Full disclosure: I’m an absolute sucker for products with robust accessory ecosystems baked into their design (have you seen my Apple Watch band collection?), and so of course I’m going to like this.
Fun fact: if you’ve got an iPhone 12 or later, it’s got MagSafe.
Maybe you didn’t even know your iPhone had it. But it’s there, and it’s delightful.
Simply put, it’s a circle of magnets on the back of your iPhone that lets you attach accessories to it, including accessories that can charge your phone.
And like a lot of things Apple does, that sounds really mundane, but through really good execution it’s an enjoyable and (dare I say) whimsical feature.
It’s a great way to wirelessly charge your phone. Qi charging has been a thing since the iPhone 8 (and it still is a thing) but with MagSafe, it holds the phone in place so you don’t wake up to find your battery’s at 8% because you set it a half inch too far to the right on the charging pad the night before. There are even MagSafe battery packs you can use on the go to give your battery a boost without an unsightly cable connecting your phone to a portable battery pack.
But charging is only half the fun of MagSafe. When I’m cooking and I want my recipes at eye level, I have a MagSafe wall mount on the cupboard (this is also perfect for FaceTiming when cooking). There’s also a wall mount on my bathroom mirror. I’ve got a little MagSafe stand on my desk that I can stick my phone on too (perfect for the new iPhone 14 Pro with its always-on screen).
And the latest addition to my MagSafe accessory collection? PopSockets. The original ones stuck to your phone with adhesive, but MagSafe is a perfect way to be able to use PopSockets without the commitment of actually sticking one to your phone.
And therein lies the beauty of MagSafe. It lets you have accessories for your phone, but you’re never super committed; you’re just a satisfying magnetic click away from swapping one thing out for another, so you can pick what’s important to you in the moment. Need a little battery boost? You got it. Planning to do a little drinking tonight? Stick a MagSafe case on your phone for peace of mind (and then put another MagSafe accessory on the case!). Want to save pocket space? Ditch your wallet tonight and stick a MagSafe one on your phone†.
And what I really love is that MagSafe accessories will work from phone to phone (except maybe with your phone case). That means you can amass a collection of goodies for your phone with confidence that you can keep using them several iPhones from now, even if you want to jump from the iPhone 13 mini all the way to a Max sized phone.
†Also: PopSockets themselves have hot swappable PopTops so you can change up the way your PopSocket looks at a moment’s notice. Accessories for the accessories? Yes, please!
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