Apple Reportedly Debating MagSafe in iPhone

According to a well-known leaker on Weibo, Instant Digital, internal discussions at Apple have shifted from expanding MagSafe to questioning whether the magnetic ring should remain a standard feature on the iPhone at all (via MacRumors).

When MagSafe first arrived with the iPhone 12 in 2020, it was hailed as a game-changer. It allowed for a whole new world of snap-on chargers, wallets, and car mounts. Since then, the ecosystem has exploded, with thousands of third-party manufacturers building their businesses around the magnetic standard.

The core of the latest debate seems to be a classic Apple struggle i.e. balancing hardware costs and device thickness against user convenience. While MagSafe is widely used, the internal magnet array takes up physical space and adds to the manufacturing cost of every single device.

We have already seen Apple experiment with removing the feature. The iPhone 16e launched without MagSafe, marking a rare moment where a newer model lacked a staple feature of its predecessors. While Apple eventually restored the magnets for the iPhone 17e following consumer backlash, the fact that they tried to remove it suggests the company is looking for ways to move on.

The upcoming ‘iPhone Ultra,’ Apple’s rumoured first foldable, might be the next victim of this trend. Early leaks and dummy models suggest the device is so thin that there simply isn’t enough room to house the traditional MagSafe magnets. If the most expensive phone in the lineup drops the feature, it sets a strong precedent for the rest of the family.

However, a total removal seems unlikely in the short term. The global Qi2 wireless charging standard is actually built on Apple’s MagSafe technology. It would be a strange move for Apple to abandon a standard they helped create and that the rest of the industry is just now adopting.