I’ve never really got the point of wireless charging phone cases — I’d rather plug my phone in on a nightstand, and the cases themselves add all sorts of bulk. But pair a wirelessly-charging battery case with a magnetic phone holder for your car? That’s all sorts of clever.
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Mophie has done exactly that with its new Juice Pack Wireless. The $100 case has a small battery inside to give you 50 percent more charge, but it also adds wireless charging capability. Drop the phone on a compatible wireless charging pad, and it will charge up the phone. So far, so boring.
The key here is the magnets in the case, and in the line of different charging mounts Mophie is making. There’s an air vent mount for cars, and a stand-up mount for your desk. I already use a (much cheaper) magnetic mount in my car, and a docking station at my desk, but Mophie’s versions are quicker to use, and will charge your phone without needing to plug in a wire.
There are still concerns. Mophie’s case costs $100, and the air vent and desk mounts are $60 a pop. My car mount was $7. I also don’t like having to juice up the Mophie case with a micro-USB cable, since I don’t carry that around with me like I do a Lightning cable. Wireless charging is also an unsettled industry: Mophie’s case supports Qi and Powermat solutions, the two most popular on the market, but new technologies are in the pipeline that could be much faster (and make Mophie’s case obsolete).
But overall, getting an extra 50 percent battery charge, and wireless charging, seems like it would be worth $100. I just hope Mophie keeps launching cases for new phones that work with the older wireless charging pads.
