Apple is reportedly making a unique magnetic loop accessory for the iPhone 17

The Majin Bu leak reports that Apple develops a new iPhone 17 accessory: a shoulder strap for cases where the iPhone 17 is suspended above your hip like a small bag. It keeps the iPhone still at hand, and you don’t have to grop to get it out of your pocket.

According to BU, the strap works without riflers or other physical clasps and is fully based on magnets. A metal element that can be magnetically moored will be incorporated into the fabric of the strap. The two ends are reinforced with differently polarized magnetic rings which provide additional support. It seems that additional magnetic elements will be incorporated on the sides of Apple’s iPhone 17 cases to keep the strap in place, but BU does not enter into the details of the operation of the attachment.

Such a magnetic system for mobile telephony channels has advantages and disadvantages. It can be attached and removed almost blindly, because the magnets always stick to the right place on the case. No tedious unscrewing or detachment is necessary. The question arises as to its practical appearance: if it can remain attached during normal use.

A magnet also introduces the possibility of interference for iPhone components based on electromagnetic waves. From the iPhone XS, Apple has warned against magnetic covers which can harm the quality produced by the cameras. In the case of the Apple Watch and the Compass function, Apple even warns against its magnetic bracelets, which can alter the operation of the compass.

Magnetic locking systems are not new on Apple and have been tried and tested on the Apple Watch straps for a decade. The previous sports loop straps, for example, rested on a magnetic clasp until 2019. The Milanese loop and the strips of fine watches always have a magnetic clasp. Magsafe, both on the iPhone and MacBook, is also based on magnets.

Apple would have experienced the two nylon straps made from a similar material used for Apple Watch bracelets and silicone. A silicone strap would correspond to the silicone case of the new iPhone that Apple introduces each year. Apparently, the new mobile phone bands are already in production so that Apple can start selling them the first day when the iPhone will be sold.

BU reports in general must be considered with some skepticism. It was already active as a leak before the iPhone 16 was revealed, but many of its assertions have proven to be false: specific iphone color shades have never emerged, the event took place one day before what BU reported, and the BluePrint drunk of the iPhone 16 Pro was published to be the iPhone 15 Pro Max.