare those 2 seconds of my life everynight. I'll see what MagSafe is all about and if I like it, I'll buy it. If not, I won't. Last year you did not have the option at all, so what is the problem if they added one more option for users to choose?

Yep. TBH I’d have bought magsafe if it was just a 5/7.5w charger (I think my Nokia Qi charger is 5w) because thats plenty for overnight charging. The (hopeful) ease of just dropping it on the charger without thinking and fiddling to see if the light comes on properly is a convenience worth upgrading for me. My Qi charger is already stuck to the table with blutac so I’ll do the same with the magsafe for easy one handed removal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DotCom2
Don't use it then. It does not come in the box and it is not necessary at all. Actually, both the old and the new USB-C lightning chargers are faster than MagSafe. You people see inconvenience where others see just options. I have a Qi mat right now and it is annoying to me to have to align the phone every night, but that is the way it is and I can spare those 2 seconds of my life everynight. I'll see what MagSafe is all about and if I like it, I'll buy it. If not, I won't. Last year you did not have the option at all, so what is the problem if they added one more option for users to choose?

It’s a technical debate mate.
Don’t be too annoyed.
Everyone is well within their right to take up the MagSafe.
Have a good day.
 
This is also generally how products improve and evolve if producers listen and take positive criticism.

We start by having users settle for double sided tape to stick to the table and by the next iteration we might have something that will have taken note of that inconvenience.
 
Different magnet strengths on different accessoires for different appliances. Really not that difficult to figure out...

Now we have 7 paragraphs of useless speculation, because OP doesn't know how magnets work.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DotCom2
Don't use it then. It does not come in the box and it is not necessary at all. Actually, both the old and the new USB-C lightning chargers are faster than MagSafe. You people see inconvenience where others see just options. I have a Qi mat right now and it is annoying to me to have to align the phone every night, but that is the way it is and I can spare those 2 seconds of my life everynight. I'll see what MagSafe is all about and if I like it, I'll buy it. If not, I won't. Last year you did not have the option at all, so what is the problem if they added one more option for users to choose?
It's a fair criticism. In other threads however it's rumored that Apple wants to remove lightning, so I would counter your point with an early critical review of what I perceive as negative elements of Apple's "embrace and extend" to Qi.

You see 2 seconds of alignment saved every time you go to sleep.
I see 2 seconds of removing the puck every time you wake up where it was simply grab-n-go.

I like options so on that point I do totally agree.

Different magnet strengths on different accessoires for different appliances. Really not that difficult to figure out...

Now we have 7 paragraphs of useless speculation, because OP doesn't know how magnets work.
You're right. It's not that hard to figure out, and I already responded to that. Bear in mind that Apple doesn't disclose this information, nor have you or I seen any guidance on magnet strengths. So we're all speculating. I continue to state that people may have unrealistic expectations on how this works based upon their knowledge of Qi. There are people who agree and those who disagree. If you expect this to be just better than Qi, or an improvement on Qi because it has magnets, we can potentially be disappointed. We all -- even you -- know how magnets work, but they don't always improve upon technology.

It's not useless speculation when this is effectively a "caveat emptor" post -- Apple has not fully disclosed all MagSafe iphone accessory data and we as buyers must discover with our wallets. If you don't need it, then move on.
 
You see 2 seconds of alignment saved every time you go to sleep.
I see 2 seconds of removing the puck every time you wake up where it was simply grab-n-go.

I already stick my charger to the table so it doesn’t slide around. I’ll do the same with my MagSafe. Still grab and go

it does seem like they will stick quite firmly at least with the cases that have already been shown attached to the charger.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kognos
this one has put everything now into perspective with the inclusion of the real iPhone 12

looks like the wallet thing is also not well thought out

 
I'm not deliberately trying to catch Apple at anything here, but the point is that they had a chance to show it off a bit at the presentation, but deliberately did not. You can see the Apple-sold MagSafe charger now. There's no way that's going to be a one-handed operation on a desk or nightstand. Right now we're all like "Ooh magnets!" but then realize it's more annoying than useful.

So just looking at the comparisons here and the few experiences that are presented -- yes, it's a concern.

As a responder said, it could be non-standardized and determined by how many magnets are actually in the 3rd party devices, and that makes some sense. But still, there's no way this ends up being convenient except in some fringe cases. Like I said, it's a real goldilocks problem, and Apple isn't known for nailing this kind of thing...

I suspect that's why the Apple magsafe duo charger isn't out yet, because the experience of using it would be substandard as a day-to-day device, perhaps good only as a travel kit, which I do appreciate, but as a desk/nightstand/countertop device, no way.

Qi charging is pitched in and of itself as "effortless, safe, reliable, easy" but Apple just pitches it as "easy to connect." Uh huh... try disconnecting it. :)

I think its actually a simple operation. With one hand you grab the phone... With your fingers while wrapping around the phone you physically push the charger to the side disconnecting it in one motion.

I just tested the theory on my standard charging puck with my hand. Though it was not connected via magnet, I was able to move the puck from under it while lifting the phone.

Crisis avoided?
 
I'm definitely in the minority here, but the 1m cable actually has a good place in my lineup because I'm constantly traveling. It's easier to throw in a pocket or small bag on the go.

That said, I also want a longer cable eventually. I wasn't going to buy it initially, but I'll probably go with the Apple one now, and a longer aftermarket one later.
 
Think about it from next years perspective, when we get the iPhone with no Lightning port.
Always possible but seems unlikely considering there are literally hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road worldwide with no wireless charging capability and no practical solution to incorporating it.

Or are you suggesting it will be TB3/USB-C? In which case ignore my initial statement 🙃
 
I am getting the iPhone 12 and I like the idea of MagSafe on the iPhone but I'm heavily concerned about the practical-ness of it. It doesn't take a physics expert to figure this out, but I think I've put my finger on something that has been touched on in places but ... here goes.

How can MagSafe be strong enough to hold up in car appliances (reference to Belkin's car mount here https://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-WIC002/ ) and yet not strong enough to be annoying as all heck for Apple's own MagSafe charger, or potentially annoying in nearly all other situations? We're supposed to trust MagSafe to reliably hold a wallet yet not pull the charging mount/stand with it when you pull on the phone...?

Here's the flow, if anyone doesn't understand what I'm getting at: Right now I have a Qi charger. I place my phone on it. I pick the phone up when I go. Granted, I have that risk that I didn't place it "just right" on the charger ... but when I pick up the phone, it's not a struggle. There's no challenge. I pick up and go. Qi stays on the desk. Phone comes with me. Simple. One handed.

With Apple's MagSafe charger I'll need quality tape to force the charging puck to stay on the desk. OR every single time I pick up the phone, I'll have to pull off the puck with another hand. It's no longer a grab-n-go. All the convenience of the lock-in charging is outweighed by the inconvenience of actually having to have two hands to remove it, or hard-mount the magsafe to your desk.

Sure, we don't necessarily have to use MagSafe. I'm just annoyed with the mandated link of Magsafe with 15w. The new Belkin 3-in-1 with Magsafe looks good simply because I expect the stand to weigh like a brick, but even that has me worried for pulling the stand with me if I grab the phone and go. It seems almost unfair to trade 15w charging for something that creates an inconvenience for us, or alternatively has to effectively be weighty or strong enough to counteract the magnets. That's my point here, is that one could easily argue that Qi isn't going away - I can totally continue to use my existing devices - but the advantages of MagSafe are not without their own disadvantages.

I fully expect to start seeing threads about how annoying MagSafe is. It's a goldilocks problem that only provides one true real benefit - 15w charging. If the magnets are too strong, which they should be, it becomes inconvenient to disconnect the phone from the MagSafe, if it's too weak it'll fall off in cars, or wallets fall off of phones. I'm hoping Apple got it "just right" but lets just say I've seen the videos of the Apple provided charging puck and I'm thinking this is somewhat off-mark. I know there are use-cases for this that are amazing, but I'm just walking through some simple practical uses of Qi charging and without going too far I see this being more annoying than useful. Maybe no more or less practical than Lightning-connected device, but I guess I'm spoiled by assuming it would be Qi-like and easier to handle.

With no hands-on for this and no advance reviews of any kind, we're walking into this blind. Thoughts?
Agree on the puck and wallet (not getting either) but MagSafe has huge potential for mounting iPhones on cars magnetically much more conveniently and without the need for metal plates, etc - that is not a gimmick, although it is pending the right product to take advantage of it (which is definitely not the Belkin, but the ESR looks promising)
 
Agree on the puck and wallet (not getting either) but MagSafe has huge potential for mounting iPhones on cars magnetically much more conveniently and without the need for metal plates, etc - that is not a gimmick, although it is pending the right product to take advantage of it (which is definitely not the Belkin, but the ESR looks promising)

Would you think it is feasible to have a car mount that has NO extra mounting and attachment security and only rely on just the iPhone magnet ....without falling off when you drive and hit those bumpy road surfaces?
 
Would you think it is feasible to have a car mount that has NO extra mounting and attachment security and only rely on just the iPhone magnet ....without falling off when you drive and hit those bumpy road surfaces?
Hard to know, but that would be the idea/hope. I haven’t my received my ESR HaloLock yet so can’t share first hand experience yet but there’s some promising signs from DIYers out there:


 
I think there is a limit to which those magnets can be made “as strong” before they start being a problem themselves especially inside a phone Even health wise.
An additional Mechanical clip perhaps will do.
 
Let’s reserve judgement until people actually have the full setups in their hands and have lived with them for a while.
Ok done.

This is ending up pretty much as I suspected. The wallet isn't strong enough or practical enough to be useful, and the strength of the magnets is questionable at best.

Look at the video on this site reviewing the wallet. It's a wallet for pete's sake. Something important. And it can easily fall off the phone and to the floor when you put your phone in your pocket? I'm sorry... really really sorry here, but are defenders going to say "you're pocketing it wrong" ?

Slightly related - I recently got excited when I discovered that my local Fred Meyer (a Kroger store) implemented "Kroger Pay". Feeling optimistic I gave it a try. Turns out it's a QR scanning thing within an app on a device that does provide a contactless payment process, but it's so painful to actually use within the app that it lends itself to a horrible experience -- nothing at all like a double click of your watch/phone and have Apple Pay show up with a card.

My point is that if I have to worry about how I put my phone+wallet in and out of my pocket on a constant basis, I'll just use a separate wallet. Who doesn't constantly manipulate their phone? Apple has blown the usability goal in the effort to just have a "ooh neat" gadget addon to a device. And again, all so they can sell it as a 15w charger instead of 7.5. It doesn't provide any great amount of practical usability.

And consider that none of the mount+magnet vendors have released their products, which I find extremely telling. The Belkin 3-in-1 one might work as it's stationary and designed for a desk, but those car mounts... ugh. I saw the video above and honestly I don't see the "super strong" aspect. It came off easily in the hand. There's only so much strength the metal can provide.
 
It’s hard to believe all the debating on the MagSafe, before I bought mine i thought it was just another wireless charger. Once I impulsively purchased one because they were in stock at a store i was visiting, it’s a great setup and now my preferred method of charging.

Also the wallet is 10/10, I had very low expectations and was blown away at the convenience (just replaced my older thin profile wallet).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Skika
The iPhone 12 has a traditional lightning port, you are free to use it just like you have since 2010.

MagSafe is an optional feature. You can take advantage of it if you like or ignore it if you like. iPhone has a step counter, a compass, and something that can measure the distance between corners on a table. I don't use those either.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Knowlege Bomb
Spigen are doing a Magsafe charger base to keep the puck from lifting up with the phone.
Three Mag Fit looks pretty good.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.