What you need to know
- You can charge the MagSafe Battery Pack wirelessly through your iPhone 12.
- This proves that the iPhone 12 supports some version of reverse wireless charging.
Without admitting it directly, Apple has shown that the iPhone 12 lineup definitely supports reverse wireless charging.
Earlier today, Apple quietly released the MagSafe Battery Pack for the entire iPhone 12 lineup. The new battery pack connects to your iPhone 12 magnetically using the new MagSafe connection on the back of the phone.
Attaching the MagSafe Battery Pack is a snap. Its compact, intuitive design makes on-the-go charging easy. The perfectly aligned magnets keep it attached to your iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro — providing safe and reliable wireless charging. And it automatically charges, so there's no need to turn it on or off. There's no interference with your credit cards or key fobs either.
In a support document also released today, Apple has revealed that you can not only charge your MagSafe Battery Pack by plugging a lightning cable into it but that you can also charge it through your iPhone if you are charging it as well.
If both your iPhone and MagSafe Battery Pack need to be charged, you can charge them at the same time. Attach your MagSafe Battery Pack to your iPhone and then plug the MagSafe Battery Pack into a power adapter. Using a 20W or higher power adapter, the MagSafe Battery Pack can charge your iPhone with up to 15W of charging power.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.
The fact that this is possible proves that the iPhone 12 is in fact capable of reverse wireless charging - at least when using MagSafe. That doesn't necessarily mean, however, that you can drop an AirPods case on the back of your iPhone and charge them. The feature seems to be limited to Apple's own battery pack right now.
If you want to find other ways to charge your iPhone 12, check out our list of the Best iPhone 12 battery cases 2021.
Bottom line: For most people, there is no reason to invest in the Pro model. With near-matched specs across the board, this is the new standard in iPhone.
