What you need to know
- Apple is rumored to be working on a MagSafe battery pack for iPhone 12.
- A new report says Apple could scrap the project because of development issues.
A new report says that Apple could scrap a rumored MagSafe wireless battery pack for iPhone 12 because of development issues.
Earlier reports this week of a reference to a mobile battery pack in iOS 14 have been backed up by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman:
Apple Inc. is working on a magnetically attached battery pack for the newest iPhones, an accessory that would wirelessly charge the handset and provide the company with another potentially lucrative add-on product. Apple has been developing the attachment for at least a year and it has been scheduled to launch in the months following the release of the iPhone 12 line, according to people with knowledge of the product. The iPhone 12 models were introduced in October.
The pack would reportedly be a rubber battery pack capable of charging your iPhone wireless using the MagSafe array on the back of the iPhone 12. However, whilst the magnets are proving strong enough to hold the pack in place, there are other problems:
In internal testing, the magnetic attachment system has proved strong enough for the charging unit to stay in place, but the accessory's development has been slowed by software issues such as the iPhone erroneously indicating that the pack is overheating. Apple also has been working to mend issues related to a customer switching between using the device on an iPhone sometimes with and without a case.
The report says that given the "development challenges" the new accessory "could ultimately be delayed or scrapped", echoing the plight of Apple's AirPower charging mat from a few years ago.
Accessory maker Anker has already unveiled its own MagSafe battery pack for iPhone 12.
