Are any of Apple’s official MagSafe accessories worth buying?
- Thread starter JournalBot
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I think the revolution is just having a standard sized magnet with wireless/qi charging passthrough. You could get the combo before with adhesive magnetic rings, but then you'd only really get compatibility with a single mount/set of mounts from one manufacturer. It has made a huge difference for every single third party to use the same exact magnet orientation.
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In my family we've found the Apple silicone cases to have dreadful durability. We're lucky to get a year out of one before all the silicone starts to peel away from the underlying hard shell.
Which for a £50 case is absurd.
Which for a £50 case is absurd.
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ConnertheCat
Ars Centurion
Magsafe in the car is amazing; most wireless car chargers fail when the phone slides off due to you making the most gentle of turns.
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I miss a mention of Qi2 alternatives for wireless charging which basically made Magsafe a standard which can be used by all brands.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/3/23538131/qi2-wireless-charging-apple-samsunghttps://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/05/ios-17-2-qi-iphone-13-14-models/https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/06/anker-qi2-15w-charging/
https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/3/23538131/qi2-wireless-charging-apple-samsunghttps://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/05/ios-17-2-qi-iphone-13-14-models/https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/06/anker-qi2-15w-charging/
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The Apple Magsafe charger is great when you combine it with a Spigen Mag Fit. I got the Duo version which is just a well designed hunk of plastic that houses the wireless charger for the phone and the watch, and does an excellent job of basically sticking via suction to any bedside table. For basically half or even less of what a dedicated multi-wireless charger stand costs, I do both my watch and phone and it looks like a single unified unit. Other than that I couldn't see any reason to use apple's magsafe charger.
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Ninja’ed and absolutely agree, as long as I need a car mount I don’t want to go back to clunky mechanical ones.
It would be interesting to have some sort of iPad equivalent at home, at least for the lighter Mini.
Even better with NFC integration to automatically launch different apps and automations on different stands. Lights control, TV, karaoke and video calls under the shower of course
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I just wanted a 1st party LEATHER case.
What gives? It’s a renewable resource? But instead we have cases made from fossil fuels?
What gives? It’s a renewable resource? But instead we have cases made from fossil fuels?
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Ninja’ed and absolutely agree, as long as I need a car mount I don’t want to go back to clunky mechanical ones.
It would be interesting to have some sort of iPad equivalent at home, at least for the lighter Mini.
Even better with NFC integration to automatically launch different apps and automations on different stands. Lights control, TV, karaoke and video calls under the shower of course
Me too. A stable car mount that can handle the iphone max is great. I also bought the magsafe stickers that improves the magnet's hold on the iphone for some of my leather cases that are too thick.
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I completely agree. I splurged on a silicone case for an iPhone 13 and within a year it was peeling away. People with long fingernails had it far worse because any time they reached for their phone it gouged the case and made the problem worse. When sub $10 cases from shady sellers on Amazon feel more premium that is an issue.
I have their mag safe charger but find I rarely use it in the face of third party options that are Qi2 compliant. More options, better prices, etc.
I really wanted to like the wallet. I even tolerated being able to only fit 3 cards. But it touted as having Find My integrated into it and when I actually lost the wallet it couldn't tell me where it was. A neighbor at the place I was at very kindly found it and returned it to me without accepting a reward, so I put that momey towards a wallet I could throw an Airtag on.
I guess I had to spell it out to realize it, but yeah, I think I'm largely done with Apple first party accessories.
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I was an early adopter of wireless charging with multiple qi charging pads and wireless power banks. They were ok but IMO the MagSafe charger was a game changer. It’s just so much easier with the magnet that automatically positions the charger. Especially for power banks, no more fiddling with cables on the go. MagSafe folding stands and pop socket like accessories are also awesome. I always snap one on my phone ahead of a flight. It’s trivial but still a great QoL improvement.
That said I also had the MagSafe wallet which I found useless. Comes loose too easily.
That said I also had the MagSafe wallet which I found useless. Comes loose too easily.
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Re-read the article. It's not about Mag Safe as a concept, it's Apple's official accessories that use Mag Safe.
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Apple’s angle was animal rights and the carbon impact of farming - not agreeing, but I guess it made some people happy under their own morals.
A Daring Fireball blog post from the event where they announced the switch
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Pretty much this. It's for batteries that stick themselves to your phone and for you to stick your phone on things to charge.
As a Palm Pre user back in 2009 I'm like, "fucking FINALLY"
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I've always carried my phone in my front pocket. The problem has always been that the USB-C and lightning connectors are lint traps and inserting the charger connector just jams all that dirt and lint into the bottom until the connector stopped making contact. Then I'd have to clean it with a toothpick which carries it's own risks.
Now I keep a cover over the connector and use MagSafe nearly always. I know it's less energy efficient and green as plugging in a cable but I find it much nicer to use than I expected.
Now I keep a cover over the connector and use MagSafe nearly always. I know it's less energy efficient and green as plugging in a cable but I find it much nicer to use than I expected.
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I use Ankers MagGo Charging station on my desk so can use the phone with headphones at night but also mount the phone horizontally as i fall asleep to youtube.
Prior to switching to magsafe, iphones still used lightning cables and the contacts on those would inevitably wear out. I went through several lighning cables but still have my original magsafe in perfect condition.
Prior to switching to magsafe, iphones still used lightning cables and the contacts on those would inevitably wear out. I went through several lighning cables but still have my original magsafe in perfect condition.
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The card holder is more useful than Samuel makes it out to be. Although I've never used one, I've seen many iPhones with a card holder pasted behind the case, mainly to be used with a contactless mass transit card. Yes, you can configure iPhone's own NFC to work with the card scanner in many jurisdictions, but considering how messy it is to recover the credentials if you lose or break your phone, I can sympathize with people who want to stick to physical cards. For this use case, "only a few cards" is not a disadvantage--you probably want to have just one inside--and a magnetic attachment is less messy than the pre-MagSafe alternative of a semi-permanent adhesive.
The price and material of the card holder are not as easy to defend, though. If my wife makes noises about wanting one, I'd direct her to a less costly third-party alternative.
The price and material of the card holder are not as easy to defend, though. If my wife makes noises about wanting one, I'd direct her to a less costly third-party alternative.
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Magsafe chargers are really handy for bypassing the problem where your phone’s USB port gets full of pocket fluff and no longer charges reliably.
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Having a powerbank connect with magnets and QI is really clever and useful.
The now discontinued Apple magsafe battery was a real killer app.
The now discontinued Apple magsafe battery was a real killer app.
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Plug for the Moment MagSafe accessories which have much stronger magnets than the official ones. I use one in my Jeep and it is rock solid even when off-roading.
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It certainly meshes the two at times, but the title is the thesis statement: "Are any of Apple’s official MagSafe accessories worth buying?"
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I liked the MagSafe power cord for my older Macbook. It definitely proved it's worth countless times as I tripped over the cord from time to time. I've already had to replace one or two USB-C cords that got damaged the same way on my M1 Macbook...
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How much battery life did that old fryer have and were there any hands-free accessories? Were the subscriptions expensive?
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Hell, yeah! I've been thinking the same thing. "My Palm Pre had magnetically aligned wireless charging way back when, and even had an angled charging stand so I could easily view it on my desktop at work!".
I'll agree that Apple's own offerings are incredibly basic. Not the sort of elegant, design-y stuff I expect from them. (And being Apple, even their basic stuff is expensive).
I agree with the several posters that wireless car charging is incredibly convenient.
I use an Anker charging station beside my bed, and it allows the iPhone to act as a clock when oriented horizontally. I like the iPhone's nice dim, red display. Why is it so hard to find a bedside clock-radio that doesn't light up the room with it's 1000 lumen blue LEDs, these days?
Finally: where can I find a stylish, angled charging stand for my desk at work? Everything I see is cheap-looking metal & plastic. My iPhone X sat in a tidy, dark-metal, wood & felt stand with the cable routed neatly through the base.
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I use the MagSafe charger with my ProClip iPhone holder to great effect. I've had to replace the charging puck a couple times because the Texas heat causes the grippy round sticker to slide off eventually, but it's a great solution otherwise.
I'll probably replace it with one of the other fully-integrated ProClip options next time, though.
I'll probably replace it with one of the other fully-integrated ProClip options next time, though.
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Not to be harsh but this article is a prime example of Betteridge's law of headlines. I usually hold Ars to a higher standard.
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I wish Apple had kept iterating on the MagSafe battery pack. Reverse charging made it a great travel accessory.
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There are a few options, but you'll have to pay a pretty penny for them. A few:
Modhaus Upright One ($70), Oakywood's shelf mount ($90), or the YouTuber's favorite Grovemade Wood MagSafe Charging Stand ($190!). There's also these random generic ones on Amazon for a lot less, but I don't know if I'd trust any of them.
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No experience with the brand — and I’d craft this myself — but it was the first thing that came up when I searched for wood iPhone stand with magsafe: https://oakywood.shop/products/magsafe-iphone-stand
(Ninja’d by seconds.)
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