Keeping your phone going for a whole day of heavy use can sometimes be a chore, and while USB power packs are common, battery backpacks like the Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 6 Plus can be a more convenient option.
Rather than tethering your phone to a battery with a USB cable, the Mophie Juice Pack acts as a case for the iPhone 6 Plus, while simultaneously packing a 2600mAh battery. Mophie claims it will increase battery life by over 60%.
The Mophie Juice Pack is offered in three colours to match your iPhone 6 Plus: black, white, and gold. Mophie was kind enough to send out a gold unit for this review.
Let me get this out of the way early: the Mophie Juice Pack is huge. While the iPhone 6 Plus may be slender, it isn’t small, and the Mophie Juice Pack only exacerbates the situation.
The case adds over 1cm to the height, 0.5cm to the weight, and more than doubles the thickness!
The case is completely made from plastic, with a matte/satin finish on the gold unit. On the back of the Mophie Juice Pack are a battery meter and the on/off switch. The cut out for the camera and flash is nice and large, with a matte black surround that should avoid glare issues from the flash.
There are volume and power buttons on their respective sides, and a cut out for the ringer switch.
At the bottom is the microUSB connector and a cut out for the 3.5mm headphone jack. The recess is about 1cm deep, which would negate the use of most headphones without an adaptor (aside from Apple’s). Thankfully one is included in the package.
On the front are two grills for redirecting the speaker output and microphone pickup from the bottom of the iPhone 6 Plus. Small rubber gaskets make a clean connection between the base of the phone and these pass throughs.
The inside of the Mophie Juice Pack is lined with matte black plastic, with super tiny rubber risers to help protect the back of the phone.
The iPhone 6 Plus slides into the Mophie Juice Pack through the removable top. Once connected to the Lightning connector at the bottom, push the top back on.
The case creates a 1mm lip around the front of the phone, so if you’re prone to placing your phone screen-down onto surfaces it will offer some protection from scratches.
Where the iPhone 6 Plus is *okay* to carry around in a jeans pocket naked, its far less comfortable when in the Mophie Juice Pack. It is simply too large.
But, after a few weeks of use, I found I was using it in a different way.
I regularly use my iPhone 6 Plus without a case, the only protection coming from a rubberised protector fitted to the back that makes it grippy.
Instead of carrying the iPhone 6 Plus around in the Mophie Juice Pack, I would have the case on standby in my bag should I need some extra power before the end of the day.
Slipping my dying iPhone 6 Plus into the case and flipping the switch, it would immediately start charging, while I can still go about my day. Making phone calls and generally using the phone was far more convenient than using a battery pack tethered with a USB cord.
What impressed me the most was how much extra juice I got out of it. I easily got the 60% boost out of the pack that Mophie claimed, regularly getting a little bit more.
One of my tests netted a 73% boost (from 5% to 78% on the iPhone battery meter) before it was depleted.
Charge time was also much better than I expected. With minimal use while charging, the iPhone 6 Plus recharged from 5% to 78% in less than two hours. When it comes time to charge the Mophie via USB, it will charge your phone first before recharging it’s own battery. The case can be charged without a phone in it too.
If you need more life out of your phone than it can provide, the Mophie Juice Pack is definitely worth a look.
Source: Manufacturer provided sample
What I Like: Boosts battery life by over 60%, more convenient than a USB battery pack
What Needs Improvement: It’s massive
