Some of you may not know this, but during a brief period from summer 2021 to fall 2023 – Apple made a battery bank.
Of course, since it’s Apple, it was MagSafe. This MagSafe battery pack had a number of interesting features and quirks, and ultimately it only stuck around for two years. However, thanks to an interesting new Apple trend, I think it’s plausible that it comes back – but not as an Apple product.
MagSafe battery history
Apple’s MagSafe battery pack lived a short life. It was introduced in July 2021, nearly a year after the introduction of the iPhone 12 with MagSafe. It was available for $99, and had a number of unique Apple integrations, including the ability to be reverse wirelessly charged off your iPhone while its plugged in. The pack also kept its charge status up to date in the home screen battery widget, something that most can’t.
Yes, you heard me right – Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack was capable of being recharged using reverse wireless charging. This isn’t a feature available for anything else, and there certainly aren’t third party batteries with this capability. Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack was the one and only product/accessory that could tap into the reverse wireless charging capabilities of the iPhone.
The battery was by no means incredible. It had an 11.2Wh capacity, allowing you to recharge an iPhone 12 Pro (10.78Wh capacity) about once. If you wanted to use the battery on more modern iPhones, it would get you around 60-80% of a charge. iPhone 16 Pro offers a 13.8Wh battery, and iPhone 16e offers a 15.5Wh battery.
Apple discontinued this accessory in September 2023, when the iPhone 15 lineup switched to USB-C. I suppose Apple didn’t want to bother with swapping the port from Lightning to USB-C. The company also discontinued its MagSafe Duo charger, which allowed you to charge an iPhone and Apple Watch side by side, with a travel-friendly design.
It’s worth noting that this accessory still works perfectly fine if you own one. It’s just becoming increasingly dated.
Beats comeback
More recently, Apple has been releasing new iPhone accessories under the Beats brand. It started off with the interesting hard-plastic iPhone 16 case, and more recently they’re preparing to launch charging cables.
When they launched the hard-plastic case, I assumed it was a one-off. Now that they’re also doing the charging cables, it left me wondering – will there be more?
Clearly, Apple is warming up to the idea of positioning Beats as an accessory company, particularly with accessories that it wouldn’t want to launch themselves. For example, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable.
While there’s nothing to base this on, a Beats MagSafe battery bank seems like a no brainer. It’d come in lots of fun colors, I’m sure. It’d also probably come in at a slightly lower starting price than Apple’s original $99.
It might not be the most appealing product, but it’d be perfect for the Beats brand. Of course, there are a number of third party MagSafe battery bank options on the market – but none of them will have a deep level of iOS integration, nor unique reverse wireless charging capabilities.
If you’re interested in a MagSafe battery bank that already exists, you can check out Anker’s MagGo battery – offering 5000mAh for only $40. It also comes with a charging cable at that price.
Would you like to see Apple make a new MagSafe battery, finally? Let us know in the comments.
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