The first few MagSafe chargers and stands from one of the first MagSafe manufacturers are not joined by other gadgets.
Owners of the iPhone 12 range (and eventually above) have something no other iPhone owner presently does: access to a new way of charging and holding their phone.
An addition to the wireless charging iPhone models have had since the iPhone 8, MagSafe adds a ring of magnets around the Qi wireless charging panel found inside iPhone models sized to a specific diameter, allowing the phones to be held in just the right place to charge them efficiently while sticking nicely to the magnetic section of the charger.
MagSafe is primarily a charging technology, but it can be a way to hold things up physically, and some even see it as the way Apple may remove the Lightning port at the bottom of the phone in an eventual update, taking the iPhone in a port-less direction.
Before we get to that point, however. MagSafe has to become a more commonly used standard.
Almost a year on from its introduction (or “re-introduction” given the name used to be found for MacBook charging connectors), the new MagSafe is found in a few places, complete with an accessory from Mophie that adds the MagSafe ring support to any phone that doesn’t have it natively.
Belkin doesn’t have one of those, but it is introducing a few other accessories to join its initial assortment, with some recently launched gadgets, some of which revise that you probably already know for phones while adding in some magnets, while at least one other goes somewhere new.
New to the range is a wireless MagSafe pad with a good two metres of cable, coming in the Boost Charge Magnetic Portable Wireless Charger Pad, which is just a MagSafe pad but with a really long cable so you can keep using the phone.
It’s joined by a power bank with MagSafe built in, able to be snapped to the back of an iPhone 12 model and providing a 10,000mAh power bank for recharging the phone up to two times, coming in the Boost Charge Magnetic Portable Wireless Charger.
This isn’t the style of bank you’re likely to keep on your device while in use, mind you, and Belkin has the Magnetic Wireless Power Bank for that, something Apple recently joined in with, as well.
Most of Belkin’s names are pretty descriptive on what they offer, allowing you to guess that the Magnetic Car Vent Mount will hold an iPhone through MagSafe while attached to your car’s air conditioning vents, the Magnetic Fitness Phone Mount will use a magnet to hold an iPhone while a strap holds that magnet to handlebars for fitness gadgets like a treadmill or exercise bike, and the Magnetic Wireless Charger Stand which is — as the name suggests — a small stand to hold a phone up using MagSafe and keep it charged.
Something new is coming in the form of the latter, as Belkin looks set to launch a Magnetic Phone Mount with Face Tracking, a special stand with that uses an app and the iPhone camera to track position, moving the stand to let you record videos and livestreams, sending it directly to social. Think of it as Belkin’s attempt at creating a better selfie stick, with one that moves with you.
Belkin’s Face Tracking Phone mount won’t be here until late August where it will be priced from $79.95 in Australia, while the rest of the range looks set to be available now, ranged from $49.95 to $79.95 depending on what you’re looking at.
