MagSafe Charging Port for iPhone Appears in Apple Patent

[Tech198]

Apple seems all over the place.. They adopt USB-C on newer iPad's but don't want it on phones, instead they want old MegSafe ?

Will there be an iPhone with USB-C?

You can stop waiting for the iPhone to get a USB-C connector. The answer to the future of the iPhone port is MagSafe

www.macworld.co.uk

Apple always looking to get uses. Perhaps they finally did... So much so, they confussed just about everyone lol. Well played.

 

[Tec_Amigo]

In a newly granted patent, Apple envisions a type of connectivity port using an iteration of its magnetic MagSafe charger to charge an iPhone, potentially paving the way for a future without Lightning.

Submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday (via Patently Apple), the patent outlines a three-pinned MagSafe charger, similar to the ones found in older MacBook computers. Apple discusses multiple different pin designs that would connect the charger to the device. The patent shows a pin that is more round in one image, while another shows a more flat-surface design.

The patent itself doesn't mention or reference an iPhone by name, but an image in the filing depicts what seems to be the bottom of an iPhone with the MagSafe charger concept. Compared to the current Lightning port on the iPhone, MagSafe has its advantages. Based on a set of magnets, MagSafe allows the device to easily detach from the charger if it gets tripped on or yanked.

With the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple reintroduced MagSafe in the form of large circular magnets on the back of the device. Currently, Apple is marketing MagSafe on the iPhone as a place to charge and attach various accessories.

• All the MagSafe Accessories You Can Buy for iPhone 12

The patent could entail Apple's long-term vision of turning the current MagSafe charge on the back of the device as a place for accessories, such as a battery pack, and leave the magnetic MagSafe charger on the bottom in place to charge the iPhone. Implementing the concept on a lighter weighted device like an iPhone would presumably require a detaching mechanism using weaker magnets with more give.

This week, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo poured cold water on hopes that Apple would switch the iPhone to a USB-C connector anytime soon. Kuo states that USB-C has lower specifications compared to Lightning and MagSafe. Kuo specifically says that if an iPhone in the future abandons Lighting, it would immediately adopt a portless design with MagSafe.

Apple is expected to bring MagSafe back to the Mac, according to both Bloomberg and Kuo. The version of MagSafe expected to debut in the upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will likely feature a similar design to previous iterations and offer faster-charging speeds. Learn more about MagSafe's history and potential future uses in our comprehensive MagSafe guide.

Article Link: MagSafe Charging Port for iPhone Appears in Apple Patent

I believe this will be for the 2021 MacBook line up that is to come out! Really doubt Apple will ditch the MagSafe that just came out in 2020 for the iPhone 12 line up a year later!

 

[Mystakill]

I think that's silly - just use a standard USB port to charge and have a magnetic breakaway section in the cable. There is literally no downside to this approach that I can see and several upsides:
- Standard port, so you can use other cables if you like, and you can charge with any of the devices ports
- Standard cable can be used to charge any USB-C device
- Still has the safety benefit of the magnetic detachability
I'm open to hearing why making it its own port connection is better.

I've been doing this with all of my Lightning, Micro-USB & USB-C connections for a couple of years now. Also makes it easier to "plug" things in in the dark.

 

[jefhai]

In USB-C, the cable has a female connector, while the phone has a “floating” male conector, recessed into the port. In Lightning, the end of the cable is a solid male connector, while the external space of the phone’s port serves as female conector. You can see it comparing an iPhone to an iPad, the port of the first one is empty, the second one has a small metal sheet in the middle. That sheet is one more element that can break: for example, when you take off the cable, you can apply pressure towards one side and bend it. It’s also harder to clean, and last, Lighting has one small pin on each side so that you have to apply some little force to connect/disconnect.

Ah so I had no idea you meant more prone to damage... You post earlier said “error prone” and I thought you meant user error like inserting it wrong

 

[MacBH928]

USB-C with magsafe tip could work too...either way Magsafe > USB-C

 

[McG2k1]

They sell USB to lightning cables with a magnetic coupler on Amazon. I thought it was silly at first but I can’t imagine not having one now and I use them on all of my headphones now

Yea these are such a better idea. Apple won’t do this though because they won’t own a patent on it and can’t sell us a bunch of new cables.

 

[Digital Dude]

I think that's silly - just use a standard USB port to charge and have a magnetic breakaway section in the cable. There is literally no downside to this approach that I can see and several upsides:
- Standard port, so you can use other cables if you like, and you can charge with any of the devices ports
- Standard cable can be used to charge any USB-C device
- Still has the safety benefit of the magnetic detachability
I'm open to hearing why making it its own port connection is better.

While it's hard to tell from this line drawing, maybe it's designed to prevent liquid from seeping past the contacts.