This MagSafe Battery Pack prototype shows how things changed before release

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Apple Magsafe Battery Pack Back
Apple Magsafe Battery Pack Back (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

  • A prototype of Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack has been photographed on Twitter.
  • The prototype looks similar to the shipping product but is also different in some ways.

Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack is a great way to keep your iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 charged while on the go, but Apple didn't just land on that design by magic. It built prototypes before it finalized the product and now photos of one of those prototypes have appeared online.

Shared to Twitter, these images show a MagSafe Battery Pack that's very similar to the one that you can go and buy today — but it's also different in some notable ways. Top of the pile is the charging indicator that would presumably be obscured by any iPhone this thing was attached to. The MagSafe outline isn't as visible either, with Apple stopping short of adding the finishing touches that make the shipping model unmistakably MagSafe.

In terms of finish, the prototype includes a glossy plastic case that also features the familiar Apple logo. It isn't clear whether this thing works at all, or if it is recognized by iPhone software. Regardless, it's a cool find and it's always interesting to see prototypes of Apple gear.

Prototypes like this don't pop up all that often, but they always cause a stir when they do. Now we wait to see what will be the next prototype to make an appearance!

Not a fan of the MagSafe Battery Pack? Check out the best MagSafe batteries we've come across so far — some are considerably cheaper, too.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.