MagSafe Explained
MagSafe is coming to iPhone 12; how did we get here?
The original idea for MagSafe came from an unusual place. The humble deep fryer. At the time, people were afraid that tripping on the wire may cause injury due to hot oil being spilled. To solve this problem, the Underwriters Laboratories developed a new standard that allows the wire to break away from the deep fryer if anyone ever trips on the cable. The new standard achieves this effect by using a magnet that connects the cable to the electrical appliance. The magnets allow the cable to break away gracefully when someone trips on it. It also makes it easy to reattach the cable afterward.
Before MagSafe, Mac users were faced with a similar albeit less serious problem. When you trip on the cable attached to your Mac, you can only watch helplessly as your very expensive Mac gracefully and slowly descends to the ground. Ending with a bang. Literally. Yes, no one was injured unlike the previously mentioned deep fryer but my heart aches a little, every time I see a Mac hit the pavement.
On January 10, 2006, Steve Jobs unveiled the first Mac that features the new MagSafe connector. The 15-inch MacBook Pro. The MagSafe connector is reversible and attached to the Mac via magnets. Now, if you ever trip on the power cord, the cable would break away gracefully keeping your Mac out from harm’s way. Saving both your Mac and your wallet from imminent danger. People loved the idea. Unfortunately, Apple eventually phased out the MagSafe connector replacing it with the more versatile but less cool USB-C. The last Mac that featured the MagSafe connector is the 2017 MacBook Air.
With iPhone 12, Apple brought back the MagSafe branding. However, this time it is not for the Mac. It is for Apple’s most important and most successful device. The iPhone.
MagSafe.
On October 13, 2020, Apple unveiled the iPhone 12. Along with iPhone 12, Apple announced the return of MagSafe but in a different form. MagSafe for iPhone 12 is similar to the MagSafe of yore, it charges your device and uses magnets to attach itself but this time it does not have any physical pins. The pins are being replaced with wireless charging.
Wireless charging is not new to iPhone. It has been on iPhone since iPhone 8. The dream of wireless charging is that you can charge your device without thinking about it. Just place your iPhone on the charging mat to charge. But in reality, things are not that simple. The current implementation of wireless charging is affected by how you position your iPhone relative to the charging mat. It is affected by alignment. You have to position your iPhone in exactly the right spot or you may find yourself waking up to a dead iPhone. That's not what I have in mind when I signed up for this wireless charging thing.
MagSafe for iPhone 12 solves this problem. The magnets automatically align the power connector with the iPhone ensuring that your iPhone will be charged. With MagSafe, you don’t have to be as deliberate when placing your iPhone on the charging mat. Just place and forget. The magnets will handle the rest. By the way, the sound it makes when you attach the MagSafe connector to the iPhone never fails to bring a smile to my face.
I wouldn’t classify the new MagSafe as a type of wireless charging. Nor would I say that it is a new form of wired charging. Instead, it is a little of both. Like wireless charging, MagSafe eliminates the deliberate action of plugging in your iPhone. But unlike wireless charging, you can use your iPhone while it is being charged. It is as if you have plugged in a cable. The latter is a significant use case for me. I like to game on my iPhone but every time I play, I am worried that gaming on my iPhone will kill the battery very quickly. To protect the battery, I tend to plug in my iPhone when gaming. This however causes a new problem. Since the charging cable is connected to the iPhone, I have to place my hand in an awkward position to avoid the cable. That is not a comfortable gaming stance. MagSafe solves this problem for me. Since MagSafe attaches to the back of my iPhone I can hold my iPhone comfortably while gaming.
By utilizing wireless charging, MagSafe does not require a physical connection to the iPhone. The thing with physical connections is that they degrade over time. The lightning port on every iPhone I have owned has developed some kind of strange quirk after a few years of ownership. For example, my iPhone 6 Plus is not charging when it thinks it is being charged. It only charges when you flip over the cable and place the connector on a wallet slightly elevating it above my iPhone. It is as if I am performing some kind of ancient ritual. A ritual that pays homage to the ancient Apple gods hoping that my iPhone will be brought back to life. Not exactly what I would call “fun” but it gets the job done. MagSafe doesn’t have this problem because there is no physical connection between the MagSafe and the iPhone.
Having said that, MagSafe does have its own set of problems. Since the cable is attached magnetically to the iPhone, it comes up with the iPhone when you pick it up. You then need to remove it manually. That is a little bit more inconvenient compared to the normal wireless charging. Then there are also durability concerns. When the MagSafe connector attaches itself to the iPhone it makes a little bit of contact. I don’t know if the MagSafe connector is going to scratch the back of the iPhone overtime or not. Only time will tell. Last but not least, it is just faster to charge using a wired connection. From the videos I have watched, physically plugging in a lightning cable to charge can be twice as fast when compared to using a MagSafe connector. Do you really need MagSafe if using a wire halves the charging time? I guess, it depends.
Fun Fact: When you via MagSafe and a wired connection at the same time, the wired connection takes priority.
Fun Fact #2: 18 pieces of small rectangular magnets are used in the current implementation of MagSafe.
Accessories.
Unlike for the Mac, MagSafe for the iPhone can do more than just charge your iPhone. MagSafe will create a new accessory ecosystem. From Apple, you will get first-party accessories such as cases, and wallets that can be attached and removed easily from the iPhone. Also, there is the MagSafe Duo charger that lets you charge both your iPhone and your Apple Watch at the same time. These accessories use MagSafe to attach itself to the iPhone. The nice thing is that whenever you attach a new accessory you get a little bit of feedback in the form of an on-screen animation and sound. Is the feedback necessary? No, absolutely not. But is it nice? Yes, it is.
Of course, I am not saying that these accessories are perfect, they are not. For example, the MagSafe cases feel very similar to the other cases Apple makes. Attaching and removing it feels just as cumbersome. I just don’t think MagSafe plays a big role in holding the iPhone and the MagSafe case together. And don’t even get me started on the MagSafe wallet. Conceptually it’s a good idea but ruined by weak magnets. The problem with the MagSafe wallet is that it detaches a little too easily. The mere act of putting your iPhone into your pocket may cause the wallet to detach itself from the iPhone. It really raises my anxiety level when I put something that unreliable on my iPhone. Combined with the fact that it houses my credit cards, results in me checking my iPhone every few seconds to ensure that the MagSafe wallet is still there. Sigh.
Despite these shortcomings though, I am hopeful that these accessories will get better over time. I tend to be more forgiving of first-gen products. It seems obvious to me, that these problems can be fixed with minor redesigns and stronger magnets.
We are likely to see many 3rd party official accessories that are “Made for MagSafe” and also many unofficial accessories. There are already car mounts and charging stand that utilize MagSafe. Apple can’t prevent anyone from utilizing the magnets in the MagSafe connector to do interesting stuff. They just can’t control the magnets. I’ve seen interesting accessories such as DIY camera mounts that utilize MagSafe to attach an iPhone. You can even attach the iPhone to your fridge just for fun.
I would like to see battery cases that utilize MagSafe which eliminates the chin in older models, fingers crossed. It would also be fun to see game controllers like the Razer Kishi which utilizes MagSafe so that you won’t need to use rubber bands anymore. The possibilities are endless.
Future.
According to Bloomberg:
“Apple designers eventually hope to remove most of the external ports and buttons on the iPhone, including the charger, according to people familiar with the company’s work.”
A port less iPhone is inherently more water-resistant as there are no ports for water to get into. It frees up space within the iPhone. More space may mean better cameras, bigger batteries, more features that actually have an impact on the user experience. It also could mean slimmer, lighter iPhones with better designs. All good things. MagSafe is a precursor to that. MagSafe may allow for the removal of the charging port moving us one step closer to a port less world.
A port less iPhone is a cool concept. Removing the port which interrupts the visual design of the iPhone makes the iPhone look better. But I don’t know if it is that practical. How are technicians supposed to access the iPhone when there is a problem with the software? Are they required to open up the iPhone just to do that? Doesn’t sound like an appealing option to me. Notwithstanding the time and effort that may be required, opening the iPhone may compromise the water-resistance of the iPhone which is something I value dearly. However, this is not a hard problem to solve. Apple just needs to provide some form of wireless access to the iPhone. That may be a security threat but I trust Apple to lock everything down sufficiently to mitigate that.
Apple still has a long way to go to achieve its vision of a port less iPhone. Technical challenges aside, Apple needs to first resolve a more practical problem. If Apple makes a port less iPhone, they would need to include a MagSafe charger in the box. I can’t imagine Apple ever doing that. Including a MagSafe charger in every box will significantly increase the cost of every iPhone. Considering Apple’s scale, that is an enormous amount of money. It would also have a significant impact on the environment. There is however an easy solution to the problem, Apple can just remove the changing cable from the box. This allows customers to get used to the idea that their iPhones will not come with a charging cable. A good move from both a financial and environmental perspective. This is exactly what I would expect Apple to do. Maybe not for the iPhone 13. Perhaps the iPhone 14?
