The Cupertino company would like to further improve the operation of its MagSafe charger for iPhone. It would thus avoid overheating in the presence of a compatible shell, or could even transmit data to the phone.
Apple is always looking for innovations for its products. One of the latest concerns the MagSafe charger, used for its iPhones. The goal would be to provide it with more features, so that it is notably able to transmit data, like a Lightning or USB-C cable. It may also be able to recognize the MagSafe devices and accessories it attaches to, to provide a more suitable charge.
A new patent for the MagSafe
Apple teams are obviously not fully satisfied with the way the MagSage charger works. A new patent application has also been filed: it describes a smarter way of working.
Currently, Apple explains that some accessories tend to form “a heat trap” on some devices, which therefore tend to heat up during charging, which forces them to clamp the processor from a certain temperature, for safety.
In the document, it is therefore described that an iPhone could integrate “a magnetic field sensor configured to detect a magnetic field from a magnetic assembly external to the housing”. In other words, the iPhone would be able to recognize when a MagSafe accessory is connected.
The iPhone could also distinguish between a MagSafe charger and a MagSafe iPhone case. Depending on the situation, the phone could thus better manage the load according to the temperatures and could for example define a lower maximum temperature threshold when it is in a MagSafe shell.
Data transmission via MagSafe
In the same patent is also described another system, where data is transmitted through a MagSafe accessory (for example a shell). “The accessory could also include a wireless communication circuit arranged in the lower wall”describes Apple in the patent.
This accessory would in fact be able to communicate information to the iPhone, in particular concerning its temperature tolerances.
Of course, the very principle of sending data opens up a new field of possibility: an iPhone could thus recognize that a MagSafe accessory is nearby, then read the data it contains, in particular authentication data. It would indeed be very interesting for Apple if the MagSafe became multitasking.
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