In a nutshell: Qi wireless charging has been around for quite some time, though Apple and its MagSafe feature on the latest iPhones have certainly renewed interest around the technology. A case in point is Mophie's new modular Juice Pack Connect that sticks an adapter to the rear of your phone onto which its wirelessly charging battery pack, or the included stand, can be clipped. It's a fairly convenient, albeit an even more expensive alternative to Apple's MagSafe, though you do get to move around more freely and without the fear of damaging your phone's charging port as with traditional power banks.
Apple is optimistic about a new ecosystem sprouting around its MagSafe-equipped iPhones so it's no surprise to see third-party vendors coming up with their own takes around wireless charging. Mophie's new Juice Connect Pack avoids a few foibles (and added features) of Apple's MagSafe and brings in a few of its own.
On the plus side, the Juice Connect Pack will work with pretty much any Qi-enabled smartphone and offers added flexibility for charging on the move. Users, however, will need to contend with having a permanent black square on the back of their phone (or phone case) to enable the clipping mechanism. The anchor, or connect adaptor as Mophie calls it, permanently sticks on the phone's rear, which then allows for sliding on Mophie's 5,000mAh battery pack or its Connect Stand.
The battery pack also has a USB-C port that can be used to charge a second device or the pack itself when it runs out of juice. Once that happens, users can simply slide on a new pack or attach the provided stand to conveniently stare at their phone and daydream about revolutionary new battery technology that would finally last them a couple of days.
There's no official figure on the Juice Pack Connect's power output, so users shouldn't expect extraordinary charging times. Also, Mophie notes that the power pack won't fully charge the phone, rather juice it up to 70 percent. This presumably has been done to maintain long-term battery life and avoid any overheating or any other potential safety issues.
At $80, the Juice Pack Connect is a tad expensive for a 5,000mAh battery pack, though Mophie does include several accessories in the box and offers a 2-year warranty. Besides the power pack and a quick-start guide, there's a connect stand, wet wipe, a USB-A to USB-C cable, and an alignment tool for the 2 x connect adapters so that buyers can correctly position them and not end up blocking their phone's camera once the battery pack clips on the anchor.
Although it's only available in one capacity, for now, Mophie could add more variations and accessories down the line with this modular approach to prepare for the (likely) future where iPhones and Android phones would one day ship without any ports.