I don’t need a MagSafe Battery Pack, but at this price it’s so nice to have

Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack is now available from Amazon, as part of the Prime Day festivities, for just $79.99. That’s a price that’s almost impossible to ignore, no matter how much I don’t really need it.

See, I carry around an iPhone 13 Pro Max with a battery bigger than some electric cars. I work from home, next to a MagSafe charger and a spare Lightning cable or five. In a few months, I’ll be upgrading to an iPhone 14 Pro Max — I need it for work, OK? — so battery degradation never really catches up with me. But still, here I am, thinking that maybe I need the MagSafe Battery Pack in my life for one reason. Maybe two.

The first is convenience. No matter how long batteries last, they always die and slapping a MagSafe Battery Pack onto the back of an iPhone is about as convenient as things get. You put it on, and it charges. That’s it. And because it’s made by Apple and not a random Amazon-flooding third party, it ties into iOS and manages charging automatically. All in, it’s pretty sweet.

The second is that I like safety nets. Sure, my iPhone might not run out of juice most days, iOS 16 betas notwithstanding, but one day it could. I could be on a trip out for the day with my family and my iPhone could find itself dead — again, thanks iOS 16 — and wouldn’t it be nice to have a handy magnetic battery pack to save the day?

It sure would, but at $100 it’s a hard sell. Slice almost 20% off that price and the equation changes. Does it mean a MagSafe Battery Pack will find a home in my life soon? It could well do — and it could find a home with you, too.

Keep the power flowing no matter where you are

Got an old iPhone whose battery is misbehaving? You could fix that at source by bagging a Prime Day iPhone bargain, too.