For years, iPad users have lived with a small, maddening gap in Apple’s otherwise tight ecosystem: there’s no built-in MagSafe or Qi wireless charging for tablets. That absence has spawned a cottage industry of clever third-party workarounds — and the newest one, from a company called Kuxiu, is the sort of little idea that should have been obvious all along. The M30 Magnetic Smart Connector Charger snaps to the back of supported iPads (iPad Pro and Air only) with a magnet and powers the tablet through the Smart Connector pins used by keyboards and other accessories, giving you the “stick-on, forget-about-it” convenience of wireless charging without Apple actually putting coils in the iPad.

The M30 is a puck-like accessory that attaches magnetically to the back of iPads that expose the Smart Connector — essentially the same physical interface Apple uses for the Magic Keyboard and Logitech’s keyboard cases. Unlike true wireless charging (which transfers power through induction coils), this uses the metal contacts of the Smart Connector to deliver power. That means it’s not Qi or MagSafe — but the experience is closer to “wireless” than plugging in a cable, because you can slap it on and let it charge while freeing the iPad’s single USB-C port for other things. Kuxiu lists the device at $39.99 and sells it directly from its site.

Smart Connector charging is a neat technical dodge. The Smart Connector was designed from the start for accessories that need power and data without pairing or batteries; Apple documents how keyboards use that connection. Kuxiu simply leveraged the pins for power delivery rather than for keyboard signals. The result: a magnetic charger that behaves like a MagSafe puck in daily use, even if the underlying physics are different.

Kuxiu’s compatibility list is explicit: the M30 supports a range of iPad Pro and iPad Air models that expose a rear Smart Connector and can accept charge through it — that includes the M4 iPad Pro models and several 11- and 12.9-inch Pro generations, plus certain M2/M3 iPad Airs and 10.9-inch Airs (4th and 5th gen). If your iPad uses the Smart Connector on the back, in most cases you’ll be able to use the M30. Check Kuxiu’s selector and Apple’s compatibility pages before you buy — Smart Connector placement and capabilities have shifted across models and years.

Here’s the number people will notice: charging speed. Kuxiu’s published specs say that M2- and M3-powered models get up to about 18W from the M30, while M4 iPad Pros can pull as much as 35W when attached. That’s faster than the new Qi2.2 wireless ceiling (which recently raised wireless-charging limits for phones to ~25W) and faster than the iPhone’s MagSafe puck in most real-world scenarios — because this isn’t limited by coil alignment or induction inefficiencies. In practice, that means M4 iPad Pro owners might see a notably quicker top-up than you’d get from a run-of-the-mill wireless pad

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No accessory is perfect, and the M30 is a collection of compromises that lean heavily on convenience.

Advantages

• One less cable to plug in — you pop the M30 on, the iPad charges, and you can keep the USB-C port free.
• Magnetic detachment avoids wearing the USB-C connector.
• For M4 owners, the speed boost to ~35W is a real perk for a small accessory.

Things to watch out for

• It’s not “wireless” in the Qi/MagSafe sense. Because it uses physical pins, dirt, grit, or a misaligned magnet could break the electrical connection.
• Cases and covers are a factor. Any thick protective case that hides the Smart Connector will block the M30 — you’ll need a case with an exposed connector or accept removing the case.
• Thermal behavior. Any charging system produces heat; third-party accessories sometimes generate more heat than first-party chargers. Kuxiu’s documentation includes standard disclaimers about usage and environment, but independent reviews (and longer term user reports) will be the real test.

Apple has flirted with concepts that look like MagSafe for iPad in patents and supply-chain rumors, and outlets have speculated about future iPads with MagSafe or reverse wireless charging. But for now, the company has left Smart Connector power and true wireless charging as separate domains. That gap is exactly why companies like Kuxiu can ship niche solutions quickly: the hardware is already there, it just hasn’t been used for power in a consumer product at scale until now. Whether Apple eventually builds an integrated MagSafe-style system for iPads remains rumor fodder — and, if it happens, it would likely be more tightly integrated than anything a third party can offer.

If you’re someone who uses your iPad as a portable workstation and hates unplugging USB-C accessories, the M30 solves a very specific annoyance. It’s cheap enough at $39.99 to try without buyer’s-remorse, and if you own an M4 iPad Pro, the faster charging is a legitimate practical benefit. But if you’re protective of heat, use a thick case, or want true inductive wireless charging that works regardless of the connector, this is not a magical cure — it’s a clever, pragmatic workaround that will fit some workflows extremely well and other setups not at all.