A few months ago, this company Kuxiu released a unique magnetic charger for the iPad. What made it stand out was that many people began saying it felt like we finally had MagSafe for iPad. The charger is called the KUXIU M30 Magnetic Smart Connector Charger for iPad Pro and iPad Air, and I’ve been using it on and off for a couple of months now. The price typically falls between $30 and $50 on Amazon, depending on whatever deals are running at the time.

iPhone MagSafe was rumored to be coming to the iPad back in 2022, but that obviously never happened. So how did this company essentially implement it?

They went with the most obvious solution: building a charger around the Smart Connector and the magnets already built into the back or side of most iPads.

Video Review

Hardware / Design

The charger itself appears to be Space Gray, or something close to it. Unfortunately, I no longer own any Space Gray iPads, so I can’t confirm how well it color-matches in person. Based on images on the company’s website, though, it seems to match fairly well, if you care about such things. I’m more of a silver iPad person, so I’m hoping Kuxiu eventually releases a version in silver.

On the inside of the connector, there’s a rubberized material along with three contacts that connect to the Smart Connector on your iPad.

Once you get it lined up correctly, the magnetic connection feels solid. It takes slightly more than a gentle tug to remove the connector once it’s attached.

Along the bottom of the connector, you’ll find a small alignment marker shaped like a USB port, which helps guide placement against the Smart Connector on your iPad.

The included cable measures just over 6.5 feet, which is refreshing compared to Apple’s charging cables, which are often obnoxiously short.

One important thing to note: this charger does not include a power adapter, so you’ll need to provide your own USB-C power adapter.

The charger is available in versions for both 11-inch and 13-inch iPads. Because the magnet layout differs between the two sizes, a charger designed for one size does not work with the other.

Compatibility

The very nature of how this charger connects to the Smart Connector limits which iPads it works with.

It’s designed for iPads that have the Smart Connector on the back, which includes the iPad Pro and iPad Air lineups. On the base iPad, the Smart Connector is located on the edge, and the iPad mini has never had a Smart Connector.

For the most up-to-date compatibility information, it’s best to check the manufacturer’s website. At the time of writing, versions of the charger are available for the 4th-generation iPad Air and newer, as well as the 2018 iPad Pro and newer.

How Does It Work?

The advertised benefit here is straightforward: magnetic charging while keeping your USB-C or Thunderbolt port free for other accessories. And yes, it does exactly that.

Once the connector is properly aligned, the magnetic attachment is quite strong. If it feels weak, make sure of two things:
A) The charger is aligned correctly.
B) You ordered the correct size.

I was fully prepared to write a scathing review complaining that this product didn’t work at all before realizing I had ordered the 13-inch version and was trying to use it on my 11-inch iPad. So… don’t do that.

One thing to keep in mind is that because this charger relies on precise alignment with the Smart Connector, most cases will interfere with the connection. I’d argue this is very much a “naked iPad” accessory. And since it uses the Smart Connector, using it alongside the Magic Keyboard is a no-go.

I don’t have professional equipment for measuring power usage, but Kuxiu claims this charger supports fast charging at up to 35W on the new iPad Pros. The company recommends using a USB Power Delivery adapter rated at least 30W for best results. To test this, I very scientifically used my Anker power bank, which conveniently shows real-time output wattage on its display.

With my M5 iPad Pro at around 30% battery, I connected the M30 charger to the power bank. The maximum power draw I observed was 37.1 watts. For comparison, I then tested wired charging using a Thunderbolt cable connected directly to my iPad Pro, where I saw a peak draw of 57 watts. It’s worth noting that the M5 iPad Pro is the first iPad to officially support fast charging.

The results are pretty much what you’d expect: wired charging remains the fastest and most efficient option. That said, the Kuxiu charger is no slouch when it comes to charging speed.

The Good…

This charger does what it says on the tin….it lets you charge your iPad while keeping the USB-C port free. That means you can plug in external storage to work on a Final Cut project, or charge your iPad while recording a podcast using a USB microphone.

With iPadOS 26, Apple is leaning more heavily into the “iPad as a laptop” use case. That shift makes accessories like this more relevant, because the moment you start treating an iPad like a traditional computer, port availability becomes a real constraint.

I’ve also found this charger more enjoyable for lighter tasks like reading or web browsing. Is it dramatically better than just plugging in a cable? No, but it is nice to make use of the Smart Connector for something other than the Magic Keyboard.

As mentioned earlier, the included cable is long enough to be genuinely useful, and it’s braided as well, which adds durability and a nicer overall feel.

…And the Bad

There are a couple of issues that dampen my enthusiasm for this product.

First, depending on how you hold your iPad, especially in portrait orientation, the cable can get in the way. I didn’t have much trouble with this personally, but I can easily see how it could bother others.

Modern iPads already don’t sit completely flat on a surface due to their camera bumps, and this charger makes that problem worse. The wobble you get when pressing on the area charger is noticeable and annoying. This would definitely affect something like note-taking if you’re using the iPad on a flat surface.

But the bigger issue is how this charger uses the Smart Connector.

From the introduction of the Smart Connector with the original iPad Pro in 2015, Logitech has been producing accessories using the proprietary connector, generally at more affordable prices than Apple’s options. Many assumed this meant Apple would eventually open the Smart Connector up more broadly, but that never happened, at least not officially.

So how does this charger interface with the Smart Connector? I’m not entirely sure, but the iPad often thinks the M30 charger is a keyboard when it’s connected. That’s strange, and also a real problem, because it prevents the on-screen keyboard from appearing by default. That makes doing a lot of everyday tasks unnecessarily frustrating.

This isn’t the only accessory I’ve encountered that behaves this way…. some third-party styluses do it too.

Whenever I see products relying on hacky workarounds like this, I can’t help but wonder how long it’ll be before a random iPadOS update breaks compatibility entirely.

And call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like hackery in my chargers.

Conclusion

The takeaway here is that this charger’s limitations highlight a bigger issue: Apple should either provide a cost-effective way for companies beyond Logitech to make Smart Connector accessories, or bring iPhone MagSafe to a future iPad.

I don’t think the Kuxiu M30 is a bad idea. In some scenarios, it’s genuinely useful. I just wish it didn’t have to rely on hacks to work.

I’d recommend the Kuxiu M30 if you regularly run your iPad docked or plugged into peripherals and value keeping your USB-C port free. Just keep in mind that you may want a hardware keyboard while using it. For everyone else, a simple cable remains easier, cheaper, and less fragile from a long-term software compatibility standpoint.