Yesterday Apple launched a new battery pack based on its MagSafe magnetic wireless charging standard. The battery, which will attach itself magnetically to, and charge up, any of the 12-series iPhones, costs £99/ $99.
• Read our Apple MagSafe Battery Pack review
The new battery pack has a capacity of 11.13Wh. If you own a 12 mini (which has a built-in capacity of 8.57Wh), or a 12 or 12 Pro (both 10.78Wh) you should be more than doubling the expected battery life of your device. Even owners of the 14.13Wh iPhone 12 Pro Max can expect a significant boost to its longevity away from mains power.
Stock seems to be holding up. On the US site, at time of writing, we’re seeing a shipping estimate of 5-7 business days; the UK site is estimating 23-27 July, a slightly longer wait. Our Swedish colleagues are being told to expect the battery pack between 22 and 26 July, so estimates are clearly varying by store.
Note that there is a system requirement iOS 14.7 or later (explained in this support article), so you may need to update your iPhone to be able to use the battery pack.
It’s also worth observing that third-party portable batteries may be available at a lower price than Apple’s own offerings. Browse our guides to the best iPhone battery cases and the best iPhone battery packs for some more options.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation and additional reporting by David Price.
Author: Simon Jary, Contributing writer
Simon was Editor of Macworld from the dark days of 1995 to the triumphant return of Steve Jobs and the launch of the iPhone. His desk is a test bench for tech accessories, from USB-C and Thunderbolt docks to chargers, batteries, Powerline adaptors and Fitbits.