MagSafe Battery Pack teardown
The video was created by Charger Lab and shows how the new MagSafe Battery Pack works internally. But first they unpack the power bank, then pry it apart. Unsurprisingly, the product is not intended to be opened or repaired by the average consumer. No screws were used and opening the housing took quite a bit of strength and effort. The two parts appear to be held together with glue. Inside behind the front cover you will find a coil, connected to another coil on the battery itself. There is also an NFC coil with accompanying chip to detect which device you have placed on it. NFC provides the correct animations and battery indicator in iOS.
A ring of magnets is present for the magnetic operation, as expected. Inside, Apple has gone to great lengths to prevent the internal components from getting too hot. The electronics are mounted on a PCB, which is connected to a large metal plate to disperse the heat.
Also interesting: there are two battery cells present that together provide 11.13 Watt-hours and 7.62 Volts. The battery has a capacity of 1,460 mAh at 7.62 Volts, which corresponds to 2,220 mAh and 5 Volts with a conventional power bank. Each cell is marked: 5,733 Wh.
Apple itself has provided few technical details about the MagSafe Battery Pack, so we rely on these teardowns. The only thing (in fine print) on the back of the battery is “max 1460mAh (7.62V, 11.13Wh)”. However, something can be deduced from this in terms of actual capacity. It was speculated that there were two cells inside, and now it turns out that is indeed the case. They look exactly like the battery cells that Apple uses in the iPhones.
The teardown also shows how neatly the components are arranged in the housing. Furthermore, it becomes clear that this is a more complicated product than you might think at first glance: it is much more than a battery.
The MagSafe Battery Pack is available from Apple for £109 and is suitable for all iPhone 12 models. You can also put previous devices (from the iPhone 8) or an AirPods box on it. If you find it too expensive, there are several alternatives with MagSafe that have a higher capacity and are cheaper. But then you miss the Apple look and some functions, such as reverse charging.