Apple Introduces New MagSafe Wireless Charger for iPhone 12

Apple is bringing back its popular MagSafe branding, but it’s not the way you would expect. The company is today launching two new wireless chargers for the iPhone 12 under the MagSafe branding.

The new chargers, called the MagSafe Charger, and the MagSafe Duo Charger, are two new wireless chargers designed specifically for the iPhone 12 line. The new chargers take advantage of an interesting new addition on the iPhone 12.

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

[ad unit=’in_content_premium_block’]

The new devices include a magnet mechanism on the back, enabling chargers like the new MagSafe wireless chargers to attach magnetically to the phones. The MagSafe Duo Charger allows users to charge their iPhone 12, as well as their Apple Watch at once. It supports up to 15W of charging. The idea here is that the magnets on the back of the iPhone 12 will allow the device to position itself on wireless chargers in a way that will enable efficient and performant wireless charging.

The company also confirmed that the iPhone 12 will not ship with power adapters in the box, it will, however, ship with a USB-C to Lightning cable, which will enable faster charging.  Apple will also introduce other accessories that take advantage of this new magnetic system, including back covers, sleeves, and much more.

You can check out the MagSafe accessories here. 

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 10 comments

  • reformedctrlz

    Premium Member
    13 October, 2020 - 4:52 pm

    <p>This is, to me, the only cool thing I’ve seen about these new devices. If one of the big concerns about wireless charging is if the coil is aligned, why wouldn’t you want to use magnetic alignment? This also means that you’ll be able to make magsafe car mounts that mount the phone magnetically and charge without having to have metal places attached to the phone or in the case.</p><p><br></p><p>Glad Apple was able to bring this feature back from 2009 when the Palm Pre did it…..</p>

  • Daekar

    13 October, 2020 - 6:02 pm

    <p>Wow, that is… bad.</p><p><br></p><p>Really, what were they thinking? If you're using this kind of magnetic connector and limiting your users to only your proprietary chargers, why not go whole-hog and just put some honest-to-God electrical contacts back there so you can charge at standard wired speeds?</p><p><br></p><p>Honestly, I think Apple's engineers live in a bubble, not a space donut. My Samsung phones have been charging wirelessly for 5 years now. As long as a case doesn't get in the way it's a great experience, and there are plenty of cases that don't interfere. Proprietary charging methods that don't differentiate themselves in any meaningful way are not value-ads for your product, I don't see why this is so hard.</p>

    • solomonrex

      14 October, 2020 - 7:06 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#586238">In reply to Daekar:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'm not sure what you're objecting to. It's still Qi charging, compatible with other chargers. It's still lightning, that every iphone owner on the planet have 2 or 3 of. They're not taking anything off the table, and they've added a nifty option or two from the dim sum cart.</p>

    • glenn8878

      14 October, 2020 - 12:12 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#586238">In reply to Daekar:</a></em></blockquote><p>Huh? Why not limit it if they are providing the chargers and it's only being used for iPhone 12's? Why would you use the charger on a Samsung or use your Samsung charger on the iPhone? What you call a bubble is actually the Apple experience. I'm not even sure why you're here since you own a Samsung and quite happy to only use Samsung and not another Android device.</p>

      • SvenJ

        14 October, 2020 - 3:19 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#586363"><em>In reply to glenn8878:</em></a><em> </em>Well, they aren't providing the charger, and you don't need to buy one. They are still providing the lightning cable, and the phone still works with existing Qi chargers. What this does is provide a consistent way of getting the coils aligned. That is important for efficient transfer regardless of what phone you have. It also sets up the phone for other interesting accessories. </blockquote><p><br></p>

        • Paul Thurrott

          Premium Member
          15 October, 2020 - 9:17 am

          You probably do need to buy one, actually. The cable they provide ends in USB-C and the chargers everyone has are all Lightning, so that cable won’t work.

  • truerock2

    13 October, 2020 - 6:03 pm

    <p>I assume this is the same technology Apple has used for the Apple Watch over the last 4 years?</p>

    • SvenJ

      14 October, 2020 - 3:13 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#586239"><em>In reply to truerock2:</em></a><em> </em>Not exactly. The watch has used magnetic alignment since its inception, but the charging has always been pseudo-Qi. This is real Qi with magnetic alignment.</blockquote><p><br></p>

  • mikeh

    Premium Member
    13 October, 2020 - 9:04 pm

    <p>I hope the phones operate with other wireless chargers. The phones better work properly in our vehicles as they are fixed OEM built in chargers. Be careful not to put the phone in your pocket with a credit card with a magnetic strip. I had this problem with AirPods and hotel room cards in the same pocket. </p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC