iPhone 16 Lineup Could Feature Slimmer MagSafe Components

[MacRumors]

This year's iPhone 16 lineup could see a slight change to the MagSafe alignment magnets compared to previous generations, according to images shared by French case company ShopSystem [Google Translate].

Casemaking molds for the iPhone 16 lineup appear to show a thinner design for the attachment ring magnets and for the single alignment magnet, relative to equivalent molds for the iPhone 15 lineup. The report suggests MagSafe accessory manufacturers may need to adapt their products to fit the new system, but this seems very unlikely as any updated MagSafe system will almost certainly be backwards compatible.

Presuming the thinner magnets depicted in these molds are accurate, it's unclear if there are additional changes to MagSafe in the upcoming iPhone lineup that could extend to the charging technology. One rumor has, however, indicated the iPhone 16 lineup could see increased MagSafe charging speeds with support for up to 20 watts compared to the current standard of 15 watts.

Article Link: iPhone 16 Lineup Could Feature Slimmer MagSafe Components

 

[turbineseaplane]

Make them all lighter (and make a smaller iPhone again)

These things are all huge heavy bricks

 

[dannyyankou]

As long as it doesn't affect the magnet strength, whatever.

 

[MrENGLISH]

Mother Nature will be so proud....

 

[NapZzz]

I hope they increase it to 20 watts instead of 15. The additional 5 watts would almost halve the charging time for the iPhone. If the iPad Pro released in May 2024 supports MagSafe charging, it will need to be a minimum of 20 watts.

 

[Shirasaki]

I hope they increase it to 20 watts instead of 15. The additional 5 watts would almost halve the charging time for the iPhone. If the iPad Pro released in May 2024 supports MagSafe charging, it will need to be a minimum of 20 watts.

Yeah but they also have to make sure the thermal checks out for prolonged use.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Make them all lighter (and make a smaller iPhone again)

These things are all huge heavy bricks

They're phones. Why do some people act like you're being asked to bench press a truck? And they aren't making small phones because not enough people wanted them or bought them. Supply and demand. If there's no demand, they aren't going to supply them.

 

[CalMin]

Fine, as long as I don't have to buy all new MagSafe accessories. My journey to rid myself of lightning cables is almost complete and my setup is all MagSafe and USB-C.

 

[teknikal90]

my MagSafe wallets and chargers from iPhone 12 doesn't really work for my iPhone 15 pro because the way too large camera bump. 🤷🏽‍♂️

 

[robertosh]

They're phones. Why do some people act like you're being asked to bench press a truck? And they aren't making small phones because not enough people wanted them or bought them. Supply and demand. If there's no demand, they aren't going to supply them.

iPhone Plus selling numbers were not awesome either compared to the mini. Non-pro phones, independently of the screen size will be less attractive than Pros. I’m curious to know how well it would sell a <6” Pro. I don’t think that we will ever see one as UIs are now adapted to bigger sizes (I’m starting to have issues with my mini to visualize certain apps properly)

 

[Surf Monkey]

“Any changes to MagSafe will almost certainly be backwards compatible.”

What suggests that assumption? Apple is very good at breaking compatibility and forcing third party manufacturers to revise their products. It appears to be part of their strategy to keep the halo market healthy.

 

[kiensoy]

After having MagSafe on my iPhones since 12, I think Apple should’ve gone with pogo pins like the ones on the back of the iPad Pro. MagSafe connector is too big, gets warm and is not energy efficient.

 

[maxfromdenmark]

That is not for making iPhones lighter, this is obviously an environmental thing. Smaller magnets = less rare earth metals used

 

[Saturn1217]

iPhone Plus selling numbers were not awesome either compared to the mini. Non-pro phones, independently of the screen size will be less attractive than Pros. I’m curious to know how well it would sell a <6” Pro. I don’t think that we will ever see one as UIs are now adapted to bigger sizes (I’m starting to have issues with my mini to visualize certain apps properly)

The difference is they can charge MORE for an iPhone plus compared to a regular iPhone compared to having to charge less (the mini does not cost $100 less to make than a regular iPhone). And an iPhone plus presents no engineering challenges when trying to keep all the regular tier iPhones at feature parity (ie making sure all the components fit).

It isn't JUST that no one was buying the iPhone mini. It is that a smaller iPhone is problematic from both an engineering and a margin perspective so unless people REALLY want it, it is more trouble for Apple (compared to a plus sized iPhone).

 

[zarmanto]

Assuming that circle is the same diameter, it shouldn't cause an issue with backwards compatibility.

Also, the ring on the phone itself (and by extension, on MagSafe friendly cases) isn't the magnet... that's just a metal ring that readily attracts magnets. The magnets themselves are generally incorporated into the charger and/or accessory for the phone.

Personally, I strongly suspect this has something to do with the integration of MagSafe into the Qi2 standard.

 

[Pearple]

Where is the Mini mock-up? No mini? No buy!

 

[klasma]

iPhone Plus selling numbers were not awesome either compared to the mini. Non-pro phones, independently of the screen size will be less attractive than Pros. I’m curious to know how well it would sell a <6” Pro. I don’t think that we will ever see one as UIs are now adapted to bigger sizes (I’m starting to have issues with my mini to visualize certain apps properly)

This really shouldn’t be the case, because the mini has the same logical resolution as the Plus and Pro Max with Display Zoom enabled (and, incidentally, as the X/XS/11 Pro), and the mini with Display Zoom is the same as the regular and Pro iPhone with Display Zoom. This is really just app developers not properly supporting display resolutions that are still fully supported by Apple.

(See https://hacknicity.medium.com/how-ios-apps-adapt-to-the-various-iphone-12-screen-sizes-e45c021e1b8b for reference.)

 

[Mikep976]

Wow! Such innovation. Definitely upgrading from my 15 Pro Max for the tiny boi magnets.

They workin on smol magnets while there’s phones that literally open up into small tablets on the market.

 

[MrENGLISH]

I wish the iPhone Pro Max was available in that metallic blue color. I'd purchase it in a heartbeat!

 

[dcingie]

What’s the purpose or use case of the “single attachment” vertical magnet part?

 

[MrENGLISH]

What’s the purpose or use case of the “single attachment” vertical magnet part?

To help keep the iPhone oriented in the vertical position so that it doesn't tilt sideways over time. It's great for MagSafe car mounts.

 

[Guacamole]

I don't understand the appeal of magsafe. If the phone is charging you have to remove it from the base to use , right? otherwise will stop charging, no?

 

[Surf Monkey]

I don't understand the appeal of magsafe. If the phone is charging you have to remove it from the base to use , right? otherwise will stop charging, no?

Yes. It has to be in contact with the charger. The only real advantage is ease of connection and disconnection. For convenience while actually using the phone a cable is more practical.

 

[zarmanto]

I don't understand the appeal of magsafe. If the phone is charging you have to remove it from the base to use , right? otherwise will stop charging, no?

I disagree with your premise that you have to remove the phone to use it; there are certainly use cases where the smartphone does not need to be removed from the charger. If your MagSafe charger is one of Apple's disk-on-a-wire chargers, it's essentially very little different from using it with any other charging cable, which is perfectly doable in many circumstances, such as when you're lying in bed with your phone lighting up your vision far too late into the night, and fall asleep with it in your hand.

But even more practical than that: if your MagSafe charger is integrated into a mount on the dashboard of your car, it's likely that you intend for the phone to remain right there until you get out of the car at your destination -- but it's still comfortably within arm's reach and therefore accessible for things like GPS apps and music apps.

Of course, you're trading off charging speed in favor of convenience, since you can mount and remove the phone from a magnetic mount just a bit more easily than you can with a wired connection -- but the wired connection can still safely charge the device at a higher wattage. So, there are certainly use cases where the wire is perfectly valid and reasonable as well... at least, so long as Apple continues to support that wired charging interface.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I disagree with your premise that you have to remove the phone to use it; there are certainly use cases where the smartphone does not need to be removed from the charger. If your MagSafe charger is one of Apple's disk-on-a-wire chargers, it's essentially very little different from using it with any other charging cable, which is perfectly doable in many circumstances, such as when you're lying in bed with your phone lighting up your vision far too late into the night, and fall asleep with it in your hand.

But even more practical than that: if your MagSafe charger is integrated into a mount on the dashboard of your car, it's likely that you intend for the phone to remain right there until you get out of the car at your destination -- but it's still comfortably within arm's reach and therefore accessible for things like GPS apps and music apps.

Of course, you're trading off charging speed in favor of convenience, since you can mount and remove the phone from a magnetic mount just a bit more easily than you can with a wired connection -- but the wired connection can still safely charge the device at a higher wattage. So, there are certainly use cases where the wire is perfectly valid and reasonable as well... at least, so long as Apple continues to support that wired charging interface.

Totally depends on use case. The puck cable is (in my opinion) more intrusive than a USB C.