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Is MagSafe gimmicky or a must have case/accessory?

  • Must Have

    Votes: 14 38.9%
  • Gimmicky

    Votes: 22 61.1%

  • Total voters
    36

captjoe06

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 4, 2010
34
7
I'm waiting for my 13 PM to come in and researching cases. I've been extremely happy with my Otterbox commuter series for the x Max and use a magnetic ball style car mount for my X Max which I really dig.

I'm trying to find out from real world users if they LOOOOVE MagSafe and the MagSafe ecosystem or if I should just go the route of using another glued ball style magnetic car mount and plug the 13 PM in using firewire when in the car.

So What say you?

Is MagSafe gimmicky or a must have case/accessory?

Also will a MagSafe case stick to a ball style car mount or is there not enough magnet power to hold it in place?
 

azhava

macrumors 6502a
Aug 29, 2010
942
1,290
Arizona, USA
I wouldn't call it gimmicky, but not a must-have either - it's somewhere in between. I like having a MagSafe holder in my car instead of putting the phone in a cup holder, and I like charging it on a MagSafe stand on my desk or nightstand, where I can see it better than when it's lying flat on a Qi charger. I could live without it (I did for many years of iPhones), but I do enjoy the convenience.
 
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The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,966
20,163
UK
I love MagSafe. I use the belkin 3 in 1 for my bedside and MagSafe duo for at work. GOT a magsafe wallet as well.
 

jcp007

macrumors 6502
Nov 6, 2020
426
246
Third Rock From the Sun
Don't really have a preference but I have primarily been a wired charger but the Magsafe charger is a more refined wireless charging system. The very minimal heat and lower charging speed are two things that appear to be issues with some. I would like to see faster charging speeds and minimal heat generation. Heat is the enemy of the battery.

As far as a case is concerned, it's all personal preference. I prefer a slimmed down, rugged case and wireless charging compatible like the Otterbox Defender Pro given $1400 paid for my 13 Pro Max Graphite 512GB. It's extremely pocketable but then again, I don't wear skinny jeans. The phone and case is far slimmer than my wife's 11 Pro Max with a regular Defender case. The Pro model also has a micro dot pattern around the frame that provides great grip whether holding it or on a slick surface.
 

CR4V3

macrumors newbie
Feb 23, 2011
4
0
LI, NY
I wouldn't call it gimmicky, but not a must-have either - it's somewhere in between. I like having a MagSafe holder in my car instead of putting the phone in a cup holder, and I like charging it on a MagSafe stand on my desk or nightstand, where I can see it better than when it's lying flat on a Qi charger. I could live without it (I did for many years of iPhones), but I do enjoy the convenience.
Agreed, the poll should have an option in the middle.

When I have a MagSafe case on, I use my MagSafe charger. When I have a case that doesn't support MagSafe, I don't use MagSafe. Simple as that. You'll find that people bashing MagSafe are doing so for views, same as the people who are praising it. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
 

Wackery

Cancelled
Feb 1, 2015
1,342
1,571
Needs way more accessories.

only one I really like is the stand chargers and the magsafe battery.

yes, you heard me the battery too. if you use it as a charger and as an emergency battery as a secondary use it's brilliant.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
17,294
25,434
Wales, United Kingdom
I love MagSafe. I use the belkin 3 in 1 for my bedside and MagSafe duo for at work. GOT a magsafe wallet as well.

Do you find you use the wallet much? I’ve had a MagSafe capable phone for a year now and still yet to be convinced into buying any MagSafe accessories. The wallet for me adds bulk to the phone rather than if I were to carry a separate slim wallet, which I don’t. I can’t think of 2 or 3 cards I’d need to carry to be honest?
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,966
20,163
UK
Do you find you use the wallet much? I’ve had a MagSafe capable phone for a year now and still yet to be convinced into buying any MagSafe accessories. The wallet for me adds bulk to the phone rather than if I were to carry a separate slim wallet, which I don’t. I can’t think of 2 or 3 cards I’d need to carry to be honest?

I don’t use it loads more when I need to get petrol or go somewhere where I need my ID. It’s just ideal to put what I need in one pocket as my normal wallet was quite bulky
 

azhava

macrumors 6502a
Aug 29, 2010
942
1,290
Arizona, USA
Do you find you use the wallet much? I’ve had a MagSafe capable phone for a year now and still yet to be convinced into buying any MagSafe accessories. The wallet for me adds bulk to the phone rather than if I were to carry a separate slim wallet, which I don’t. I can’t think of 2 or 3 cards I’d need to carry to be honest?
A few thoughts along those lines from my perspective:

- I live in a smaller, less tech-y city where Apple Pay is the exception rather than the rule. I'd say maybe 25-30% of the merchants accept Apple Pay, so you need either your debit/credit card or cash.

- There are some cards I carry in my wallet that I don't need often, but when I need them they have to be there. I don't like leaving things like that in my car, and it seems to me that having to remember to swap things in and out or carry a different wallet for different things adds an unnecessary level of complication. It also brings into play the possibility that I'll forget to put a card in there that I need, or that I go to one of those places spontaneously without pre-planning it, and don't have the card with me that I need. Or what if I'm in somebody else's car other than my own? Doesn't do me much good to have those cards stashed in my car when it's parked in the garage at home and I forgot to grab them. With an actual wallet, I know they're always there.

- There are some places I go that require cash - and also, none of my friends use Zelle/Venmo/Apple Pay/etc. So if I'm paying off a golf bet or paying them back for something they picked up for me or whatever, it's in cash. Carrying cash in another pocket separate from my phone/wallet, loose or in a money clip, is another unnecessary complication I don't want to deal with. Why have things taking up space in two of my pockets when I could have them neatly in one in my wallet?

- I like redundancy. If I'm depending on my phone for everything and my phone gets damaged/lost/stolen, I'm SOL. If I have the cards or cash in my wallet, I can fall back on them. Also, if my wallet is attached to my phone and my phone gets lost/stolen, I lose all those cards along with it and have to go through the PITA of reporting/replacing all of them. Why lose everything at once rather than just dealing with the loss of the phone itself?

Everybody's conditions are different, so I'm not saying my situation applies to all - but for me/my lifestyle, the MagSafe wallet (or any minimalist wallet, for that matter) isn't a good fit. I love MagSafe technology for other uses (chargers and car holders, for example), but the wallet thing just doesn't work for me.
 
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John981

macrumors regular
Nov 5, 2017
163
304
It's kind of neat and I can see that it has potential, but to me it feels like 3D Touch (which I loved) or the Touch Bar on the MacBooks. It's an interesting idea to differentiate the product, but it's not being utilized properly at all. Most of the official Apple accessories offer functions that we've already had before (car mounts, battery packs, chargers) and the only really new one, the Wallet, is said to be lackluster since it comes off too easily.
 

KO7

macrumors regular
Oct 19, 2020
198
235
Canada
It's not a must-have feature for me, but since it's there, I now have an ESR HaloLock car mount + charger, and a Belkin magnetic charger for home (6 feet long cord is handy too). The magnetic wallets are useless gimmicks FOR ME (since I carry way more cards than they can accommodate for), but I can concede that they're awesome for those who can make use of 'em.
 
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