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Apple announced MagSafe for the iPhone back in 2020 with the launch of the iPhone 12 series. It’s a feature that many believed would be a “gimmick,” myself included. However, having now used it almost exclusively since picking up an iPhone 12 Pro in 2020, I can say it’s very much the opposite of a gimmick. These days, I rarely plug my iPhone into anything. I put it on a MagSafe charger or battery pack and let it charge.
However, MagSafe is more than just charging. MagSafe is essentially a magnet ring that sits inside the iPhone. Allowing you to attach other things to the back of your iPhone. The biggest reason for this being created is to keep phones from sliding off of wireless chargers, which was a real problem before MagSafe. Keeping the phone in a specific place on the charger also means that it can charge faster and safer. The Magnets are used to align the charger to the phone to allow for up to 15W charging.
The Wireless Power Consortium was so impressed by this feature from Apple that it has added it to the Qi2 standard, which we should start to see more phones launching in 2024.
Best MagSafe Accessories
This list has something for everyone. From wireless chargers to car docks and even wallets. Among a few other pretty cool accessories. We will constantly update this list as more MagSafe accessories become available.
Here’s a list of the iPhones compatible with MagSafe (some Android phones are compatible, like the Pixel, but not 100%):
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
Best MagSafe Case: Spigen Enzo Aramid
The first thing you’d want to do is get a nice MagSafe case for your new iPhone. Spigen has quite a few, however our favorite is the Enzo Aramid case. This is an aramid fiber case so it is pretty thin, but it does have a magnet inside for MagSafe, unlike some other cases that you might see on the market. This is important because it’s going to allow for a better and more secure it onto any MagSafe charger, or accessory.
Spigen also made this case quite tough. it does have military-grade protection, so you can rest assured that this won’t fall out of your hands. Since the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max both have the Action Button this year, Spigen made sure to add a button there instead of a cutout for the old mute switch. This is something we’ve seen a lot of case makers do, actually, so they can have their cases ready to go on day one. So good on Spigen here.
This is not the typical Spigen cheap case, unfortunately. But with aramid fiber in this case, that’s kind of expected. This is listed at $39.99, however there is typically a coupon that you can clip on the page to get it for even less. Even at this price, it’s still one of the cheaper aramid fiber cases on the market, actually.
Honorable Mention: Andar, The Aspen Case
I’m a sucker for a good leather case, like The Aspen from Andar. However, leather cases don’t have the best MagSafe connection because of how thick they can be. Andar and a few other companies do include magnets in their cases, so it does connect pretty easily, but the connection isn’t as strong. So, if you’re not worried about that, then The Aspen is a really great case.
Andar offers its Aspen case in a ton of different colors. I actually initially ordered the navy blue color because I felt like it would match my Blue Titanium iPhone 15 Pro quite nicely. But it’s been backordered, and Andar did a good job of letting me know and even giving me a $50 code for the inconvenience. So, I picked up the new limited edition Turquoise color for the iPhone 15 Pro, and it looks incredible.
Some other leather cases will only give you leather on the back, but Andar does the entire case with black metal buttons that really stand out, especially in the Turquoise color. It looks stunning, and I really can’t wait to see how good this is going to look in a couple of months when the patina really starts to set in. As you can see in the image above, some patina has already started, you can sort of see the MagSafe ring on the back of the case.
Best MagSafe Gaming Accessory: Razer Phone Cooler Chroma
These days, the most popular gaming platform is smartphones (both Android and iOS). Razer knows this, so they’ve started to release some smartphone-oriented products, like the Razer Phone Cooler Chroma. It’s exactly what it sounds like, too. It attaches to the back of your phone using MagSafe and is a fan. So, it’ll help to cool down your iPhone or any other MagSafe device. Of course, this is Razer, so there’s Chroma on the back, too.
I haven’t used this particular accessory myself, but many who have it have said that it works really well. And worked incredibly well on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max when they were overheating at launch. So if you do a lot of gaming on your phone then it might be worth the price. Speaking of price, this one isn’t cheap, it’s coming in at $59.99, and actually sells out quite often.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take power from the phone. A good reason for this is that the iPhone doesn’t do reverse wireless charging (yet). So, instead, there is a USB-C port available for charging your fan and keeping it running during your gaming session.
Best MagSafe Stand: MOFT Phone Tripod Stand
As I said, MagSafe is about more than just charging, and the MOFT Phone Tripod Stand proves that. This is not your typical kickstand that you can attach to the back of your iPhone. It actually transforms into a Tripod. Basically, the back unfolds and turns into a stand, so you can use this for a higher kickstand or as a stand for FaceTime and Zoom. It’s super versatile because of this. I’m planning to use this at CES to get content on my iPhone without needing to carry a tripod all day long.
MOFT does sell this in a few different colors: seafoam, jet black, misty cove, and sapphire. It costs $39.99, which is a pretty decent price for what this is right here. Amazon also often has coupons that you can clip to get even cheaper.
This is probably the most versatile MagSafe accessory that you’ll find on the market right now. And because it’s using MagSafe, you can easily turn it into portrait or landscape mode.
Best Slim MagSafe Battery Pack: Anker 5000mAh Foldable Magnetic Portable Charger
I have no doubt that you have seen this on TikTok. I’ve probably seen it on TikTok 10 times in the past couple of days. And there’s good reason for that. This Anker MagSafe battery pack is really useful and not all that expensive either. It does have an MSRP of $69.99, however it is usually available for under $50. Anker does sell this one in a bunch of fun colors, including Lilac Purple, Buds Green, Dolomite White, Interstellar Gray and Misty Blue.
This battery pack attaches to the back of the iPhone quite easily and automatically starts charging. Now, Anker can’t call this a MagSafe battery pack because it did not get the licensing for MagSafe. That doesn’t keep it from being able to use the magnets, but it does keep it from using the full 15W charging speed. Instead, it’s limited to around 7.5W. Now, there is a silver lining there: because of the slower charging speed, you can get more juice from this battery into your iPhone. At faster charging speeds, both will heat up, and some batteries will be lost because of that.
You won’t be able to get a full charge out of the Anker 5000mAh Foldable Magnetic Portable Charger, and that again comes to the losses from charging, primarily via wireless. But for most iPhones, you should see about a 75% recharge. However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max (also the iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro Max, etc) will see about a 50% charge.
Now for the best part of this battery pack. That’s the kickstand. Continuing the use of magnets, you can prop up your phone using this battery pack in a few different angles. This makes it really useful for traveling as well as watching some TikTok while you’re on the go at work.
Best Travel Charger: Mophie 3-in-1 Travel Charger with MagSafe
For the past few years, I’ve always traveled with Apple’s MagSafe Duo charger. It was a really great charger because it folded flat, so it took up very little space in my backpack. But the downside is that it uses Lightning, and Apple hasn’t replaced it just yet. That’s where Mophie comes into play with their new 3-in-1 Travel Charger with MagSafe. I actually just picked this up as a Christmas gift to myself, so I haven’t used it a whole lot yet, but I plan to with all the trips I have planned for 2024.
This charger is just about everything you could want from a travel charger. It folds up quite nicely and even comes with its own travel pouch, which has room for the USB-C cable and the charging brick. So you can toss it into your bag quite nicely.
It will unfold to reveal a MagSafe charger for the iPhone, an Apple Watch charger, and a regular wireless charger. So you can charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at the same time. Or, in my case, a secondary phone like the Google Pixel 8 Pro.
Mophie claims that you’ll get 15W to charge your iPhone, that’s the same speed as MagSafe, which means this has been certified by Apple. For the Apple Watch charger, you’ll get up to 5W, which is the fastest that the Apple Watch can handle. And the third charging spot is going to give you up to 3W. It’s mainly here for charging headphones like the AirPods Pro, but you can use it for other things too. Obviously, it’ll charge a phone like the Pixel 8 Pro super slow. But it does work.
It’s wrapped in fabric, as well as the carrying pouch, so it definitely screams quality here. And with a $149 price tag, you’d expect that. Mophie is typically pretty pricey, and so are 3-in-1 MagSafe chargers, so this is really not that much of a surprise. However, I’d say it’s definitely worth this price.
Best MagSafe Battery Pack: ESR 10,000mAh Wireless Power Bank
This is another accessory that I never leave the house without. At least not on a trip or when I’m going to be gone for a long time. The ESR 10,000mAh wireless power bank is incredible. As you might be able to tell from the name, it is a 10,000mAh capacity battery pack that uses magnets to charge wirelessly on your iPhone. Unfortunately, it did not get the certification from Apple, so technically, this is not a MagSafe battery but a Magnetic Battery, and it charges only 7.5W. But as I mentioned before, that is probably a good thing, as it allows more juice to get into your iPhone’s battery at lower temperatures.
One of my favorite aspects of this battery pack is the fact that it does have a kickstand on the back. I’ve used this on countless flights to watch YouTube or other videos I have downloaded to watch. And be able to have a full battery when I land. Because this is a 10,000mAh capacity battery, it’s going to be able to charge your iPhone at least once fully.
The only downside to this battery pack is how thick it is. It’s obviously thicker than the Anker option we listed above; a big reason for that is because it’s twice the capacity. So it can be quite heavy and a bit cumbersome to use when the battery is attached. ESR also has four LED lights on the bottom to indicate the charging level. There is also a button on the side to turn off charging if you want to use it just for the kickstand.
Now, because of how large the camera bumps have gotten, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 Pro don’t allow this battery to sit flat on the back. The other models do, however. It still charges as expected, but it won’t be completely flat.
Best Charging Stand: Mophie 3-in-1 Extendable MagSafe Stand
For some reason, every MagSafe 3-in-1 charging stand is $149, but I feel that this is the only one truly worth that price tag. Why? Because the MagSafe charger is extendable, and you can also change the angle. This is great for use with the new StandBy feature Apple added in iOS 17, as well as FaceTime calls. That’s because you can put it up to the right height and not worry about having to hold onto it.
This is a fully MagSafe-compatible and certified stand, so you are going to get the full 15W charging on the iPhone here. That’s great to see, as it’s definitely much faster than 7.5W or even 10W. Now, this is a 3-in-1, so there’s an Apple Watch charger that can charge at up to 7.5W, as well as a place to charge your AirPods at up to 5W. I’ve actually used that third charger quite a bit to charge my Pixel 8 Pro. Sure, it’s slow, but it’s already slow on the wireless charging front anyway.
It might be just me, but when I first saw this charger from Mophie in a pre-briefing ahead of the iPhone 15 launch, I thought that it was made of plastic. It somehow looked pretty cheap to me over Zoom. But when I received my review unit and actually unboxed it, I was quite impressed with how well-built it is. It’s fully aluminum, with a plastic base for your AirPods charger. It is also very easy to adjust the height and angle of the MagSafe Charger here. To be honest, I don’t move it all that often, but when I need to, it’s easy to do.
What I really like about this is the space-saving design. I’ve used, and still use, some of Belkin’s 3-in-1 chargers. They look great, but honestly, they do use up a lot of space. That’s not an issue here with Mophie because it’s pretty small, not quite small enough to travel with, but small enough to take up very little space on your desk. This is where I keep mine to charge my AirPods before a Zoom meeting, as well as my Apple Watch and iPhone 15 Pro.
It’s $150, and yes, that is a hard pill to swallow. But I think the functionality that you get with this charger is definitely worth the price.