HACKER Q&A
📣 sagebird

Why can’t my iPod case charge my iPhone?


I use a MagSafe charger with my iPhone and find it convenient. But it is expensive so I can’t justify buying more than one.

I wonder what some of the technical challenges would be for using the inductor coils in peer devices to charge one another- specifically the iPod case would be a useful option to me.

Is there an asymmetrical relationship between the coils of the MagSafe charger and the devices, or is the only difference that the MagSafe has stronger magnets in it for alignment?

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I look forward to insightful comments of all sorts - including speculation about Apple’s business practices, marketing, profit strategies. I am also curious how other manufacturers deal with charging issues. My request is that we limit cynical comments about Apple price gouging, etc. Not that I think that opinion is wrong but I would like insightful or detailed commenters to be rewarded and not drowned out by a flood of opinion comments.

  👤 FlyingAvatar Accepted Answer ✓
I doubt there is much technically in the way other than it being of fairly limited use in most cases. Your iPod case has a ~0.5Ah battery while an iPhone 14 Pro Max has a 4.3Ah battery. Add in the inefficiency of wireless charging and you would be lucky to get a 10% charge off the iPod case.

IIRC, some Samsung devices have the capability of charging between devices, but I personally can't imagine anyone I know using this. Perhaps to charge an Apple watch wirelessly from the phone while the phone is plugged would be useful when traveling.

👤 nikau
Samsung phones can already do it, but Apple haven't decided to invent it yet with fanfare in the press and subsequent praises from the masses.