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MagSafe Charger and iPhone 12 Cases First Look and Unboxing!

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The delivery guy just dropped off my first iPhone 12 Pro accessories (before the phone arrives): the navy blue silicone case, the clear case and a MagSafe charger. I’ll open them and share first impressions.

Silicone case

The box is a traditional Apple accessory box. I don’t normally like Apple silicone cases: I’ve had multiple ones start to come apart at the bottom corners, and I swore I wouldn’t buy another without a major redesign. It looks like we have one: it feels the same, with a texture I really like and a soft microfiber lining, but the bottom is now covered, with more protection. The buttons feel about the same (hard to tell without a phone), maybe a bit looser, which might make them more clicky against the phone’s physical buttons. Inside is a ring for the MagSafe charger (presumably magnets). I really like the dark color, though it might clash a little with the blue 12 Pro (I didn’t like the options in colors that go with the blue 12 Pro).

Clear case

It’s not silicone, obviously: a clear hard plastic. Inside it reads “iPhone MagSafe designed by Apple.” I wonder if the magnet there only helps align the charger or signals the accessory to enable something. The buttons feel a bit more shallow than the blue silicone’s. Button clickiness matters to me: positive feedback tells you whether you’ve pressed it.

MagSafe charger

The packaging doesn’t want to let go of the charger (I didn’t want to rip the cardboard). It has more weight than I expected. Snapping it to a case isn’t as snappy as I expected: it has to be roughly in the right area to grab, but it does snap on and stay. A bottom vertical stripe on it seems to do nothing (no magnet I can feel). It’s aluminum on the outside and white plastic inside, with a soft-touch coating almost like the silicone case. It’s unfortunately just about a three-foot cord, which, if you hoped to use it on a nightstand with a six-foot (two-meter) cord, will disappoint. At about $35 plus taxes and shipping, I expected a longer cord, especially since it doesn’t include a charger: I have to find a brick, though I have the Apple Watch charger to compare, and the difference in size is considerable.

I’m confused by it

If this sits on a table with the phone on it, when you’re done you still need two hands to remove the phone. Apple showed third-party accessories from Belkin that are more of a base stand where you can pop the phone on and off, but I don’t see the point of this $35 charger. For me, the benefit of a wireless charger is that I put my phone down, charge, then pick it up and walk away without needing two hands, or glance at a notification and set it back down. With MagSafe, it snaps on at least on the right spot, but I need two hands to disconnect it. If you’re at a desk, it’s no big deal to pick the phone up and put it back, and it’s kind of nice in bed to use your phone while charging, but with a three-foot cord you may not have room, and then why is this better than Lightning? Why not use a six-foot Lightning cable? Maybe once I have the phone my mind will change, but it seems like an odd thing for Apple to make.

Other devices

The puck charges my iPhone 11 Pro via standard Qi wireless charging, and AirPods too. We’ll see as more accessories come out (the wallet) and I get the phone later this week. What questions do you have about the cases or the charger?

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