A conventional magnet has one north pole and one south pole. Its field loops a long way out from the magnet, its strength at any distance is fixed by size, shape and grade, and two of them have no preferred rotational position when they meet.
A correlated magnet carries a pattern of many poles on the working face. CMR, which uses the phrase correlated magnetic systems in its press material, explains the effect with two principles on its FAQ: flux leaves one pole and seeks the opposite pole, and it takes the lowest-energy path to get there. Packing many small opposite poles side by side gives the flux short paths, so the field is concentrated close to the surface instead of leaking into the air.
Three practical differences follow. Holding force at contact goes up, because less flux is wasted. Reach goes down, because the field falls off faster with distance; CMR recommends keeping the gap to a Polymagnet or its steel target under 2 mm, depending on geometry and pattern. And the pattern can add behavior: a pair can align, latch, spring or detent rather than simply attract.
The trade-offs are real. Correlated pairs are made as matched pairs, and some behaviors, such as latch and spring, only work when the two parts are mechanically constrained and centered.
WholeMagnetics, 2026-10-04. Polymagnet facts are taken from Correlated Magnetics Research’s public pages, listed below; vendor performance figures are CMR’s own.