I didn't say it was a problem :) I said it's an improvement in the experience - and small, as I mentioned. Just one of the many small things i notice with iphones that make it hard to go back to android - and I have a pixel 6a for a work phone, so I'm aware of what the user story is like on that.

It's a small thing, but basically what I have is a magsafe stand next to my bed. I can lean over, with one hand, and rest the phone on the dock, and it latches into place. When I want the phone, I can gently tug on it - with one hand.

I have one on my desk as well. Place the phone down - never have to worry about aligning it with the qi pad, pick it up and it's been charging for however long i've been sitting.

>I can lean over, with one hand, and rest the phone on the dock, and it latches into place. When I want the phone, I can gently tug on it - with one hand.

I still don't get the hype. Like sure, its less effort, but the effort being discussed is such a trivial amount. It takes me as much effort to plug in my phone as it does to scratch my back or something. I don't even think about it. There's so many things I plug in over the course of modern life.

I move from home desk/bed, car, work and can charge my phone in a second.

As opposed to having to remember to bring a cable, reaching into my bag each time to get it, plugging it in on both ends etc.

That's closer to a minute each time.

You've already got a charging mat in those places, but didnt consider leaving a cable there?

> How is the experienced improved? No inserting the cable? I never knew this was a problem...

Try groggily inserting your cable into your phone at 2AM in the morning as you remember you need to charge it. Or you could just snap it to a magnetic charging surface and be done with it. MagSafe to lightning is what USB-C is to Micro USB: not necessary, but nicer.

I actually find it difficult sometimes to drag my iPhone 14 over my magsafe charger so it actually snaps to it in the dark. Easier for me to feel for the cable and lightning hole. Also you can use the phone while charging from a cable, but not very well while magsafe charging. Magsafe is fantastic for the car though.

I have a MagSafe stand charger, so it’s pretty easy. If it was flat, it wouldn’t work so well on my night stand.

I simply refuse to believe its hard to plug in a phone cable.

It isn't. It is just the difference between 5 seconds and 500 milliseconds.

I guess I don't lose sleep over that

I prefer MagSafe because the lightning sockets wear out after many years, and the cables fray, for a couple examples :)

News to me about the lightning sockets. I've been using them since the iphone 5 and just about every part of the phone other than the socket seems to break first. I solved cable fray by buying non apple lightning cables.

Cables wear out, I’ve yet to have a Qi pad die.

A tradeoff is that my cat walking on my nightstand can stop the phone from charging, but MagSafe would take care of that.

Funny that you mention this, because my first ever Qi pad (that I got as swag from a conference) died within days of use, possibly from overheating.

Anecdotal. My third party lightning cables last forever now that I no longer buy the apple branded ones with that crappy insulation that frays when you look at them wrong

Haven’t had insulation problems, it’s more that the pins on the lightning connector eventually wear and stop connecting consistently. For MFi cables I believe that part is supplied by Apple and will be the same across all brands. Most of mine have been Anker.

I’ve also had USB-C charging cables fail, and the springy charging pins on my Pebble weren’t great either. Lightning or USB ports on phones will also get gummed up with pocket lint. Not making a physical connection for charging just seems to work better long term.

Thats assuming the magsafe chargers also don't have their own issues crop up over time. The pin issue must be rare because I've never experienced it, or maybe I have enough chargers where my usage is distributed enough to never use them to that point. Plus it doesn't justify not having a port for other things that need a hardwired connection, like audio out. Bluetooth is not a replacement for 3.5mm.

On the nightstand, I have Pixel upright charger, it turns my phone into a clock (turns off-screen if it's dark). I can grab it and put back on effortlessly without looking for cable, plugging/unplugging, cleaning lint out of usb-c port.

On my office desk, I have another wireless charger, but this one is flat. Place my phone/headphone-case on it, and it's charging. If I need either - just pick it up and go. I don't have to think about plugging the cable and accidentally pulling it when I forget to unplug it.

That makes me charge my phone more often during the day (i.e. charge at 50% to 80%). During the night, it doesn't matter because the phone is slow charging to be at 100% around the time I wake rather than charge to a 100% and then sit at it the entire night.

If I do need a quick charge - I just unplug the wireless charger and charge it. Airport lounges have charging spots on tables - don't have to: a) trust their USB ports b) get cables and charger out of my bad. Cars have them.

Anyways, not going back to charging with wire anytime soon.

Maybe lint is a USB-C issue, I've never had to delint a lightning port and my pockets have a good deal of that stuff generally

I had the same issue on lightning port. Probably more often than on USB-C. Maybe it's just my pockets.