Apple’s continuing to build out its MagSafe accessory market by releasing a $99 battery pack that uses the company’s magnetic charging feature. Just slap it on the back of your iPhone 12/12 mini/12 Pro/12 Pro Max and it’ll automatically charge it to the tune of 5W (basically the equivalent of the standard iPhone USB-A charger). The battery pack’s power level is shown in the iOS battery widget.
How do you charge the Battery Pack? Unsurprisingly, it’s got a Lightning port on it, so you just charge it a Lightning-to-USB cable connected to a USB adapter to charge at 15W, or up to 20W with a USB-C adapter. And, very handy, you can charge both devices by attaching the Lightning cable to either the phone or the battery pack. That way, you can still connect your phone to another device like a Mac or a CarPlay unit and charge the battery pack.
The battery pack is compatible with cases that support MagSafe, like Apple’s own, but the company says that if you use a wallet case, remove your credit cards before attaching the battery pack.
The good news is that, theoretically, any future iPhone that supports MagSafe will work with the battery pack, which is a leg up on battery cases, which you generally have to change whenever the form factor of the phone changes. The downside is, if you’re looking to pick one up, you’d better like white—it’s the only color it’s available in.