The MagSafe Battery Pack is a new accessory for your iPhone. It is a power bank that you stick on the back of your device, after which it will charge. But now that more details are known, it appears that reverse charging is also possible. Both devices can be charged when the iPhone is connected to a power source. The £109 MagSafe Battery Pack can charge an iPhone via MagSafe when connected to a 20 Watt power adapter. 15 Watts of power is supplied. However, it also turns out to be possible to charge the battery via the iPhone. This works over the same MagSafe connection.
It appears from a support document that Apple put online at the same time as the Battery Pack. It says:
You can also charge both if you attach your MagSafe Battery Pack to your iPhone, then plug your iPhone into a power source. You might want to charge this way if you need to connect your iPhone to another device while charging, like if you're using wired CarPlay or transferring photos to a Mac.
Many rumors about reverse charge
Apple does note that the iPhone is first charged to 80%, before it is the turn of the Battery Pack. It is the first time that reverse charging is actually possible. There have been rumors about the iPhone 11 since 2019, giving the impression that you could recharge your AirPods or even your Apple Watch in this way. iFixit found parts in the iPhone 11 that were intended for reverse wireless charging, but they turned out to be inactive. Documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission subsequently showed that the iPhone 12 could also charge in reverse, but that option has also not been used until now. Back in March, rumors of a MagSafe reverse charging power bank were rumored to have become reality. There were also indications for this in the code of iOS 14.5.
Reverse charging on the iPhone 12
It is now possible with the iPhone 12, in combination with the MagSafe Battery Pack. It uses MagSafe magnets in combination with NFC to ensure that the connection is good and can be charged at a higher wattage. Charging the MagSafe Battery Pack can therefore be done in two ways: via the built-in Lightning connection or by sticking the power bank on the back of the iPhone when you are charging it. However, Apple doesn't include a Lightning cable (and of course no power adapter), so you'll have to provide that yourself.
Reverse charging can be useful if you need to connect your iPhone, for example if you use wired CarPlay or if you are working on the transferring photos to a Mac, according to Apple. The term ‘reverse charging’ however, is not explicitly mentioned anywhere and Apple didn't say a word about it when the iPhone 12 series was announced.
You can order the MagSafe Battery Pack via the Apple website and it will be delivered from July 19th. However, the delivery times are increasing.
View:
- MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12 series: 109 euros