I have to admit, I rarely game on my iPhone 12 Mini. Most of the iOS games that I reviewed for this blog have been reviewed on an iPad Air 4 or an iPad Pro, with the iPhone 12 Mini being used to ensure that the control scheme and UI isn’t too much of a problem. The reason I prefer to game on my iPads is due to the much larger battery capacity. To that end, I decided to buy a MagSafe Battery pack from Apple to see if I can extend my iPhone gaming sessions. Should you buy Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack for Gaming?
Your Answer Upfront:
You shouldn’t purchase an Apple MagSafe Battery Pack to use while gaming, especially if playing intensive games that normally heat up your phone. The Apple MagSafe Battery Pack stops charging your phone if it detects that the phone or the battery itself is heating up.
In this article we’re going to take a look at Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack and see if you can use it to play games for longer. I’m mostly interested in seeing if the battery actually charges when playing games or if it slowly goes down. We’ll test out various games and compare how much the battery decreases during various gaming intervals. By the end of the article you’ll have a pretty good idea if you should get the MagSafe Battery Pack for your iPhone gaming sessions.
What is the point of the MagSafe Battery Pack?
When Apple came out with the Battery Pack everyone was excited. The height of their excitement was only toppled by the immense disappointment everyone felt once they saw that this isn’t a battery bank.
So if this Battery Pack isn’t supposed to charge your phone, fast, what’s the point?
The MagSafe Battery pack is designed to make on-the-go wireless charging be extremely reliable and easy. It’s not a battery bank but a battery pack that is supposed to extend your iPhone’s battery through out the day and wirelessly charge it when on the move.
The MagSafe Battery is more like a fine wine rather than a cheap beer. You’re supposed to sip and enjoy it, not drink it fast and strong. It really helps to see your phone as a wine taster vs a frat dude at a local party.
MagSafe Battery Pack Look & Feel
If you own an Apple Pencil 2 you know exactly how this battery pack feels like, it’s basically a rectangle with the same color and texture of the Apple Pencil 2.
I can honestly say this is the most Apple product that Apple ever made. A white rectangle with the apple logo and lightning port. However, it feels and grips really nicely and seems like a solid high quality product. And it’s incredibly comfortable in the hand, even with a case on my iPhone 12 mini.
The magnetic strength isn’t that powerful when the battery is attached directly to the phone, however, if the MagSafe iPhone case is used, the connection is much much stronger. Seriously, all those videos with people disconnecting their phone from it (and dropping it in the process) by pressing the power button can be ignored when attached through a case.
The Lightning Port
I hate lightning cables. I do. I have about 10 Macs and iPads in my home, from my iMac Pro to my iPad Pro, all Apple Products in this house use a USB-C connection. The iPhone 12 mini, airpods pro and the battery pack? No. I charge both my iPhone and Airpods via a MagSafe Charger and all my lightning cables are at my work office.
When the battery arrived discharged completely I had to go to a neighbor’s house to ask for a cable. Because the MagSafe Battery Pack DOES NOT CHARGE via a MagSafe Charger. Remember when I said this is the most Apple product that Apple ever made? Yeah…
iPhone Integration
Let’s get one thing straight about this Battery Pack – it’s the only one out there that integrates perfectly with iOS. You get nice animations, you get battery widgets, you get Firmware information, charging speeds and the ability to limit the maximum charge it gives to your phone (to prolong both its and the phone’s battery life). So, if all this quality of live features are important to you, there’s no other battery available for iOS to offer these features.
But we’re not here to debate how you’re supposed to “enjoy” this accessory or ogle it for its aesthetics and neat packaging. Or laugh at it for the wireless charging kerfuffle. We’re here to figure out if it’s any good for iPhone gamers. Will the battery pack extend your iPhone’s battery during gaming sessions or will it heat up and stop charging?
MagSafe Battery Pack – Performance Tests
For these tests I have charged the iPhone 12 Mini (running iOS 15.5) to 90% and the MagSafe Battery Pack to 100%. The MagSafe Battery pack is running the latest firmware version (2.7.b.0) that unlocks wireless charging at 7.5V.
Brightness was set to Maximum and Wifi was turned off with Mobile Data (LTE/4G) enabled because we’re trying to emulate on-the-go settings. Not gaming at home in a dark room with a outlet nearby.
I’m going to play 5 different games for 20 minutes, with and without the battery and I’ll check how much the battery percentage decreased in that time span and compare them. I know the recommended use for the MagSafe Battery Pack is to give a bit more extra juice to your phone during the day, but I’m looking at it from the perspective of a mobile gamer that wants to play a tiny bit more when on-the-go.
The 5 games I’ll be testing out are: Diablo Immortal (check out my review of the game), Gear.Club Stradale (review coming soon), Idle Life Sim (one of my favourite Idle Games for the iPad), BSG Dragon Battle (I made this game as a case study that you can read here) and Figure Fantasy (also wrote a review for this gacha game and spoiler warning: I didn’t like the game at all). As a bonus I also threw in YouTube for the test just to see if less GPU intensive usage can help the battery pack perform even better.
Let’s see how well the Battery Pack helped with my gaming sessions.
| Activity | Duration | On 🔋 | Magsafe | Stopped Charging |
| Youtube | 40 (m) | 6% | 4% | NO |
| Diablo Im | 20 (m) | 11% | 10% | YES |
| Gear.Club | 20 (m) | 6% | 6% | YES |
| Idle Life Sim | 20 (m) | 8% | 8% | YES |
| BSG Dragon | 10 (m) | 7% | 7% | YES |
| Figure F. | 20 (m) | 8% | 7% | YES |
As we can see from the table, bad news abound. Except for the YouTube test, for the most part, the MagSafe Battery Pack made absolutely no difference when gaming. The Pack itself could not offer more juice to the iPhone 12 Mini to keep it charging OR at least keep the battery from discharging.
For Diablo Immortal and Figure Fantasy the 1% difference in battery discharge percentage is probably from the fact that the Phone and Battery cooled down in-between writing the data and got a few extra minutes of applying a charge.
Should you get Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack for Gaming?
You shouldn’t purchase an Apple MagSafe Battery Pack to use while gaming, especially if playing intensive games that normally heat up your phone. The Apple MagSafe Battery Pack stops charging your phone if it detects that the phone or the battery itself is heating up.
In the situations where the battery does not heat up the amount of juice it can give to your phone is bellow the phone’s power consumption during gaming. So even if you play games in a really cool room you won’t notice too much of an improvement.
I also noticed (when playing on the balcony, in direct sunlight) that while using the battery pack my iPhone 12 mini’s screen also got incredibly dim as a way to cool itself, so that’s another negative towards Apple’s accessory.
Where the MagSafe Battery Pack shines is when you’re on the go and you need to top-up your iPhone while not using it. But for gaming? It’s wasted money. This is why we only give it a 1 ⭐️ rating.
Final Thoughts
I think Apple’s Battery Pack is pretty neat. Great build quality, good iOS integration and simple to use. For everyday use and topping the phone while on the go? It’s perfect. A bit pricy but really good and I do enjoy using it. I think the best way to look at it is as a Wireless Charger that can charge without an outlet. Just, don’t expect to be able to game with it.
If you really want to use it for gaming, there might be a chance you might be able to keep the battery from discharging if you play with a more dimmer screen and with mobile data, bluetooth and wifi turned off. Maybe, it could work but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Frequently Asked Questions
How To Update MagSafe Battery Pack Firmware?
In order to update your MagSafe Battery Pack’s firmware you’ll need to connect it to a Mac or an iPad using a Lightning to USB-C cable or a Lightning to USB via an adapter. Leave it plugged in for about 15 minutes. If you’re on a Mac, go to Apple Logo -> About This Mac -> System Report -> USB -> MagSafe Battery Pack. Check the firmware version and if it says 2.7.b.0 you’re golden, the firmware was updated.
Does Apple MagSafe Battery Pack work with case?
Yes, I tested out the MagSafe Battery Pack with my iPhone 12 Mini Leather MagSafe case and I did not notice any differences in charging speed. It does work with a MagSafe compatible case though keep in mind that if you use a MagSafe wallet like me, you’ll have to remove it.
How long does a MagSafe Battery Pack last?
When I tested it with my iPhone 12 Mini I managed to charge the phone (without using it) for about 2.5h at which point it charged the phone from 10% to 85%.
Does MagSafe Battery Pack get hot?
In my testing the MagSafe Battery Pack did indeed get hot, especially during games like Gear.Club Stradale or Diablo Immortal. It didn’t get extremely hot in order to be uncomfortable while holding it but it got hot enough that it stopped charging.
Why is the MagSafe Battery Pack slow?
Because, according to Apple? It’s not meant to charge your phone fast, only to give it a bit of energy when you need it throughout the day. I found the battery pack to be decent but nothing to write home too much about. If you find that your MagSafe Battery is too slow, make sure it’s on the latest firmware.
Is MagSafe charging bad for battery?
MagSafe charging can be bad for your battery in the long run. The number one reason for batteries dying is the heat generated during charging sessions and the MagSafe battery does increase the heat next to your battery.
How many mAh is the MagSafe battery?
The MagSafe Battery Pack has about 7.5V with a 11.13Wh battery that can deliver around 1460 mAh of charge. Think of it this way: It can charge your iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini to 80% and it can also get your iPhone 12 or 13 to about 60%. If you’re using a Pro Max 12 or 13 model expect the charge percentage to be roughly half of it’s maximum capacity, around 45% – 48%.
Where To Next?
This article was a big one but I hope it helped you in making a decision! I write a ton of articles about the Mobile Gaming Industry and about Apple For Gaming. For example here’s an article in which I use the iPad to play games that are not playable on modern macs. Or this article in which I show you how to play old-school and classic games from the 80’s and 90’s on your iPad. If you’re looking to get an Apple iPhone or iPad for gaming you should check out our two reviews:
- Are iPad’s Good For Gaming? – The answer is yes! Check out the article, I’ve got some over the top desk setups for it.
- Are iPhone’s Good For Gaming? – The answer is also yes! Even an old, low end, iPhone 8 is a pretty good gaming device that’s on par with most mid to high end Android Phones.
And if you’re curious if gaming can damage your phone’s battery fret not – I have you covered with the article titled “Is Mobile Gaming Bad For Your Battery Life?“. ⚠️ Spoiler warning: ⚠️ the answer is no, but read the article to find out why exactly.
We also have a lot of reviews for iOS games that you can read by heading over to our Review Section. And there’s a kick-ass guide to playing Dungeons and Dragons video games on your iPad if you’re into that, both old and new.
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