Charging speed MagSafe Battery Pack
On paper there is a lot of difference between the MagSafe power banks that have appeared so far. The capacity, voltage and other specs vary widely. But are you better off with one than the other? We tested it by charging an iPhone 12 in four ways:
- MagSafe Battery Pack from Apple
- Standard 5 Watt charger from Apple with cable
- Zens MagSafe Powerbank ZEPP03M
< li>Xtorm MagSafe Powerbank FS400
We have previously tested the power banks of Xtorm and Zens and with a review of the MagSafe Battery Pack we are still in progress.
Test conditions
We tested with a two-month-old newly equipped iPhone 12 with no background apps running. The mobile functions were on, the screen was off. Furthermore, we have chosen to charge from 20%, since at that moment you will receive the warning from Apple and are inclined to start charging. There are very few people who let their battery go completely empty.
We then read the battery status after 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes. The result can be seen in the graph below:
This bar graph shows the same data in a slightly different way:
What stands out?
What strikes us about the results is that the charging speed of the MagSafe power banks does not differ much: they all end up at 78%-81%. The fact that Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack stopped at 78% is due to the fact that the battery was completely empty at that time. If the capacity had been slightly higher, charging might have continued to 80% or 81%, as with the other two power banks. It is clear that they all eventually charge with approximately the same power (approx. 5 Watt). Apple hasn't done any clever tricks to make charging faster.
What is also striking is that there is actually little difference with the use of a 5 Watt plug and cable. Especially in the first hour and a half, the 5 Watt charger is fairly similar to the power banks. At the end, the 5 Watt charger takes a final sprint to 89%. It was to be expected that there will be a little more loss with MagSafe charging, but in the end the difference is not very big.
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How many times can you charge an iPhone with the MagSafe Battery Pack?
Sorry, the answer is less than 1x.
Many people are curious about how often you can charge your iPhone with Apple's power bank. Once? One and a half? Unfortunately, the reality is a little less rosy: when we charged the test iPhone from 20% to almost 80%, the MagSafe Battery Pack was completely empty. So you can fully charge the standard iPhone 12 less than 1x.
It is possible with the other tested power banks: they were far from empty after 2.5 charging.
It is to be expected that you can charge the iPhone 12 less than 1x, if you look at the specs:
- iPhone 12 battery: 2815 mAh/10.75 Wh/3.81 Volt
- MagSafe Battery Pack: 1460 mAh/11.13 Wh/7.62 Volt
- MagSafe Battery Pack at Apple
- Xtorm MagSafe Powerbank FS400 at Xtorm
- Zens MagSafe Powerbank ZEPP03M at Bol.com
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As Charger Lab has calculated, the MagSafe corresponds to a 2220 mAh power bank (this is 78% of 2815) because of the higher voltage. However, the fact that our final measurement also comes out at 78% is a coincidence. After all, we started at 20%, so in reality the performance is slightly less.
The iPhone 12 mini with a battery capacity of 2227 mAh comes surprisingly close to the (calculated) capacity of 2220 mAh of the MagSafe Battery Pack and could therefore be charged about 1x.
Is the MagSafe Battery Pack a good purchase?
Whether the MagSafe Battery Pack is something for you, depends on your personal circumstances and your expectations. If you want to regularly recharge your iPhone, it doesn't matter which power bank you take. There is also not much difference with a 5 Watt plug. If it concerns fast charging or multiple charging, it is better to look at other solutions, for example fast charging via the socket or a heavy power bank with a high capacity. In most daily situations, however, the MagSafe Battery Pack is enough, although many people will be afraid of the price tag.
You can buy the mentioned power banks here: