Here we go again, with a viral TikTok with no basis in fact. The latest lie claims that the iPhone 18 will ditch USB-C and feature a tiny MacBook-like MagSafe plug.
It's pretty common these days. A TikTok lie about Apple pops up, and it's passed around and cloned on the site. Millions of hits later, it reaches the ears of mainstream media, who pick it up like it's gospel, straight from Tim Cook's desk.
The latest lie is that the 2026 iPhone is getting a nearly microscopic MacBook-like Magsafe charger, and USB-C will be purged from the device.
It's not going to happen.
The iPhone 18 will feature MagSafe charging, of course. A quirk of Apple's reuse of the same name for different things will ensure that's the case.
But the iPhone's MagSafe uses circular pucks that max out at 25 watts. What this TikTok video shows is a variant of the original MagSafe, the kind that in its latest incarnation charges Apple's laptops at up to 140 watts — a wholly different proposition.
That alone is a good reason to wish this video were true. But that isn't the main reason I wish I could use a MagSafe-like charger made by Apple with the iPhone.
That comes down to the same reason Apple added MagSafe to the MacBook lineup way back in 2006. I want it to stop my iPhone from being thrown across the floor every time my dog goes near it.
A history lesson
Apple announced MagSafe for use with the MacBook and MacBook Pro in 2006 before adding it to the MacBook Air when it debuted in 2008.
Apple's press release for the brand-new MacBook Pro from January 2006 explained what buyers would get from MagSafe. The still patent-pending connector "safely disconnects from the notebook when there is strain on the power cord, helping to prevent the notebook from falling off its work surface when the power cord is inadvertently yanked."
Even then, 20 years ago, MagSafe was charging MacBook Pros at 85 watts, all while keeping them safe from then-familiar cable-related tumbles.
Apple later revised MagSafe, changing the shape, before removing it once USB-C charging came to the fore with the 2017 MacBook Air. That was a mistake it eventually rectified with the M2 MacBook Air in 2022.
A fixed problem
The iPhone flavor of MagSafe was announced alongside the iPhone 12 in 2020. The reusing of the MagSafe name got even weirder when the M2 MacBook Air debuted with yet another MagSafe connector.
But while the iPhone's MagSafe offers wireless induction charging and uses magnets, it doesn't quite live up to the MagSafe name.
Accidentally catch your foot on a MagSafe charger's cable, and you'll invariably throw your iPhone across the room. The ring magnets are just too strong, across too large of a surface for it to do any of the auto-detaching MagSafe proper can offer.
Apple's MagSafe puck just doesn't cut it
I experience this with alarming regularity. It's a miracle the iPhone Air I reviewed in late 2025 is still in one piece, really.
I'll preface this with an admission that I might be part of the problem. I have a tendency to leave the iPhone on the arm of our sofa while we watch TV — but I don't think I'm unique in that regard.
I find the iPhone Air's battery to be fine, but that's thanks in part to the fact that I have chargers everywhere. One of those is a nice, long USB-C cable for charging while I'm on the sofa.
And I also have two spaniel dogs.
To say that I've lost count of the number of times one of those dogs has caught the cable while playing and sent the iPhone flying doesn't do it justice. At this point, it might spend more time on the floor than it does on the sofa.
Sure, I tried a MagSafe charger, just in case that helped. It just meant that the iPhone flew further because it was no longer limited by the length of a cable. Turns out those magnets will give out eventually, but only on the first bounce.
So, yes. Each and every time it happens, my wife tells me it's my own fault for leaving the iPhone there in the first place. And she's probably right.
But this is a solved problem in the MacBook world. It's time it was solved in the iPhone world, too. And Apple already has the technology to make it happen.
The evergreen portless iPhone rumor
Even on the MacBook, MagSafe is all about power — it doesn't handle data, unlike USB-C. That could pose a problem when you remember the iPhone needs a USB-C connection for things like software restoration and whatnot.
But maybe that doesn't have to be the case anymore.
There have been rumors of Apple working on a portless iPhone for as long as I can remember. The iPhone Air was rumored to be almost portless, apparently.
As far back as May 2020, rumors claimed the iPhone 13 would go port-free, using a smart connector to handle data.
It's time iPhones could be restored without a cable.
Subsequent rumors claimed Apple has a wireless way to restore iPhones in the works. It used the magic of the internet to get the job done in a way similar to over-the-air iOS updates.
At this point, it's clear that Apple has at least considered removing the cable entirely. I'd suggest the best solution is somewhere in the middle.
In a perfect world, future iPhones could charge using MacBook-like MagSafe, offering the speed and safety I crave. Then, in the event of needing to be restored, an internet-based recovery system could be used.
What's not to like?
The real reason why MacBook MagSafe isn't coming to the iPhone
Unfortunately, there is one thing not to like. And it's the real reason this TikTok video is wrong, and MacBook MagSafe made by Apple may never come to the iPhone, no matter how much I want it.
The story goes that Apple had to abandon plans for a portless iPhone Air because of European Union legislation. The same legislation that finally forced Apple to ditch Lightning in favor of USB-C, it turns out, is a double-edged sword.
The E.U. requires that all phones sold in the bloc use the same USB-C charging cable. After hundreds of Android phones adopted USB-C, and years of legislative debate, it ultimately meant the iPhone had to do the same.
But it's also why Apple can't remove that same USB-C port from the iPhone, at least not in the E.U. member states, so therefore, not the world. USB-C is here to stay, flung iPhones or not.
That isn't to say that Apple couldn't get creative, though. I imagine a cable with MagSafe-like technology that terminates in a USB-C connector would be allowed, and third-party options abound. After all, standard USB-C cables would continue to work as normal.
Whether or not such a solution would offer the snag-safe auto-disconnect solution I crave is another matter. But that's a problem for Apple's engineering team to fix, not me.
2026 and beyond
Whatever Apple's plans are, there won't be any big new charging changes with the iPhone 18. Despite the fact that it's still over a year away, we'd have heard rumors and seen leaks by now.
2026 through 2027 are expected to be the years that Apple changes its iPhone release window for the first time in a long time. For some time now, we get a new generation of iPhones each September, including the Pro models.
If Apple sticks to the rumors, September 2026 will see the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max joined by the first foldable iPhone. Likely to be called the iPhone Fold, the premium device will no doubt take the limelight.
Those waiting for the iPhone 18, non-Pro edition, will have to wait a little longer — until spring 2027, if the rumors are correct. It'll likely break cover alongside the budget-oriented iPhone 18e, if that exists at all.
But while Apple is changing how it releases iPhones, it won't be changing how we charge them. USB-C is here to stay, for better and for worse.
