Photos of Apple's New MagSafe Battery Pack Provide First Look at Thickness

[tedwill]

I have several photoshoots planned in places where charging my phone is not going to easy for several days. This is better than carrying a Anker portable battery. I'm wondering however, what "additional hours of battery life" means exactly.

 

[Marbles1]

Looks awful. Why not offer a larger battery as an option for the existing iPhone range?

 

[contacos]

10 minutes with a powerbank probably gives you more charge than having this thing attached to your iPhone for half a day. No thanks

 

[mazz0]

T H I C C

damn that’s a thick boy

Holy hell. This thing is massively thick!!!

Right?? I didn’t believe it would be so thick. Are you supposed to hold the phone and use it at the same time too? Lol. 😝

I’m really surprised by these comments. What thickness were you expecting?

 

[fbr$]

I bought this one for ~US$ 30 (including shipping costs) on AliExpress, 5000mAh, USB-C IN/OUT port, it works very well, the magnets are very stong, it weighs ~100g.

 

[123]

Inefficient, expensive, and ugly. Masterpiece.

 

[gmanist1000]

Looks like an old AirPort Express

 

[citysnaps]

Holy cow! Apple should just make the phone a little thicker and put more battery in it, instead of selling a product that makes the phone look like a pregnant whale.

Nope and no thanks. My needs, and no doubt the majority of other Apple customers, do not require a substantially thicker phone and the runtime its larger battery would provide.

That battery pack is designed for those who do. And for them, it's a great solution.

 

[B4rbelith]

I get through an entire day on an overnight charge with my iPhone X. What are people doing with their iPhones to justify this inconvenience? When you go out, you meet friends, you take a group selfie first, sit down, eat, talk about careers, life, gossip; during all this you might check your phone one or two times. Maybe walk around town then just before you leave, you all take another group selfie. If you are taking public transportation or walking home, you might look at email, death scroll a bit on IG or Facebook. But it should not warrant needing this.

I use my phone as a hotspot for my Mac sometimes, and that eats battery pretty fast.
Someone might be out all night sometimes.
Filming or shooting photos - There’s plenty of reasons why somebody might need some extra juice from time to time.

 

[withoutyou]

Definately not Designed by Apple in California, period.

 

[citysnaps]

Inefficient, expensive, and ugly. Masterpiece.

What would be your design, offering the same battery capacity and ease of use when needed, while not interfering with any of the multiple antennas found on an iPhone, degrading their communications performance?

 

[thebeans]

Holy cow! Apple should just make the phone a little thicker and put more battery in it, instead of selling a product that makes the phone look like a pregnant whale.

It is quite ugly. But they definitely should not just make the phones thicker. Many people get plenty of battery life from their phones. No reason to make everyone carry a brick just because some need that much battery capacity.

 

[Xil3]

why ? bec they make money from it?
take some 101 business lessons first

Apple can make money off of anything - that doesn't mean it's a good idea. They can release a turd that has an Apple logo on it, and people will still buy it.

If some random company released this same product, it would not sell, at all. I think you need to take the 101 business lessons.

 

[kk200]

they should bring smart connector to iphone .......

 

[ratspg]

I’m really surprised by these comments. What thickness were you expecting?

A battery built-in to a case, no problem. A battery attached that’s thick like that in one specific area connected with MagSafe and only charges at 5W unless you plug in a lightning cable which removes all portability. No thank you.

 

[Stewie]

Looks awful. Why not offer a larger battery as an option for the existing iPhone range?

Because then you have you carry around a much bigger phone all the time. This way only the few people that need to have the extra juice need this product.

 

[123]

instead of selling a product that makes the phone look like a pregnant whale.

Internal code name: Beluga

 

[thebeans]

I get through an entire day on an overnight charge with my iPhone X. What are people doing with their iPhones to justify this inconvenience? When you go out, you meet friends, you take a group selfie first, sit down, eat, talk about careers, life, gossip; during all this you might check your phone one or two times. Maybe walk around town then just before you leave, you all take another group selfie. If you are taking public transportation or walking home, you might look at email, death scroll a bit on IG or Facebook. But it should not warrant needing this.

I sometimes wonder too but some people do use their phones a tremendous amount. It’s good to have things like this for those that need them. Options are always a plus. It is thick and ugly but some won’t care if it is useful to them.

 

[citysnaps]

I have several photoshoots planned in places where charging my phone is not going to easy for several days. This is better than carrying a Anker portable battery. I'm wondering however, what "additional hours of battery life" means exactly.

Difficult to accurately quantify as it depends on usage and particular services used, as well as distance from basestations accessed.

 

[LeMo]

that is truly awful. It looks like someone glued an AppleTV to the back of a phone.....

 

[rpmurray]

I like how people throw around the term "brick" when it's suggested to make the iPhone a little thicker when the phone is already anorexic.

 

[visualseed]

it looks about the size of an iPod Classic

 

[siddavis]

I get through an entire day on an overnight charge with my iPhone X. What are people doing with their iPhones to justify this inconvenience? When you go out, you meet friends, you take a group selfie first, sit down, eat, talk about careers, life, gossip; during all this you might check your phone one or two times. Maybe walk around town then just before you leave, you all take another group selfie. If you are taking public transportation or walking home, you might look at email, death scroll a bit on IG or Facebook. But it should not warrant needing this.

I'm with you on this, but obviously there is a big market for this kind of stuff. I got a 12 mini and I was all worried that I would need some intra day charging solution because everyone was yapping about how bad the battery life on the mini is. I have had no problems at all and have only had to charge it once or twice before normal overnight to make it through the day.

I personally think this thing is awful, but it's probably the best for anyone that likes to rock their phone without a case. However it seems ironic to go no case, but then put that unfortunate growth on the back.

 

[MrNeilSA]

this is the most idiotic move by apple

🤣 what do they know hey! im sure their market research pales into insignificance compared to your thoughts .......

 

[Shasterball]

Let's understand what this is: it is a MagSafe Charger that, when needed, you can take with you to charge on the go. It is not an add-on, semi-permanent, battery.
I believe, and would love to see pictures, that this can be used as your standard overnight charging puck. But it also doubles as a separate battery pack, like the ones you buy at airports, or that come with your luggage and you always forget to charge the night before you have to fly.
This is a Battery Pack that is always charged, if you use it as your main MagSafe Charger, and you just pick it up on the way out.

I think this is a justification of another poor design...