Here’s why Anker’s MagSafe-style charger has a gigantic USB-C plug
source link: https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/5/22215639/anker-magsafe-qi-charger-apple-alternative-giant-usb-c-plug-explained
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Here’s why Anker’s MagSafe-style charger has a gigantic USB-C plugSkip to main content
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Apple’s MagSafe charging system offers a whole new way to charge iPhones, and third-party companies like Anker are jumping at the chance to make their own magnetic chargers — both official ones that work with Apple’s system and unofficial ones that just take advantage of the magnetic setup.
Anker’s $22 charger falls into the second category: it’s not an official MagSafe charger, meaning it doesn’t offer the faster 15W charging speed or the fancy NFC tricks as “official” MagSafe products. But even with that 7.5W charging limit, Anker’s charger does look a lot like Apple’s, at least at first glance. Look closer at the other end of the plug, though, and there’s an obvious difference: the Anker model has a weirdly oversized USB-C plug.
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That’s because the Anker charger is effectively just a regular Qi charger in a different shape, one that moves the wiring and chips to the plug in order to slim down on the actual charging pad. The design also helps reduce heat, according to the company. It may look strange, but if you think of it less as a charging cable and more as a miniaturized Qi charger, it’s actually quite impressive to see what Anker has pulled off here.
The new charger is also just the first effort from Anker. The company says that stock will be limited, but it’s already working on upgraded magnetic charger models that should be out in about a month.
On the one hand, the Anker charger is a clear indication of the limits of Apple’s MagSafe program. Third-party companies that aren’t able to create official products have to find creative workarounds, like Anker’s gigantic plug. On the other hand, Anker’s charger is a first-generation product, so these alternatives will likely get better over time. And at $22 — roughly half of what Apple charges for an official MagSafe charger, the slower charging speed might be a worthwhile trade-off for the lower price, especially as the designs continue to get more and more refined.
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There are 72 comments.
I have a different knockoff MagSafe from Amazon that doesn’t have a big connector, so not sure why they had to do that
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 5:48 PM
They said exactly why they decided to do it how they did. Nothing said they had to do it that way, just that’s what they decided.
It’s more annoying that Apple is doing something special for 15w wireless charging. Just means apple gets another cut of the accessory market.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 6:02 PM
Apple does what everybody else does…
Crowd: Apple can’t innovate!
Apple does something different…
Crowd: Evil Apple is getting its cut!
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 7:16 PM
It was panned as obnoxious and consumer-hostile when Google did something similar with a proprietary fast charge for the Pixel 3, and it’s panned as obnoxious and consumer-hostile when Apple does it here.
The reason is … because it’s obnoxious and consumer-hostile, and you don’t need to be a superfan or in a particular camp to see it.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 3:05 AM
The Qi wireless charging standard has allowed 15W charging since 2015. It works on many Android phones. The standard now supports 30W, but I don’t know if any phones that support that.
Apple didn’t comply with the standard to enable that. Now Apple has finally decided to enable 15W wireless chargers for it’s phones, but it still isn’t complying with the standard so it’s phones still can’t charge at 15W from a standards-compliant Qi charger. The phones will refuse to charge at that rate from a Qi charger capable of providing 15W unless the charger is licensed by Apple.
The innovation is disabling faster wireless charging unless the maker of the charger pays a cut to Apple so the charger communicates to the phone that the Apple tax has been paid. If you’re too obsessed with Apple to understand that charging a tax to enable a feature that exists on other phones and would exist on Apple’s phones if it just enabled the standard is only innovating at screwing its customers, I can’t help you.
Magnetically attaching a phone to a charger is also nothing new, but it has generally been done as a way of attaching a phone to an essentially stationary charging g pad. A small wireless charger that sticks to the phone and can be used while the phone is in your hand is pretty convenient, but it doesn’t have that many advantages over just plugging a cord into your phone.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 5:35 AM
Google already did exactly the same thing with the Pixel line
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:31 AM
I agree. MagSafe is great but I don’t see a legitimate reason why 15W charging should be tied to it.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 9:03 PM
because the Anker charger is effectively just a regular Qi charger in a different shape, one that moves the wiring and chips to the plug in order to slim down on the actual charging pad
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 7:13 PM
Is the puck significantly smaller than the Apple MagSafe puck, which can also charge non MagSafe phones via Qi (however slow that is) I believe. It’s hard to see whether the pucks smaller than Apples or not and in turn whether they have saved any significant space.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 8:27 PM
I don’t think it’s significantly smaller than the MagSafe puck.
It looks to be about the same size as the MagSafe, and slightly thicker.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 9:11 PM
Wait lol why is this better than just plugging your phone in
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:31 AM
Exactly. I honestly don’t know why this is even a product category.
Magsafe to mount in cars or with accessories makes sense. Wireless charging makes sense. Magsafe to wirelessly charge at home makes no sense.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 9:32 AM
The place where this shines for me is lying in bed at night and using the phone. I can hold it in any orientation or rest it on my chest without bending a charging cable coming out of the bottom port. I have the advantage of me just being able to set the phone on it and it starts charging, like a wireless charging pad, but it also allows me to use the phone while it is charging with the cable/connection in a more ergonomically convenient place. It isn’t world-changing, but it is the best of both worlds for me compared to a standard plug or QI charging pad/puck.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 10:14 AM
I mean, I’m in bed all the time with my phone. I just use the battery when I’m using it and charge it overnight. I don’t see a need to have it plugged in while using it. The only time I ever do that is in the car when I’m using CarPlay, which doesn’t actually require me to touch the phone while I use it. There are even nights when I don’t bother charging my phone at all as it gets enough charge while in the car alone on some days.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 4:08 PM
I don’t use the MagSafe, but I have a Qi charger on my nightstand. Precisely because in the morning I’m so bleary-eyed I’ve occasionally forgotten to unplug the iPhone from its Lightning cable, and nearly dragged the charger out of the wall. Qi lets me just… pick it up.
Magsafe is kind of a compromise there, it’s easier to align the charger since it snaps into place, but it’ll pull free easily if you try to walk away with the phone.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 9:50 AM
Wait lol why is this better than just plugging your phone in
It’s not, really.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 10:56 AM
Because, in a feat of Apple being Apple, there’s a dongle plugged in the Lightning port to provide a headphone socket, and so I can’t charge using that.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 11:42 AM
Being official MagSafe or not has nothing to do with Anker’s decision to put some of the components in the plug instead of in the body. This article makes no sense.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 6:04 PM
Indeed. It’s kinda like trying to claim that the reason the PS5 has a disc drive bulge is because it’s not an Xbox. Sadly it’s a logical fallacy.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 7:57 PM
No thanks I think I’ll stick to my elegant crafted with care Apple MagSafe.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 6:23 PM
No. When it sets people’s phones on Fire I’ll have a good laugh.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 6:37 PM
Yes, only Apple has ever built a functional office charger and they are all personally assembled by the Holy St. Tim.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 6:40 PM
Samsung prefers their phones Burn and don’t care about laptop sales while Apple sells Laptops and phones that have become iconic and part of history.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 7:09 PM
When Samsung recalled (with full refunds) all their phones that might burn – it’s bad. When Apple says that a bad cellular reception is not their fault, but users who hold their phones the wrong way (no recalls, no refunds) – it’s totally ok.
Also, let’s not forget, that half (maybe not, at least part) of the iPhone is made by Samsung, especially that gorgeous screen.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:38 AM
Why do you keep capitalizing fire and burn, and why would you "have a good laugh" over a scenario where someone’s phone catches on fire and they possibly suffer injuries? Would you laugh if it happened to a kid?
And yes, I’m well aware that you’re trolling, trying to get a reaction out of other Verge readers/posters. But people like you represent the worst of Apple fans. Grow the fuck up.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 1:01 PM
Keep drinking your Apple juice that Tim & Co. shove down your throat.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 7:25 PM
That’s the kind of comment I would expect on AppleInsider or MacRumors. Not here.
I remember on Macrumors, maybe five years ago, there was a guy who posted a comment that went something like this: "I could walk into a bar or Starbucks and spot a hot girl, and all I’d have to do is walk up, sit down at the table across from her, and then gently slide my iPhone and BMW keys towards her. And she’d come home with me."
There are people out there who think this way. They exist.
Hate to break it to all of them, but: owning an iPhone — or really, any Apple product — in a first world country is not impressive. Thirteen year olds have them. Poor people have them. Middle class people have them. And yes, wealthy people have them, but they always seem to have an iPhone that’s 2-3 generations behind, because they don’t give a shit about phones. They’re nothing special.
Little side tangent: man, I remember back in 2009-ish, I’d go on AppleInsider and every article would have at least a hundred comments on it. Now, they’re lucky if they get more than ten. That site became the worst version of an "Apple can do no wrong" echo chamber imaginable.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 1:22 PM
You know you’ve lost it when your evaluation of Apple’s products is more cloying than their own ad copy.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 6:58 PM
So… $22 for the slower-charging knockoff with a giant plug… or $40 for the real thing.
If you plan on keeping your iPhone 12 for a couple years… that extra $18 for the real MagSafe doesn’t seem so bad.
How long is the cable on the Anker? I know people complain about the short cable on the official MagSafe charger. That seems like one area where Anker could have differentiated themselves.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 6:49 PM
The $18 might add up over time for some of more than one is needed. I have one MagSafe puck for now but also will likely end ok with one at my work and another in my car too.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 8:30 PM
Magsafe only charges at 15W for about 10 minutes then drops to 7.5W. I have run many tests and it’s consistent. I wouldn’t get the MagSafe for charging speed alone.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 3:30 AM
Consider i’ve had numerous Apple cables of the year fall apart with use (and im not the only one on in the world), but the Anker ones i’ve got alongside it keep chugging along without fraying or splitting.
I’d argue why spend the extra money for an inferior product?
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 5:18 AM
Apple is hell-bent on delivering environmentally friendly products, and this is one such example. As Apple cables use "green" materials, they usually fall apart much quicker than Chinese knock-offs, which usually stand the test of time.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 10:11 AM
The short cable is the biggest problem I have with the Apple MagSafe charger. For something that’s designed to be used while the phone is in use, the cable is way too short.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 5:26 AM
Just how people paid for the bigger 18w charger just to find out the need to buy the new 20w charger
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 9:11 AM
Or just wait for better 3rd party ones.
The writings on the wall: iPhones will be port-less either next year or the one after. In a few years, you’ll be able to buy cheap, shitty MagSafe pucks at gas stations the same way you can with cheap, shitty lightning cables.
Begun, the MagSafe Wars have.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 1:28 PM
Stock is limited and they’re already working an improved model to be released in a month or so? Then why even release this one? Seems like the profit margin wouldn’t be too high.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 7:23 PM
If you have a $700+ phone, you should choose a well trusted charger.
I bought a small 20W Anker power brick to use with my MagSafe charger because it is a tested charger from a trusted brand and the power brick is smaller than Apple’s. But when it comes to the actual charging puck, I would still pay more for the Apple Mag Safe, because the $18 difference doesn’t justify the compromises of Anker’s charger. Trying too hard to make it work, but still having an inferior product is not a good sign.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 7:32 PM
Anker has been making Qi chargers a lot longer than Apple has.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 10:18 PM
Seriously, though. Are these haters coming out of the woodwork in this comment section even aware of who Anker is? The OP even describes them as a "trusted brand" in his comment! <insert Jackie Chan "What?" meme>
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 1:31 AM
The rationales offered by the author of this article and Anker for it having the silly bulge at the end make no sense. As others have noted, countless knock-off MagSafe chargers out there, haven’t seen any with this "solution".
What limitation is Anker "working around" exactly? Plenty of wireless phone chargers out there had a ring of magnets and a metal ring that was embedded in the case long before Apple.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 10:28 PM
I agree that the explanation is weak. It comes down to cost savings (laziness) by retrofitting an existing product.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 1:09 PM
My big MagSafe fear is it takes quite a lot of pressire to separate the puck from the phone and the easiest way to do it os by pulling on the cable where it meets the puck.
Apple’s track record with cables splitting is absolutely terrible and this one requires a lot of pressure bending.
Posted on Jan 5, 2021 | 11:09 PM
I personally detach it by putting my fingers on one edge of the puck and then dragging it across the face of the phone until it’s displaced from the magnet and just falls away. The force is much less resistive if you slide the puck across the face rather than fight the magnets and try and lift the puck perpendicular to the phone. Means I don’t touch the cable at all.
It’s the same sliding motion which triggered some concerns about how well the magnets were suited to holding a wallet to the phone actually as parallel displacement is more easily achieved than direct lifting. It means sliding into pockets could cause the wallet to fall off if it got caught. To that end I find the wallet works fine for me, but again to detach it from the phone I usually twist the wallet across the face until the bottom magnet loses its grip on the case, and then it falls away quite easy. Again I find this much easier than pulling the attachment directly away from the phone.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 12:51 AM
I personally detach it by putting my fingers on one edge of the puck and then dragging it across the face of the phone until it’s displaced from the magnet and just falls away.
It’s ok if you have a case on your iPhone. If you don’t – you’ll regret this method after some hard dust particle gets between a charger and a phone.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:43 AM
For sure, but if that happens I think you’re at risk of scratching the phone whatever method you use. A slides more likely of course, but even lifting it may see some small amount of sliding and in turn scratching.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 2:56 PM
This probably does make more sense but the issue I run into is to reach my phone on nightstand from bed, the cable is stretched to capacity. I can’t really pick the phone and puck up to get my hand under the phone to slide it and doing it one handed is somewhat awkward and I either drop the puck or the phone.
All of this is to say, the magnet is surprisingly strong. That’s ultimately the right compromise because it opens up some potential use cases a weaker magnet precludes and also ensures proper alignment.
I just wish the cable were longer or Apple’s track record with durability were higher.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 10:55 AM
I bought the MagSafe case and wallet because I like the solution for the wallet, and for car mounts (once proper, charging ones are released).
However, I do not like it for charging at all – does that solve a real problem? The great thing about wireless charging is that it is wireless (d‘uh!) and you can put the phone down and pick it up easily and quickly. If the charger sticks to the phone, why not use a cable?
I would love if Apple allowed faster charging without the magnet, but have been their customer for long enough to not keep my hopes up… Agree with the posters here who think it id a d*ck move towards consumers, because it is.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 7:32 AM
does that solve a real problem?
Says the person who’s never had a cat on their nightstand 
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 7:57 AM
I bought a MagSafe "stand" that slots the puck inside of it and adheres to whatever surface you put it on. Now I get the magnetic alignment and I can pick up the phone without picking up the charger. And if I want, I can grab both, but that is useless for me on my nightstand as MagSafe only comes in a 1m variant.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:17 AM
I bought a MagSafe "stand" that slots the puck inside of it and adheres to whatever surface you put it on.
Great, now it’s ok to buy additional accessories for additional accessories.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:46 AM
That’s always been the case. People have been buying accessories for accessories forever.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 9:52 AM
As others have said, there’s no correlation between
It’s because it’s not actually MagSafe
That’s because the Anker charger is effectively just a regular Qi charger in a different shape, one that moves the wiring and chips to the plug in order to slim down on the actual charging pad.
I’ve had plenty of stupid, cheap, wafer-thin wireless chargers in the past that have a detachable Micro-USB cable without the thick neck. They all suck, yea, but they were typically free swag from mid-tier companies.
I don’t get it.
Like, sure, they made it that way, but not because they had to- they just did.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:02 AM
This. I don’t understand what the MagSafe certification has to do with the amount of wiring and chips there is in the charger. And basically, I don’t understand why Apple can make a MagSafe charger with a normal plug, while Anker has to use this bulky form factor for the same result – MagSafe certified or not. It’s not a big deal, but I don’t get it and I’m curious.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 12:24 PM
Why not just buy the RavPower version that includes a 20w block, same speed as MagSafe, and is currently $26 on Amazon?
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 8:43 AM
I’d much rather have the 15W charge of the official MagSafe charger.
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 10:51 AM
Does anyone else find it annoying the way that Apple has rebranded "MagSafe" to mean something that has literally nothing to do with their previous implementation of MagSafe?
Posted on Jan 6, 2021 | 1:52 PM
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