Somewhere deep inside the Apple campus, and in Apple accessory makers’ offices around the world, teams of conceptual artists, engineers, and designers are likely working hard to bring the next wave of MagSafe products to life. MagSafe products, like the MagSafe leather wallet, have been mostly underwhelming so far, but they have been restricted to the iPhone. But what if they weren’t. What if MagSafe spread to other Apple products?
It got us thinking about what items we didn’t want to see evolve from Apple’s MagSafe range, but that we fear someone, somewhere may be working on anyway. It’s best to get these worries out in the open, but we recommend you don’t take the following fictional list lightheartedly. Take it as a warning.
MagSafe folio for iPad
No one will use a MagSafe Wallet for the iPad (right? Right?), but the back of the tablet has a lot of temptingly flat aluminum going to waste. The MagSafe Folio for the iPad wouldn’t take your credit cards, but instead be a place for those important papers that otherwise would get screwed up and forgotten about at the bottom of your bag, or worse, sent to recycling.
Imagine returning to a time almost forgotten as you place the soulless iPad face down on a desk, and unsheathe wads of tactile real paper to spread out in front of you. Thanks to the MagSafe Folio, the iPad would come full circle, as after initially freeing you from a life governed by reams of paper, it would become the high-tech donkey to the MagSafe Folio’s trusty saddlebag.
Made from vegan leather, the MagSafe Folio for iPad would have two pockets correctly sized to hold A4 paper and A5 paper, plus smaller holders for business cards. It would only be available for the iPad Pro 12.9, and cost $199.
MagSafe charger (2022)
The iPhone 12’s flat-backed design recalls classic iPhone models, and is the perfect surface for the current, similarly flat MagSafe charging puck to latch on to, but will Apple retain this design forever? Assuming the iPhone 13 is an evolution of the iPhone 12, Apple may decide to look back even further in its history for the iPhone 14’s design inspiration. The subtle curve of the iPhone 3G may make a comeback, and promptly slide awkwardly to one side when sitting on the current MagSafe puck.
What’s Apple to do? It will charge you $60 for a MagSafe Charger (2022), which would have a concave shape perfectly matched to the back of the iPhone 14, ensuring it stays in contact with the wireless charger at all times. You’re wrong if you think Apple has painted itself into a corner with the MagSafe Charger’s current design and forever forced itself to use flat backs, as it has actually opened itself up to releasing more add-on product opportunities for you to buy along with your future iPhone purchase.
MagSafe Charger for iPad
Wireless charging will inevitably make it to the Apple iPad in the future, but Apple wouldn’t make something as hideously ugly as a giant MagSafe puck for the tablet. The normal, small puck wouldn’t be right either, as the tablet would wobble around in a distinctly un-Apple-like way when placed on top. The potential solution lies in Apple’s past.
Introducing the $80 MagSafe Charger for iPad. Building on the technological advancements previously made to charge the Apple Pencil, the MagSafe Charger for iPad magnetically would attach to the base of your iPad, delivering power to the battery without any concern about ripping out a charging cable should you trip over it.
The MagSafe’s magnetic tip would be made from aluminum, with exquisitely chamfered edges. And when it’s attached to the tablet, it would look absolutely nothing like a regular charging cable at all. It’ll definitely be charging the tablet wirelessly. Just ignore the cable coming out from where the out-of-date, potentially damaging USB Type-C charger cable would have come out before. It’s nothing like that at all, it’s far more advanced, yet playfully recalls a technology discontinued from Apple laptops years ago. Remember: It’s wireless, OK?
MagSafe Bands for Apple Watch
The slots needed to secure the strap to the Apple Watch spoil the case’s otherwise smooth, rounded shape. MagSafe Bands will enable Apple’s designers to simplify a future Apple Watch’s body, making it from a single, hollowed-out block of solid aluminum, while encasing at the top and bottom an entirely new magnetic attachment system to hold a beautiful range of luxurious straps in place.
Swapping MagSafe Bands will be even quicker and easier than the current method. Simply hold the MagSafe Band near the Apple Watch’s case and they’ll snap into place. This will completely remove the need for the fiddly little button on the case back, helping to make the shape even more fluid than ever. The next-generation MagSafe neodymium magnets will be among the most powerful in the world, ensuring that even in the harshest of environments, the strap will not come loose.
We specualte that the range will include $150 MagSafe Sport Band, $400 MagSafe Milanese Loop, and $1,500 MagSafe Hérmes Double Tour Strap.
MagSafe for AirPods Max 2
The new case for the AirPods Max headphones may look cute when you’re swinging it beside you walking down the road, but what if it was more functional? Putting your AirPods Pro into their case charges the buds, and the MagSafe Case for AirPods Max 2 would bring that amazing functionality to the Pro’s larger, over-ear siblings.
Retaining the purse-like shape, the MagSafe Case for AirPods Max 2 would clip securely around the earcups using, you’ve guessed it, magnets to keep them protected when not being worn. Then, hidden in the base of the case would be a battery pack, which uses MagSafe charging technology in the side of the case to wirelessly feed power into the headset.
The MagSafe Case would be sold separately, come in a variety of colors, and cost $249.
Let’s keep MagSafe pure
It’s not that MagSafe for other products aside from the iPhone is a bad idea, it’s that MagSafe is ripe for abuse. There are opportunities for overzealous brands to put magnets into absolutely everything imaginable, ready to stick somewhere on an Apple product. Let’s not do that. There’s really no need to MagSafe everything.
That said, right now, it’s not really worth investing in the current range of Apple MagSafe products, but we’re confident the system will get better as more useful accessories arrive in the future, provided it’s treated carefully. We want to see manufacturers focus on what makes MagSafe compelling, which is its ability to simply hold on to your phone. Belkin has the right idea with its car mount, potentially solving a problem for many in a very neat way, and we’ll see how that works very soon.
In the meantime, just don’t make any more wallets, for cards or paper, please.
