LudacusThe newly available MagSafe Battery Pack marks Apple’s second foray in making charging accessory for the iPhone – the first being the iPhone Smart Battery Case. The difference this time is of course the inclusion of Apple’s MagSafe design – which allows the battery pack to be magnetically attached to your iPhone 12, while charging it wirelessly. The MagSafe Battery Pack works with the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro & 12 Pro Max.
Design
The MagSafe Battery Pack is only available in white (which I am pretty sure will get really dirty in no time) and has a smooth matt surface all around. It has nice rounded corner which fits nicely into your palms and is slighter larger than the size of a credit card.
At the bottom of the MagSafe Battery Pack, there is a lightning connector port which you may connect your lightning cable (not included) for the charging of the battery pack or to do pass through charging. There is also a single LED light to indicate if the battery pack is charging (amber) or if it is fully charged (green).
The back of the MagSafe Battery Pack features a MagSafe magnet design with a rubberised backing. The magnet is strong enough to keep the Battery Pack in place though it does move around within the MagSafe ring.
For the MagSafe Battery Pack to work with your iPhone 12, you will need to update the OS to the latest 14.7 or later (though it still doesn’t work with the beta iOS 15). Once the battery pack is connected to the iPhone 12, it will automatically begin to charge your iPhone.
By default, the MagSafe Battery Pack will only charge up to 90% on your iPhone. To charge past 90%, open Control Center, press and hold the Low Power Mode icon, then tap Continue to change the settings. If you’re using the Battery Widget on the home screen, the MagSafe’s battery level is also displayed when connected to the iPhone to show you exactly how much juice the Battery Pack has left.
Charging Performance
The MagSafe Battery Pack has a dual-cell design that has a 1,460mAh capacity with a total output of 11.13Wh. The charging test is based on the iPhone 12 Pro Max that is completely flat and a Apple MagSafe Battery Pack that is fully charged. It took about 2 hours to charge the iPhone 12 Pro Max to 52% before the MagSafe Battery Pack runs out of juice.
| Charging Time for iPhone 12 Pro Max | % Charged (from 0%) |
| 10 Minutes | 10% |
| 20 Minutes | 14% |
| 30 Minutes | 18% |
| 40 Minutes | 22% |
| 1 Hour | 26% |
| 1 Hour 10 Minutes | 30% |
| 1 Hour 20 Minutes | 34% |
| 1 Hour 30 Minutes | 36% |
| 1 Hour 40 Minutes | 42% |
| 1 Hour 50 Minutes | 47% |
| 2 Hours | 52% |
Final thoughts
Understandably, expectations were high for Apple’s first MagSafe Charging Pack. Being an official Apple product has it advantages. You get tight integration between the hardware and OS – where the battery level can be reflected directly on the battery widget and the battery pack would auto-charge once it is connected. Design-wise, I love how well the battery pack fits into my hand with the curved corners. The flat MagSafe surface also allows the battery pack to ergonomically attach itself to the iPhone.
Yet at S$139, it is no doubt that iPhone users are paying a premium price for the MagSafe convenience. Even so, you do not get a full charge for the iPhone 12 Pro Max and charging speed leaves much to be desired. The battery pack also doesn’t come with any bundled accessories like a PW adapter or a lightning charging cable. And while the white color is classic Apple, I would rather the battery pack comes in a darker color option like dark brown or even black (though Nomad does have a cover which looks pretty neat for an additional S$50). Unless you’re an hardcore supporter of official Apple accessories, there are many battery MagSafe Battery Pack options in the market that is worth taking a look at.
The Apple Battery Pack is available directly from the Apple Store for S$139.