Apple is reportedly building a MagSafe wireless charging system for the iPhone 12. According to a new leak, the iPhone 12 may feature a MagSafe battery pack accessory that charges the phone and a pair of Apple AirPods simultaneously.

Apple regular tipster John Prosser told the Genius Bar podcast that two versions of the new battery pack are in development that will magnetically attach to the iPhone 12 like a MagSafe charger. One of them is said to support "reverse charging," which could allow charging AirPods or AirPods Pro by placing the charging case on top of the battery pack.

It was already an open secret that Apple was working on a clip-on battery pack for the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and other MagSafe-compatible devices; Anker was the first to Apple with its magnetic power bank, PowerCore Anker has already announced its PowerCore magnetic power bank ahead of Apple. But the two-way battery pack is something entirely new and would give the iPhone 12 a new way to challenge Samsung's Galaxy S21 and its PowerShare reverse charging capability.

However, this is only a rumor for now. Prosser said he will release renderings of the two battery pack designs later this week, but his sources also said they "don't know" whether Apple will eventually release both a standard battery pack and a reverse-charging model. That said, an Anker PowerCore-style pack may be in the works. The pack would charge only the phone it is attached to, rather than charging another phone or accessory at the same time.

Apple has a mixed record on wireless charging; the MagSafe system was generally well received, even though the iPhone 12's charging time was much slower than Apple's 20W wired charger, but the AirPower system before that perished in 2019 infamous for having been "a little bit slow.

Nevertheless, a recently discovered Apple patent (filed shortly after AirPower was publicly cancelled) details a "device-first wireless power system," suggesting that Apple may have at least tried again. Perhaps Apple will apply the lessons learned from AirPower to future wireless charging devices.