Regardless of whether you’re carrying the iPhone 15 or the iPhone 15 Pro, you have a great phone. But if there is one criticism about it, it’s battery life. Ever since the iPhone 14, battery life has been something of a concern if you’re someone who puts their phone through heavy usage. I carry an iPhone 15 Pro and, depending on what I do that day, I have been known to toss one of the best MagSafe battery packs onto the phone from time to time, especially if I’ve been away from Wi-Fi for the day.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Mophie is a big name in power banks and portable chargers, and it is a subsidiary of Zagg, where the expertise centers around phone cases. When the two put their talents for accessories together, they came up with the Mophie Juice Pack for the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (curiously, there’s no iPhone 15 Plus model). The charging case has a lot going for it, but also introduces some compromises. I’ve been using the Mophie Juice Pack with my iPhone 15 Pro for a little over a week and here are my thoughts.
The Mophie Juice Pack brings protection and power to your iPhone 15. It turns your iPhone into a two-day phone while keeping it safe at the same time. It has some compromises, but the extra battery power might be worth it.
What I liked about it
Power to spare
Putting the case on the iPhone is easy. Take the case apart, and slide the iPhone down over the USB plug at the bottom. Secure the top of the case over the phone, and you’re set. A button and four LED lights adorn the back of the case. Press the button once to see your charge level, and long-press the button to start powering the iPhone.
Obviously, the headline for the Juice Pack is the power it provides. I’ll be honest, I thought the 2,400mAh of power it offered was a tad on the weak side. Even the super-thin Raycon Magic Power Bank Slim packs 5,000mAh into its diminutive frame. So I was dubious when I first slid my iPhone into the case, wondering exactly how much extra juice I would really get.
As it turns out, it was just enough. A modern smartphone with “good” battery life should get you through about a day and a half of moderate usage when you’re on Wi-Fi most of the time. The first night, I set my phone down on my night table without plugging it in — and did the same thing the next night. By that next morning, the phone and the juice pack were getting low, but still, I had clocked two days.
The nice thing is, the case supports pass-through charging, which means when you plug the case in, you’re charging the phone as well. Plugging in charges the phone first, then the case when the phone is topped off. By morning, you’ll find both ready to go. When your iPhone starts to get low, long-press the button and your iPhone starts to charge. It’s super simple.
Solid protection
Meanwhile, the case itself provides a good amount of protection for your phone. The case only adds about 8mm of thickness to the phone overall. The buttons are precisely cut and very clicky. The case is made out of polycarbonate and feels really comfortable to hold. The phone screen is set back 1.5 millimeters to protect your phone from face-down drops.
According to Mophie, your phone should be protected from drops of up to 6 feet. That’s more than you’ll probably ever have to deal with, unless you often find yourself on ladders. There are two cutouts at the bottom of the case for speakers, so audio from the down-firing speakers on your iPhone is not affected. Overall, the case feels sturdy and protective, which is everything an iPhone case should be.
What I didn’t like about it
Expensive and boring
The Mophie Juice Pack is expensive. You’ll find it for anywhere between $75 to $100 depending on the retailer, which is a lot. It’s actually more than both the Raycon Magic Power Bank Slim and an average MagSafe compatible case for your iPhone that you’ll find on Amazon. The case comes in any color you want, as long as it’s black, so there’s not even an opportunity to add some style or flair to your iPhone. You’re basically turning your titanium and glass phone into a black plastic brick.
Add that to the expensive part, and there’s a lot to not enjoy about the pack. If you’re someone who values function over form, then this won’t bother you, but for someone who likes the design of their iPhone, this is definitely a bummer. Plus, there’s one other big consideration.
It breaks wireless charging and MagSafe
Of course, for me, the professed “MagSafe fanatic,” the real deal breaker is the fact that this battery case breaks wireless charging and MagSafe. It’s a very understandable compromise. There’s simply no place to put the battery except between the back of the case and the back of the iPhone. It also doesn’t make sense to include a ring of magnets so you can still attach MagSafe accessories. That would cause too much confusion as people tried to charge their phones with MagSafe only to find it doesn’t work. It’s a better design decision to just leave it off.
But the fact is, I use MagSafe a lot, so a case like this is something of a non-starter. I could attach an adapter to the case, but the battery pack adds too much weight for most of my stands anyway, and I can just stuff my MagSafe wallet into my pocket. But I am not everyone, so if you don’t care about MagSafe, then this might be the case for you.
Bottom line
Simply put, this is a nice case that adds a lot of functionality to your iPhone. If you don’t care about aesthetics or MagSafe, this might be a good pickup. If you are concerned about either of those factors, you can probably skip this one. You can easily pick up a case and a battery pack for your iPhone for less than the Juice Pack’s asking price. But having a single device that does both is compelling under the right circ*mstances — it’s just up to you to determine if you meet those.
