Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack can charge iPhones faster with a new firmware update

Dieter Bohn / The Verge

The Apple MagSafe Battery Pack is the latest surprise, and it will allow you to charge your phone at a faster 7.5 watt rate, instead of the original 5 watt rate.

You can either wait for an update over the air or plug a Lightning cable from the pack to a connected Mac or iPad to get the fix, as they say.

If I am being honest, I wouldn't install the update until we hear back from Apple on whether it will affect how warm the battery gets.

I bought a MagSafe battery pack for my phone last year, but I returned it quickly. The Mini-MagSafe combo felt warm without a case, but with a case, the MagSafe battery pack was a bit too loose and slid around while I held it. I was using Apple's own Clear Case with MagSafe, not a third-party version.

Dieter Bohn / The Verge

I'm having a hard time imagining that I'm going to get better now that the MagSafe battery pack has more juice. The 5W charging speed was meant to minimize heat and preserve the battery's longevity, as pointed out by Dieter in our review of the MagSafe Battery Pack.

Maybe Apple has made other changes that will make the heat issue go away. It will need to charge less often if it charges at 7.5W for a short time.

I might buy one again if that's the case. I will let you know what the company says after I reach out to Apple.