When Apple announced the new iPhone 12, it also announced a new ecosystem, the one that revolves around Magsafe technology. What Magsafe is, we mentioned in our review of the Magsafe power supply: it is a technology that uses the magnets contained in all new iPhones to wirelessly charge phones at high speed. Although Apple expects several Magsafe products to arrive also from third parties, at the moment in addition to the Magsafe power supply on the market, for now, we only find the Magsafe Duo (for sale on the Apple Store and on Amazon) a charger designed for those who want to recharge an iPhone and an Apple Watch together. Heralded by some rumors, it turned out to be a sort of (very) poor cousin of the never released AirPower which had to be a “triple” charger capable of charging with a high level of hardware and software sophistication, an iPhone, an Apple Watch and the AirPods.
Inside the box
The contents of the package are fully Apple, absolutely minimalist or absolutely stingy depending on your point of view . We have the Magsafe Duo and a 90cm long Lightning to USB-C cable, which is really short for a device that needs to sit on a nightstand or desk. There is no charger in the box ; that, as the new “ecological” mantra of Cupertino dictates, which eliminated this accessory from the iPhone box as well, you have to put it there. Either you have one at home or you buy one which, as we explain below, must possibly be 30W. Apple will be happy to sell you its € 55, but on Amazon you will find a plethora of much smaller, flexible and at a much lower price. For example there is this one from Ugreen which costs 21.99 euros or the PowerPort III Slim Anker (tested by Cyberlayman here) with which you load everything: it provides up to 45W, includes a cable that reduces the inconvenience of the Lighting cable on USB -C too short and costs only 39.99 euros
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The cable (very short) that accompanies the charger 
The Magsafe Duo out of the box 
The Magsafe Duo box
Magsafe Duo as it is made
The Magsafe Duo is clearly a product that came out of the same pen that has designed a long series of other products in the field of power in the Apple world including the most recent are the Magsafe and above all the Magnetic Dock for Apple Watch . Of course the shape compared to the latter is different (one is round, the Magsafe Duo has square shapes) but the materials, opaque white plastic and some aluminum inserts, and the construction technique, heat-sealed edges, are clearly the same.
The Magsafe Duo is made of plastic and aluminum
Cheap appearance and fragile structure?
When handling the Magsafe Duo, several doubts and perplexities immediately arise. First of all, we know from experience that the Apple Watch Magnetic Dock on the desk tends to get dirty . Here the same material is used for a product that you would like (as you can also guess from the fact that the charger folds reducing its size) also born for traveling, with the risk of seeing it turn gray instead of white in a short time. After all, in two days, the time of this review, we have already seen the dust settle around the edges.
Secondly, the plastic, in addition to being heat-welded on the edges with a decidedly “cheap” effect , in the central part does not seem particularly solid. The suspicion is that in the long run by folding and folding the device the plastic may crack. What is certain is that after folding the hinge about ten sometimes unsightly wrinkles appeared in the central part.
The plastic is heat sealed 
After very little use, creases have already formed
How does it work
The operation of the Magsafe Duo is intuitive. After all it is a wireless charger like there are many without switches or selectors but despite this it offers some peculiarities.
The first is in the magnetic platform for iPhone , compatible with the Magsafe technology we have already talked about when we tried the Magsafe power supply: it is a crown of magnets that coupled to those found inside the iPhone 12, allow perfect alignment of the phone to the charging spirals. A “clack” indicates that the charger is in action; no annoying micro-adjustments we are obliged to start charging on other wireless chargers.
The second is in the fact that we have a charger for Apple Watch with the classic “tablet” integrated . Other chargers of this type require you to use the original one, which is included in the Apple Watch package.
Finally, this charger also has a third and potentially more important feature: it charges iPhone at a faster rate than other wireless chargers . How much faster is a rather complex matter to explain even to those who already have in mind how it works with the Magsafe power supply.
The puzzle of fast charging
In fact, the disc charger to give the maximum (15W) simply needs a 20W charger with the PowerDelivery 3 protocol. Here instead you need a charger of at least 27W to recharge the iPhone at 14W (not 15W as with the Magsafe Duo); using a 20W one the performance drops to 11W. As if this were not enough, by charging an Apple Watch and an iPhone together, the performance drops even more due to the combined absorption of the two devices. 
At the recharge test
But in the practical test what performance can we expect from a Magsafe Duo ? In half an hour, using Anker's Slim charger, we charged an iPhone 12 Pro Max from 1% to 34%. Adding the Apple Watch, the recharge reached 30% in half an hour. Using a 20W charger Il Nano by Anker, again in half an hour we went from 1% to 30%; adding the Apple Watch, the iPhone reached 25% in 30 minutes.
As you can see there is a certain difference between the more powerful charger and the less powerful one ; that this is enough to make you spend more money to buy a 30W charger especially if you already have a 20W one is doubtful. On the other hand, it is certain that buying a Magsafe Duo to recharge an iPhone that is not an iPhone 12 is not recommended . We detected a power output that is less than a third of what an iPhone 12 Pro Max can absorb. On balance we could be under 5W, perhaps at those 2W of power with which we spoke in the context of the review of the Magsafe power supply. However, it is much better to buy an Anker Powewave + Pad (reviewed here) that charges both an iPhone at 7.5W and an Apple Watch at the same time. It is an elegant and efficient product and in the package there is also a charger and the whole thing you pay for € 39.99
The folded Magsafe is very small, almost pocket-sized
The shape and charging
The shape of the Magsafe Duo also deserves a mention . As we have mentioned, it has a magnet inside which, together with the performance superior to that of another wireless charger, is the reason for purchase. Thanks to it, as mentioned, the alignment is perfect and the recharge starts immediately. Too bad that the magnet contrasts with the design of the Magsafe Duo which is too light for the power of the connection system . When you try to unplug the phone , in fact, you have to hold down with your finger so as not to carry the 'whole charger . A design flaw that is not catastrophic but certainly not worthy of Apple's fame.
The magnet of the Magsafe Duo carries the entire charger with it
In conclusion
The Magsafe Duo is not Apple's most successful product of recent times . Sure, charges an iPhone and Apple Watch faster than any other wireless charger but this only happens because Apple has control of proprietary technology which allows it to push wireless charging up to 15W on Magsafe devices, while preventing everyone else from doing the same thing if they don't join the Made for program. Magsafe. Apart from quick recharging, which is welcome, everything else raises a lot of perplexity.
The first comes from rough design and materials that are not excellence . But the main flaw is in the price . The Magsafe Duo costs 140 euros but it is a device that despite taking into account the classic Apple tax, looks and works as if it cost 75, perhaps less if you consider that in the package there is no charger but only a few leaflets and a cable with an asphyxiated length of 90 centimeters that third parties sell (in a one meter version) for 10 euros.
In short, this time Apple with the Magsafe Duo was in a position to do the maximum by committing to the minimum . The hope is that when a broader market for the Magsafe ecosystem begins, Cupertino's R&D and design departments will be stimulated to push themselves to the level they have proven they can achieve.
Pro
Cons
) The Magsafe Duo costs € 149.99 and is on sale at the Apple Store and Apple stores. It is also on sale on Amazon at a discounted price
