Apple unveils exclusive ultrathin MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone Air

Apple unveiled an ultrathin MagSafe Battery Pack on September 9 as a companion for its newly announced iPhone Air, pitching the accessory as a pocketable way to restore battery life to the companys slimmest handset. Priced at $99 and available to order now, the pack is described by Apple as "designed exclusively for iPhone Air" and is intended to offset the smaller internal cell in the 5.6 millimeter phone.

Apple said the iPhone Air has an efficient new Apple Silicon and performance-enhancing components, and quoted handset runtimes of up to 27 hours of video playback and up to 22 hours of streaming video on the phone alone. Used with the redesigned MagSafe Battery, Apple said the handset can reach as much as 40 hours of video playback and 35 hours of streaming, with the accessory adding up to 65 percent additional charge. The company also said the battery delivers 12 watts of fast wireless charging via MagSafe and can provide 20 watts of charging when attached to the iPhone Air while the pack itself is connected to a 20W or greater wired power adapter.

The accessory revives the MagSafe battery concept Apple discontinued in 2023 when the iPhone transitioned from Lightning to...