What is MagSafe? Apple’s snap-on accessories explained — and the best ones to buy

The iPhone version of MagSafe, Apple’s popular, proprietary charging ecosystem that uses simple magnets to snap onto your phone, became available with the launch of 2020’s iPhone 12. Since then, the technology has been built into all later-model iPhones for more precise, high-speed wireless charging.

However, MagSafe isn’t just for simple chargers anymore. You can now find the easy-to-use, speedy technology built in to accessories like car mounts, phone grips, wallets and much more. The problem is, not everyone with an iPhone 12 or 13 series can automatically take advantage of all MagSafe has to offer.

Before you decide to purchase one of these products, you’ll want a better idea of how MagSafe works and what you need to use it. Here’s everything you need to know, including some of our favorite MagSafe accessories.

What is MagSafe?

If you’ve ever used wireless charging, you may have experienced issues when placing your phone down on a Qi wireless charger. If it wasn’t positioned properly, you’d pick it up hours later only to find that your phone didn’t actually charge at all.

To help fix these annoyances, Apple added magnets inside the phone’s internal charging coil as well as in the Apple MagSafe battery pack (separate purchase) to ensure it hits that sweet spot each time it’s connected. It also uses an NFC antenna to let the iPhone identify which device is being used.

With this new technology, you’ll not only know exactly when your phone is charging, but it allows the phone to be charged at a faster wireless charging speed — up to 15W versus 7.5W that you get from many of the earlier Qi chargers. MagSafe is also compatible with Qi charging, so it can be used to wirelessly charge other iPhones as well as the latest AirPods models with a wireless charging case, but you won’t get those faster charging speeds.

And in case you’re worried that those magnets in your phone will stick to any magnetic device you’re carrying or think you can hang it on the fridge door, that’s a hard no. MagSafe will only attach to other compatible MagSafe accessories.

What you need to know before you buy

So, yes, you can charge your Apple iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 faster and easier, but MagSafe technology has also given birth to a deluge of other accessories, including wallets, portable batteries and tripod and car mounts. But before you buy, here are some things to keep in mind when looking at MagSafe accessories.

If you’re looking for the quickest accessories on the market, you’ll want to keep an eye out for brands that work directly with Apple to make “Made for MagSafe” accessories. You’ll see this labeled clearly on the box. This means they’ve been developed and tested to Apple’s MFi guidelines, optimized for iPhone 12 and later, and allow wireless chargers to charge up to 15W using a 20W USB-C wall charger. This charger is not included with the phone.

If you decide to go with third-party products, which are labeled “MagSafe compatible,” you’ll only get 7.5W or 10W of power, depending on the device. These are usually less expensive, but be aware that they will not charge at the fastest possible speed.

If you’re a minimalist who prefers to go case-free, you can just attach MagSafe accessories directly to the back of your phone. The rest of us will need to purchase a MagSafe-enabled phone case, which usually shows a round circle on the inside of the case or says it on the packaging. This is nonnegotiable because a regular case weakens the MagSafe accessory’s ability to attach to your phone.

If you use a wallet attachment or folio-style case, you’ll want to consider removing your credit cards, as the magnets might damage or wipe out the magnetic strip or RFID chip in them.

Now that you know what you need to use MagSafe technology properly, here are some of my favorite MagSafe use cases and accessories for the iPhone 12 and later.