This Is the Perfect Accessory for the iPhone 13 mini

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Hyperbole? Clickbait?

Arguably, the title of this blog post could be both, but I’ve completely fallen in love with the MagSafe Wallet and I want to talk about it. So, there.

This was a purchase I made on a whim. Having been sent a review unit of a third-party MagSafe carbon fibre-clad wallet, I was keen to see what Apple’s version was actually like.

For a while, I used it with my iPhone 12 Pro. Each day it became increasingly useful, despite the occasional alignment issues with the often troublesome MagSafe magnets.

Then, the iPhone 13 mini came along and completely brought this unassuming accessory to life.

The MagSafe wallet as an iPhone 13 mini ‘case’

This might feel like an odd place to start, but since getting the iPhone 13 mini, I’ve felt zero urge to put it in a case.

Yes, even after dropping it down the toilet.

This is partly because I generally like my Apple gear ‘naked’. It just always feels and looks better that way. But this of course comes with its own problems.

Toilet encounters aside, a caseless iPhone is a recipe for an expensive disaster. This is why the MagSafe Wallet offers a little bit of respite.

Don’t get me wrong – this categorically isn’t a case, but I’m one of those people who never feels particularly comfortable placing a naked iPhone on a table surface for fear of picking up scratches.

With the MagSafe Wallet attached, I have no such fears, because it lifts the entire device neatly away from any surface on which it’s placed. This also adds some pleasing, gradual wear to the Wallet’s leather, which is a nice bonus.

Another bonus is the marginal amount of bulk it adds to the iPhone 13 mini’s tiny dimensions. Without the MagSafe Wallet attached, I live in constant fear of dropping the damn thing (despite the awesome single-handed use), but with the accessory in place, it feels comfortable and nicely weighted.

There’s still no protection for the screen, the sides of the phone, or that huge camera bump. But for me, it offers the best of both worlds.

Day-to-day convenience

The biggest difference between the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 13 mini when it comes to the MagSafe Wallet is the ease with which it attaches.

Unlike the 12 Pro, the 13 mini is the perfect size for the Wallet. It spans the entire width of the phone’s rear glass casing and consequently results in none of the weird misalignment you experience on larger iPhones and MagSafe accessories.

This is why it’s forever attached to my iPhone 13 mini. It’s also why I find myself fiddling with it constantly; the synthesised ‘shhhtuck’ as you reattach it to the phone each time is immensely satisfying.

More importantly, this is a wallet (didn’t take me too long to get to that fact, did it?), and it’s the most convenient wallet I’ve ever owned. The fact it only holds two cards is actually a benefit – it reduces the amount of needless weight I carry around while ensuring I never turn up to the gym without my membership card.

What’s next for MagSafe?

This is where I get a bit stuck and need your help.

Thus far, my use of MagSafe has extended to battery charging and a replacement wallet. But I don’t want that to be the end.

The iPhone 13 mini feels ideally suited to attachable accessories, but I’m not smart enough to dream up where Apple could take it next. This has always been the case – during virtually every Apple event I’ve watched, there has been a feature or product announcement that feels so obvious in hindsight but which I could never have invented myself.

Thankfully, I have you lot, and I’m acutely aware that my readers are usually far more inventive than I when it comes to looking ahead to what the next batch of Apple innovations might be.

So, I’m opening this up to the floor: what should Apple do next with the MagSafe system on the iPhone?

Get involved in the comments!