The iPod/iPhone aftermarket is rife with cheap, me-too cases and other plastic, made-in-[insert 4th world country here]-with-child-labor do-dad manufacturers. I could put my first born through Harvard Law by auctioning off the mountain of (ahem) useless iAccessories we’ve accumulated here at Vagabondish.com HQ.
Vagabondish is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Read our disclosure.
Not so with Mophie which has been a pleasantly unexpected departure, offering a consistently high quality, excellent line of products. Our latest test model – the Mophie Juice Pack Air — a backup battery/hard case combo for the iPhone is no exception.
Available in black, white and purple
Design
Construction is a simple, two-piece affair. You first slide the iPhone into the bottom piece until it snugs into place against the battery/data connection. You then slide the top “cap” on until the whole apparatus clicks neatly into place. Once in place, the iPhone and the Juice Pack Air can simultaneously be charged by plugging the included cable into any USB slot on your computer or the standard wall adapter included with the iPhone.
I rather like the piano black finish of our test unit. It blends seamlessly with the design and shape of the iPhone – enough so that it looks “stock”.
Battery Life
A convenient series of four battery indicator lights on the back of the unit are available at the touch of a button to ”¦ wait for it ”¦ indicate your remaining battery life.
And that battery life is generous indeed. According to Mophie (and my own mixed-use testing):
- Standby Time: 270 hours
- Talk Time: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) / Up to 9 hours (2G)
- Internet Use: Up to 4.5 hours (3G) / Up to 5.4 hours (Wi-Fi)
- Audio Playback: Up to 20 hours
- Video Playback: Up to 6 hours
These numbers virtually double the life of the iPhone’s internal battery. That’s more than enough juice to keep you quietly bobbing your head on the red eye from LA to London. Or, as is my peculiar wont, to share a six hour continuous loop of Afternoon Delight with my seatmates. Just to be a silly goose.
Even turns purple when held near your crotch!
I have two minor quibbles. Firstly, the piano black finish attracts fingerprints like nobody’s business. This is a bit of a running gripe I have with all similarly finished products. We’ve devised near-calorie free snack cakes and launched countless C-list celebrities into space. Can someone not invent a black, smudge-free iPhone accessory?
#2 (or “B” if you’re keeping track alphabetically): For lovers of the ultra-slim form factor the iPhone offers, the Juice Pack Air doubles its thickness. But if you, like me, were previously lugging around a 90’s era cell phone a la Michael Douglas in Wall Street, you won’t notice the difference. I’ve grown somewhat attached to the added heft though — it makes the whole package feel much more solid.
And hey, did I mention it doubles your battery life?
The Bottom Line
Overall, I highly recommend the Mophie Juice Pack Air for iPhone users who frequently travel. At $80, it ain’t cheap. But if you want a hard case/backup battery combo that actually works, spend the extra cash.
“Afternoon deliiiiii-iiiiight ”¦.”