Apple no longer sells the MagSafe Duo, its two-in-one charger for the iPhone and Apple Watch, but if you’ve found yourself with a charger-shaped hole in your life, Twelve South’s new ButterFly might patch it right up.
Similar to the MagSafe Duo, the ButterFly comes with two magnetic charging pucks in a fold-up design. It can simultaneously juice up an iPhone and an Apple Watch or your AirPods, and Twelve South claims it is “the world’s smallest 2-in-1 USB-C MagSafe charger.”
The ButterFly comes with a 20W adapter for fast charging, as well as four international plug adapters so that you can use it abroad in a variety of locations (currently the US, UK, EU and Australia). The whole thing is designed to be taken on your travels, something that’s helped by its low-profile and lightweight design.
It comes in an aluminum case to protect its components. The Apple Watch charger pops up so you can use your wearable in Nightstand Mode, and this puck can also power up an AirPods case (provided it works with wireless chargers).
All of this doesn't come cheap, unsurprisingly. The ButterFly is priced at $129.99 from Twelve South's store, which makes it even more expensive than the MagSafe Duo was (albeit by only 99 cents). One of the MagSafe Duo’s problems was that you could buy a rival device for a fraction of the price, and that’s a hurdle that Twelve South’s product is going to have to overcome.
The MagSafe Duo alternative
The MagSafe Duo seemed like a clever idea for a gadget, as it let you charge two devices at once while only needing one free wall socket. As well as that, it folded up neatly and took up very little space in a bag – all features that made it ideal for travelers.
The only problem was that it used a Lightning port, and that wasn’t going to fly once the European Union (EU) and its Digital Markets Act (DMA) forced Apple to switch its devices to USB-C in order to not flout the law.
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There was some speculation that Apple would switch out the MagSafe Duo’s Lightning port for a USB-C one, but instead the company simply withdrew it from sale directly after the iPhone 15 event in September 2023.
While we wait to find out whether the MagSafe Duo makes a comeback, Twelve South’s ButterFly could be a good option if you want a high-end alternative that's small for travel and looks great – provided you don’t mind its eye-watering price tag.
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Alex Blake
Freelance Contributor
Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.
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