I purchased this product and all opinions are my own. I was not paid for this review.
I have always loved the latest tech and I use my phone A LOT! That is why I knew I had to have the latest Juicepack Air iPhone 7 Plus battery case from Mophie. Not only does it add battery life of my already long iPhone battery but it adds wireless charging to the iPhone so I will no longer get teased by my Android-loving friends.
Case Selection
I have used Mophie’s battery cases in the past and was immediately disappointed that Mophie did not have a case for the iPhone 7 plus when it launched. They kept sending me emails that it was coming and that it was going to be amazing, so I decided to wait. Besides, I could not find any other cases that would incorporate wireless charging.
Battery
Unlike how Mophie has offered different size cases with varying battery capacities in the past, the only option now is a 2420mAh battery which doesn’t quite double the 2900mAh battery built into the iPhone.
Color & Finish
The only real option is color but the price I paid for being an early adopter was that Best Buy had not yet received all of the 5 different colors (black, rose gold, gold, navy and red) when I wanted to order. So I settled on black and also decided I should order one for my wife in the rose gold.
I was quite surprised when they arrived that the black is a matte rubbery finish yet the rose gold is a painted, almost glossy, finish. This drastically changes the look of the two cases. So much so that if I hadn’t known better I would have thought they were from two different brands. It also let to my wife disliking her case. The glossy finish always made her feel like it was going to slip out of her hands.
Size
The iPhone 7 plus is not a small phone. When you add this battery case to it, it more than doubles in thickness and weight. I recognize that any battery case will do that and it is not a big issue for me as I have big hands and huge pockets but for my wife it was just “too big”.
Wireless Charging and Operation
Charging
I mentioned earlier how wireless charging was a key feature that I wanted to add to my iPhone. This case delivers that feature and does it well. Mophie uses that standard Qi protocol used by wireless charging Android phones so the same chargers should work. I bought Mophie’s Charge Force desk mount charger which uses magnets to hold the phone vertically while it charges. The magnets are very powerful and I have never had a fear of it falling off. The mount also has a sticky bottom if you want to keep it in place on you desk. It has enough weight that it won’t fall over even if you don’t stick it down though.
It definitely has a certain “coolness” feature to it knowing that my phone is charging and I didn’t plug it in. It feels like the future.
My biggest “charging” complaint is that Mophie still uses microUSB instead of lightning cables for iPhones. This means that if you need to charge somewhere where you don’t have wireless charging (like a hotel), you had better remember to bring a microUSB cable. This also prevents any use of wired headphones as you can’t use Apple’s lightning to headphone adapter.
Operation
If you have ever used a Mophie battery case before, you are used to the lights on the back of the case showing how charged it is and the little switch that you enable to start charging your phone. This case still has the battery capacity light but the switch is gone!
This totally changes the way the case operates. The battery case is always on keeping your phone battery at 100% until the case dies. The concept works fine but on more than one occasion I have offered my wife my dead case to charge her phone without even thinking to check the battery lights on the back of the case.
As far as I can tell, the case operates this same way when it is being charged on the wireless dock too. You are only charging the case with the power from the dock, then the case charges the phone.
The Verdict
If you need extra battery capacity, the Mophie Juicepack Air Case for iPhone 7 Plus, is probably one of the best options on the market and it gives the added benefit of wireless charging. Unless you are in love with a certain color, I recommend staying with the matte black finish as it is much grippier and easier to hold.
