We all know that a phone’s battery life is not unlimited and when it comes to battery life, iPhones don’t have as good a reputation as some brands of iPhones. iPhone. smart phones Android.
Unless you’re near a power outlet, you’ll need a power bank or portable charger to charge your iPhone battery.
Apple’s latest iPhones have a technology called MagSafe that offers a slightly more convenient solution than having to carry an external battery around with you.
Allows enabled accessories to magnetically attach to the back of the iPhone for wireless charging or other functionality.
Apple’s MagSafe Battery provides a power boost when your iPhone’s internal battery is low.
Design
The Apple MagSafe battery is sort of a compact white brick (96 x 64 cm) that weighs 114 grams, to be exact.
Attached to the back of a white iPhone, it creates a “bump” reminiscent of Apple’s old Smart Battery Case, seen top left in the photo.
This full-featured smart battery case (unfortunately not available for the iPhone 12 or 13 series) was mocked for its bump, but we loved it for its smart features, battery life, and comprehensive protection features.
We’ve tested a third-party alternative, the Newdery iPhone 13 and 13 Pro battery case, if you want the protection and can live without the Apple logo, smart features, and official certification.
The MagSafe battery looks similar when magnetically attached to the phone, but it lacks the solid protection you get with a battery case.
You can, and of course should, keep your precious phone in a protective case, then to use that battery you’ll need to buy a MagSafe compatible case.
While it pairs well with a white iPhone, the MagSafe battery’s lack of color options means it will literally stand out on any other colored iPhone. By comparison, Anker’s similar MagGo 622 battery comes in five muted colors. Read our Anker MagGo 622 battery review.
Apple’s pack charges via the Lightning cable rather than USB-C (used by Anker and other magnetic power bank makers), but that makes sense as every iPhone user will have a Lightning cable at hand. However, USB-C is the future, and today there are fewer and fewer wall chargers with standard USB-A ports that will work with regular Lightning to USB cables. The pack does not include any cables.
The magnetic clip is strong, dispelling fears that it could slip off the phone and be damaged or lost.
battery capacity
The Apple MagSafe battery has a battery capacity of 1460 mAh. The internal battery of the iPhone 12 mini has a capacity of 2227 mAh, that of the iPhone 13 of 3227 mAh and that of the 13 Pro Max of 4352 mAh.
So Apple’s battery seems a little skimpy in terms of power capacity, especially in light of the Anker MagGo 622’s 5,000mAh capacity. But milliamp-hours don’t tell the whole story.
The Apple pack has a higher voltage potential (7.62V) than the iPhone (3.81V) or the Anker pack, which means it can deliver more power to an iPhone than its specs would suggest. mAh; in fact, it is equivalent to 2,920 mAh.
It makes more sense to compare the watt-hour specifications of each battery. The difference between Anker’s 19.13 Wh and Apple’s 11.13 Wh is still significant (172% more power than Anker), but not as far off as the unadjusted milliamp rating suggests.
That’s the good news, but there’s still a hit to battery power…and not just for the Apple Bundle. Apple’s battery should be able to almost fully charge an iPhone 13 Pro, but it doesn’t come close due to the inherent inefficiency of wireless charging.
When charging wirelessly, up to 50% of your phone’s battery charge may be lost due to improper placement and heat loss, as well as other environmental factors, compared to a wired charging connection.
Because the magnetic fit is so precise and tightly locked, MagSafe wireless charging is much more efficient than standard Qi wireless charging, where the device is simply placed on the charger.
Anyone who’s ever held their phone to the right position to start wireless charging will know that placement isn’t always easy. With MagSafe, it locks into the exact position.
MagSafe charging is still inefficient (it’s still wireless, after all), but maybe only 30% of the connected battery’s charge is wasted because the placement is so precise, and that brings the Apple Pack even closer of the Anker pack, as the larger capacity battery loses more charge at 30% than the smaller one.
For wired MagSafe charging, read our roundup of the best MagSafe chargers. Remember that although wired, actual charging is wireless so has the same limitations, although when connected to a wall charger of 20W or more it can charge an iPhone 12/13 up to at 15W compared to the MagSafe’s 7.5W. battery.
charging power
When Apple originally launched the MagSafe battery, it could charge an iPhone at just 5W, compared to competing magnetic batteries that charge at 7.5W.
Fortunately, Apple has fixed this shortcoming with an update. firmware
If you already have the battery, to get 7.5W charging on the go, you need to update it to the latest firmware. This can be done in two ways: extremely slow and super fast. Guess which one we recommend.
The update of the firmware may start automatically after connecting the battery to iPhone, but this method may take a week.
If you prefer an update that takes five minutes, connect your Lightning cable to the battery and the other end to your Mac or iPad. The update of the firmware will quickly get your pack up to date and ready to go at 7.5W.
Battery tests
We tested the Apple MagSafe battery pack and its competitors with a simple battery charging session. We let our iPhone 13 Pro test unit (with a 3,095mAh battery capacity) drain down to 5%, then put the battery to work charging the phone.
Then we assign a score of the percentage that successfully charged the iPhone and subtract 5%; we tested each model at least twice. This is not a true daily use test where the phone is likely to be used for a variety of tasks (variable battery usage). But it gives us a score that we can use to compare different battery models.
The Apple MagSafe Battery scored 60% in our test, showing that it won’t deliver a 100% recharge, not even close.
On the plus side, battery life is slightly better than Apple’s previous Smart Battery Case.
Apple’s smart advantages
So far we’ve been disappointed with the battery life of the Apple MagSafe pack, especially compared to its cheaper non-Apple rivals.
But, with the advantage of owning the equipment and the SoftwareApple’s battery has smart features up its sleeve that alternatives lack.
For starters, just like with AirPods, the MagSafe battery shows its charge in the battery widget of iPhone’s “Today” view – just swipe right from the home screen to see all your Apple’s battery charging information in one place.
Third-party devices don’t have this handy iPhone information link.
Apple’s battery can charge the phone simultaneously with the Lightning cable, reaching a maximum charge of 15W as long as the wall charger is rated at at least 27W.
The iPhone can even reverse charge the MagSafe battery if its internal battery is full and connected to power.
The MagSafe battery stops providing a charge if the iPhone reaches 90%. This provides protection for your iPhone’s internal battery, as the batteries survive longer when not fully charged every time.
Another protective feature is that if the iPhone gets too hot, the MagSafe battery will stop charging above 80%.
The MagSafe battery automatically charges the iPhone, so there’s no need to turn it on or off. Most third-party MagSafe batteries require a button press to begin charging.
Price
The Apple MagSafe battery comes in one size and one color (white). It costs 109 dollars on the official Apple website.
Alternatives from Anker and Belkin are cheaper and have higher battery capacity, but they lack Apple’s smarter features.
Apple battery is compatible with iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Some of the larger third-party batteries are too big for mini iPhones.
verdict
We would have liked a full protective case for Apple’s smart battery like we did for the iPhone 11 and earlier, but Apple put their hearts into MagSafe and that’s why the detachable case is the only option, and it must be blank.
Compatible with all iPhone 12 and 13 models, the Apple MagSafe Battery is a smart and convenient power pack that magnetically attaches to the iPhone.
It’s underpowered compared to cheaper non-Apple alternatives, but it’s smarter and works great with widget iOS information.
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