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Magsafe: Worth it? Who's using, favorite accessories, etc.

M

magooch

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 13, 2022
16
14
So, let me preface by saying that I don't currently have a phone with Magsafe (iPhone 11 still) but am waiting on a 14PM I've ordered.

I'm curious to hear how many people are actually taking advantage of Magsafe and its accessories. I have to admit that on first thought it seems to me like one of things that's a cool idea but ends up being not terribly practical and/or not that widely adopted, but I am happy to be wrong on that and hear otherwise.

How many of you are using Magsafe / Magsafe accessories? Do you find it advantageous over traditional wired charging or a "regular" wireless charging pad?
For those who are using it, what are some of your favorite Magsafe accessories? I've thought about the wallet, but I worry that I'd need more cards/etc available than it can hold. Maybe not, I dunno. Some of the Magsafe car mounts (With charging!) look pretty cool, too. What are you using?
 
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I'm a big fan of it and I use the MagSafe Wallet daily plus a MagSafe charger on my nightstand for overnight charging. I've seen the MagSafe car chargers to be a bit too strong and leave an indent on cases so I'm not using it in my car yet.
 
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At first I thought it was gimmicky but now I find it very useful. My favorite is an anker MagSafe battery pack, so much better than wired battery packs. I also started using the MagSafe popsocket
 
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I personally am not interested in any of the charging solutions, with a potential exception of the battery pack.

I do, however, want to take advantage for non-powered accessories. There are wallet cases that use MagSafe to attach to the phones. I would also consider getting a planner with a slot for the phone and attaching a MagSafe-shaped magnet there. And there’s definitely potential for a wall-mounted MagSafe-shaped magnet.
 
I bought a cheap plug for my Lightning port since I've never even used it for two years now. I have a MagSafe Duo on my nightstand at home, a regular MagSafe charger on my desk at work and Apple's MagSafe battery pack for on the go. It's much more convenient than plugging it in and also prevents the frame from getting scratched around the charging port.
 
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christlinah said:
I bought a cheap plug for my Lightning port since I've never even used it for two years now. I have a MagSafe Duo on my nightstand at home, a regular MagSafe charger on my desk at work and Apple's MagSafe battery pack for on the go. It's much more convenient than plugging it in and also prevents the frame from getting scratched around the charging port.
Click to expand...
Yep. As careful as I was with my iPhone 13PM after about 4 months I noticed a few micro scratches around my lighting port. Since I solely used that method to charge. The tip of the lightning plug just brushing gently against the stainless steel frame scratches it. Wish they made the tip hard plastic.
 
I had happily used a Logitech Powered wireless charger for my 12 Pro. It charges my new 14 Pro, but there's a gap between the back of the phone and the charger due to the camera bump. I don't know if that's going to cause any problems, but it bugs me :). I just got a Belkin 2-in-1, fall Prime Days sale. I've used it once and can already see a ring on my Apple leather case. I knew that was likely to happen, but that is also bugging me so I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it or return it. I don't need the faster charging of MagSafe vs regular Qi (if I need to top up quickly, I'll use a Lightning cable). Maybe someone will come out with a Qi charging stand that works with these massive camera bumps. First world problems, I know.
 
I've been really happy with this magnetic stand.
www.amazon.com

LULULOOK Magnetic Stand for iPhone, Aluminum Rotation & Adjustable Desk Phone Holder Dock for iPhone 16/15/14/13/12/Mini/Plus/Pro/Pro Max, Mag-Safe Case

Magnetic Phone Stand : The Magnetic iPhone Stand designed for iPhone 16/16 Pro/16 Pro Max/15/15Pro/15 Pro Max/14/14 mini/14 Pro Max/iPhone 13/13 mini/13 Pro Max/12/12 Pro/12 mini/12 Pro Max, MagSafe Case. don't work with magnetic chip【Warm Tips】①This magnetic desk phone holder does not support ch...
www.amazon.com

It's perfect for using the phone at a desk or pairing it with a fast wired charger like this one from Anker:
www.amazon.com

USB C GaN Charger 30W, Anker 511 Charger (Nano 3), PIQ 3.0 Foldable PPS Fast Charger for iPhone 15/15 Pro/14/14 Pro Max/13, Galaxy, iPad (Cable Not Included) - Aurora White

Anker USB C GaN Charger 30W, 511 Charger (Nano 3), PIQ 3.0 Foldable PPS Fast Charger, Anker Nano 3 for iPhone 13/13 Mini/13 Pro/13 Pro Max/12, Galaxy, iPad (Cable Not Included) - Aurora White
www.amazon.com

This combo gives you a hybrid MagSafe approach for flexible iPhone usage with the quickest charging.
 
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So I’m kinda curious about the MagSafe battery packs. Admittedly I’ve not really looked into them at all, so perhaps this is a bit of a lazy/ignorant question but… do any of them function as a “traditional” power bank, too? It would be nice if it could be used as a MagSafe pack for iPhone, but also as a USB battery/charger for other non-MagSafe items.
 
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magooch said:
So I’m kinda curious about the MagSafe battery packs. Admittedly I’ve not really looked into them at all, so perhaps this is a bit of a lazy/ignorant question but… do any of them function as a “traditional” power bank, too? It would be nice if it could be used as a MagSafe pack for iPhone, but also as a USB battery/charger for other non-MagSafe items.
Click to expand...

Yes the one I have from Anker has the wired ports and is a traditional power bank as well
 
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I still have an 11 Pro Max but have given up on Qi charging and gone back to a cable. It's just not that good. The phone charges very slowly, often not finishing overnight, and gets really warm when charging.

The cable works reliably every time without issues.

Is MagSafe a big improvement over the Qi charging from the 11 series? I figure maybe Apple did something to improve it beyond the magnets, but my whole experience has just really made me distrust wireless charging.
 
My second phone with MagSafe capabilities.

1. I use a MagSafe wallet with kick stand every day for carrying a couple of essential cards plus adhoc video watching pleasure and random selfie sessions.

2. Use Apple MagSafe duo charger for the  Watch and phone while travelling. Which is pretty often in my case.

3. Use a MagSafe battery pack for long day outs on holidays / hiking trips.

4. Use a MagSafe car phone holder / charger while out and about.

I’d say that’s pretty much sums up a normal day to day use case.

If you start using it then you see the convenience of it. If you don’t use it you’ll never know and your life will not be any worse either way I guess.
 
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I have a MagSafe charger, that’s it.

I keep looking into wallets but haven’t found one I like. I need something to hold 2-3 cards but also has a strap or something to stop the cards from just sliding out. I know the apple ones don’t stretch out like that (I don’t like how they look), but I don’t trust 3rd party ones after I lost cards out of a wallet case As the slots stretched out.
 
wulfin said:
I have a MagSafe charger, that’s it.

I keep looking into wallets but haven’t found one I like. I need something to hold 2-3 cards but also has a strap or something to stop the cards from just sliding out. I know the apple ones don’t stretch out like that (I don’t like how they look), but I don’t trust 3rd party ones after I lost cards out of a wallet case As the slots stretched out.
Click to expand...

I’ve been using a third party MagSafe wallet for a year now since the iPhone 13 Pro Max became my daily driver. Not once have I had any of the cards come out of the wallet. It holds around 3 pretty snug and 2 very comfortably.

| 2 in 1 | Magnetic Wallet Card... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09BN4ZBV4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
 
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1. I use the Belkin 3-in-1 charging stand on my nightstand by my bed to charge my phone overnight. Works very well and the phone doesn’t seem warm when I take it off.

2. An OTAO brand MagSafe car mount and charger when driving to keep the phone in sight. Nice for being able to see notifications and especially when using GPS. Keep the charging cord unplugged until I actually need to charge. No reason to charge more often than needed.

3. Also have an Anker 5000 mAh MagSafe battery pack for when I need to charge when I’m out and about. Also works as a great kickstand for watching videos during lunch break at work.

4. Apple MagSafe wallet. Works great for 2 cards and fits 3 pretty snuggly. Debit card, DL, and CWL.

5. Off-brand MagSafe charging stand by my recliner in the living room and stays unplugged 95% of the time and just gets used as a stand unless I really am in need of a charge.

6. MagSafe stand without charging built in on my computer desk.
 
I find the best use for MagSafe is getting the Apple first party charger (for the full 15W speed) and putting it in an inexpensive stand - several different versions exist for under $20 - similar to this https://www.amazon.ca/HALLEAST-Alum...OTgifQ==&sprefix=magsafe+stand,aps,98&sr=8-27

Before MagSafe, I would always use upright Qi charging stands similarly - as phone desk stands - magnetic ones just are that much more user friendly. I just leave my phone on the MagSafe stand throughput the work day and don't bother with overnight charging. I think the only times I've used a wired charger in over 2 years are during power outages when I had to charge via power bank.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
wulfin said:
I have a MagSafe charger, that’s it.

I keep looking into wallets but haven’t found one I like. I need something to hold 2-3 cards but also has a strap or something to stop the cards from just sliding out. I know the apple ones don’t stretch out like that (I don’t like how they look), but I don’t trust 3rd party ones after I lost cards out of a wallet case As the slots stretched out.
Click to expand...
decodedbags.com

Leather MagSafe Card/Stand Sleeve | Chocolate Brown

The MagSafe Card/Stand Sleeve is an innovative accessory that will become your favorite MagSafe compatible iPhone essential. Apart from being the ideal solution for carrying your ID and Credit Cards, it allows you to position your iPhone in multiple stand modes. The MagSafe Card/Stand Sleeve...
decodedbags.com decodedbags.com

I was on this website looking at their wallet cases, and saw this while browsing. They don't have a lot of stock for other colors, but I think this might fit your bill.
 
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thadoggfather said:
MagSafe pop socket

it’s basically essential with my pro max
Click to expand...
Now that I got one of these for my 14 Pro, I feel so silly never getting one to use in my 12 Pro Max. Would have made handling that monstrosity so much easier.

The only other MagSafe accessory I’ve found worthwhile would be a MagSafe car charging mount, because that frees up the charging port to plug in the headphone adapter to the aux input in the car.

I never got the allure of wireless charging when cable charging is more efficient and generally costs less.

A MagSafe stand without charging I could see being useful with the AOD of the 14 Pro. I wouldn’t want it to charge because I definitely do not want my phone being constantly topped off. I’m not super anal about my battery health but constantly leaving it on a charger all the time sure seems like a great way to kill it quicker.
 
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Supermallet said:
Now that I got one of these for my 14 Pro, I feel so silly never getting one to use in my 12 Pro Max. Would have made handling that monstrosity so much easier.

The only other MagSafe accessory I’ve found worthwhile would be a MagSafe car charging mount, because that frees up the charging port to plug in the headphone adapter to the aux input in the car.

I never got the allure of wireless charging when cable charging is more efficient and generally costs less.

A MagSafe stand without charging I could see being useful with the AOD of the 14 Pro. I wouldn’t want it to charge because I definitely do not want my phone being constantly topped off. I’m not super anal about my battery health but constantly leaving it on a charger all the time sure seems like a great way to kill it quicker.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I never knew a MagSafe popsocket thingy even existed. I just ordered a 15.99 one from Amazon. Cheers.
 
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now that the iphone mini is out...Apple should make another Apple MagSafe Battery Pack along side the current 1460mah for the bigger iphones alone but pack 3000mah
 
MagSafe is great. I use and suggest :
Duo
MagSafe + Stand Holder
Belkin car vent mount + charger
Battery pack
What I will buy:
Belkin 3in1
 
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