Apple – MagSafe Battery Pack – White

I have an iPhone 12 Pro. Because it features MagSafe, I’ve purchased a few MagSafe charging pads because it’s great to place it down and pick it up without having to search for wires or hope for the perfect alignment on non-MagSafe Qi chargers.
My iPhone 12 Pro started off with maybe 18 hours of battery life with my normal use. However, with the newer iOS updates (and because I’m too stubborn to re-install iOS), the phone seems to last about 8 hours before it hits the dreaded red zone for the battery. Because of the pandemic, it didn’t matter much as I was usually working from home and always had access to power, but it started to become bothersome as the world opened and power wouldn’t be as accessible.
I saw Apple released this MagSafe Battery Pack and got really excited. I prefer the deep iOS integration, I loved the fact that it had MagSafe, and was excited to be able to charge my phone while on the go. Of course, as usually happens with new accessories, I read all the reviews, most of which were negative, before even ordering it. I figured, worst case scenario, I’d return it if indeed the additional battery life was not useful or if it was too big or if I felt the value wasn’t there.
The device is stylish, looking like an integrated part of my blue iPhone 12 Pro. The magnets are strong and, except for putting it into and taking it out of my pocket, the pack will not fall off the phone. Yes, it adds some weight and thickness, but, because it’s MagSafe and not a case, I can easily put it on or take it off as needed. There are no buttons, all you do is attach it to your phone and look at the battery widget to see how full it is.
When it arrived (around 3 in the afternoon), my phone was down to about 15%. The device’s instructions recommend plugging it in to fully charge it before using. I used my 20W brick and lightning cable, and about 45 minutes later it was full. The phone was now about 10%. I put the pack on the phone, I got the MagSafe animation and saw the phone was charging and the pack was at 100%.
On first use with a very unscientific observation, I was a little disappointed: it took about 3 hours to get the phone to about 70% before running out of juice, and both the phone and the pack felt warm. I was hoping for a higher and faster charge. However, understanding it’s now 7pm and I have 60% left, I realized how useful this can be; after all, do I really need more than 60% at 7pm?
That night, I left the pack on the phone and plugged the pack in. With a 10W or higher brick, the brick and phone will both immediately start charging. With a 20W or higher brick, the pack will charge the phone with the full 15W promised by MagSafe. I have a 10W brick next to my bed, so the phone and pack had no issue reaching 100% between 10pm and 6am. I woke up to 100% on the phone and 100% on the pack.
I noticed something quite different the next day with the phone starting the day with the pack on. First, the phone used its battery to go down to around 90%. After that, depending on what I was doing with the phone, the charge would hover between about 85% to 92% – this is expected, as the phone will limit its own charge to about 90% with the pack on (you can override this if you want). Today, however, with the pack on the phone the entire day, the phone went until almost 4:30 getting power from the pack, at which point I had about 85%. I had about 70% at 7pm. It seems as though the way to get the most use of the pack is to marry the phone and the pack to start the day, rather than use the pack for a recharge. For me, it seems to squeeze about 10% more use out of the combined batteries rather than using the pack for a recharge. Either way, getting to 7pm with 60-70% is a huge change from needing a charge around 2pm.
My biggest complaint about the battery pack is its own lack of wireless charging. As I mentioned, I bought a few MagSafe charging pads for the iPhone because I like the convenience of MagSafe; with the MagSafe duo, I can travel with that and charge my phone and my watch with a compact pad, 1 brick, and 1 cord. To charge the battery pack, you have to plug it into lightning. Now, with one cord, you can charge the pack and iPhone, but you still need at least one more charging pad for the watch and a brick if you want to charge simultaneously. If I could still use MagSafe to charge the pack and the phone, then my other accessories wouldn’t seem so useless now.
A note about the above: I have read some reviews that say this is a great replacement to the MagSafe Duo or other MagSafe charging pads because you can leave it plugged in as your regular charging pad, but if you ever need to be mobile or recharge, you unplug it and take it with you. And because you use it as your regular charger, it’s always plugged in meaning it’s always charged. I’m sure that’s a good use of this for a lot of people, however in my experience you seem to get more out of the combined batteries by using both from the get go.
The other thing I’d like to address is price. Yes, this is twice the cost of accessories you can find elsewhere on the market. Yes, some of those other accessories come with more power capacity for half the price, along with USB ports for faster charging over cords. However, they are not MagSafe, not integrated into iOS, and not as simple (power buttons, etc.). They also do not have the capability to charge at 15W. If you those things don’t matter to you, then get one of the other devices. But, if you like tight integration with iOS and don’t mind paying a premium for a quality product, this is well worth the cost.
So long review, but hopefully you appreciate the detail. It’s a great battery pack that’s easy to put on and take off, deeply integrates into iOS, is stylish when on your iPhone 12, easy to use, and significantly extended the use I can get out of my iPhone 12 Pro. My biggest complaint is it’s inability to be charged on a MagSafe charging pad, making prior accessory purchases less useful.

Works great I have had so far 10 hours is screen on time

Useful for travelers or those who frequently need to go long durations without ready accessing to regular charging means. Much more convenient than handling a phone with a powerbank tethered to it. Limited usefulness in a regular home or office setting, assuming a magsafe charging pad is available, since you’d have to remove the battery pack to use the regular magsafe charger. Also the pack does bring the phone up to a considerable mass, so only really worth it when on the road or away from regular charging means.

NOT worth $100 but had a $50 off certificate which I think is more reasonable for it but it’s Apple. It’s a little bit thicker than my iPhone 12 Pro Max, magsafe is amazing takes some force to actually remove so won’t come off easily. I find it works best if don’t use your phone while in use ( or just use it for music) you get more charge out of it but isn’t terrible is you use your phone while you charge just doesn’t really make a difference in your battery( stays at the same % more or less) but nonetheless I use it almost everyday especially when I come home from work after 10+ hours and my phone is at 30% and I don’t wanna get my charger in the other room and connect it, plug my phone it i just attache the magsafe battery pack and I’ll wake up with 85% or higher