Earlier this summer, Mophie announced and launched a new line of Juice Pack Air cases for the iPhone XS and XS Max, which promise to add extra hours of battery life to your ‌iPhone‌ while providing drop protection. The cases offer many of the same features as Apple's 2019 Smart Battery Case line, but there are a few key differences that I found in terms of their physical design and day-to-day usefulness.

juice pack air review 6

Performance

In regard to daily battery life, I found the ‌Smart Battery Case‌ and Juice Pack Air similar in terms of performance, with an edge given to Apple's case. The Juice Pack Air has a 1,720 mAh battery, while the ‌Smart Battery Case‌ has two 1,369 mAh batteries that allow it to run at a higher voltage to yield a total of 10.1 Wh of energy.

On average, the Juice Pack Air lasted until 4 p.m. during a day of normal use, and one day when I was streaming music from my ‌iPhone‌ to my HomePod for a few hours in the morning, the case died at 1 p.m. that afternoon. Although I found that Mophie's accessory died a bit too early in the day, my ‌iPhone‌'s battery was always able to make it to bedtime so I still never had to worry about finding a charging source at night, which is the entire point of battery cases.

mophie3
Still, in terms of all-day battery Apple's case routinely beat Mophie's in my testing. The ‌Smart Battery Case‌ usually died around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. on my normal usage days, and I'd go to bed with my ‌iPhone‌ at around 70-80 percent battery, compared to 30-50 percent battery with the Juice Pack Air.

On the plus side for the Juice Pack Air, it never faced repeated connection issues that are well known with the ‌Smart Battery Case‌. This problem sees the accessory connect and re-connect to the ‌iPhone‌ randomly when it's being jostled in a pocket or a bag. Likewise, the ‌Smart Battery Case‌ can sometimes cease charging overnight when it's on a Qi mat, so that you'll wake up to only a half-charged case. I never faced any such issues with the Juice Pack Air, although its Qi hotspot was a bit more difficult to find on my Belkin charging mat, especially at night.

mophie2
Although Mophie's Juice Pack Air for ‌iPhone‌ XS is not officially certified to fit the ‌iPhone‌ X, it functions as expected. I had no trouble with the case fitting my ‌iPhone‌ X or facing performance issues, so ‌iPhone‌ X owners interested in Mophie's new accessory don't need to worry about this side of things.

Design

The new Juice Pack Air continues Mophie's click-together design, where you slip your ‌iPhone‌ into the bottom portion of the case and snap the top half of the case to the top of your ‌iPhone‌. This creates a visible seam on the back of the case, just above the enlarged battery portion and below the camera cutout.

juice pack air review 12
The battery bump on the Juice Pack Air is smaller than Apple's, but the reason for that is because the Mophie case has more length to it -- and thus more surface area to spread out -- due to the large chin on the front of the case. While I liked how thin it felt for a battery case, I didn't like the trade off of having the large chin on the case.

mophie1
Otherwise, the Juice Pack Air design is standard for an ‌iPhone‌ case, with a passthrough Lightning port, raised front edges, bumpers for the volume and lock buttons, and a satisfying matte finish. The case also performed well when I accidentally dropped my ‌iPhone‌ on concrete one day, with only one small nick near the case's camera bump cutout showing any signs of damage (my ‌iPhone‌ was unscathed).

It's worth noting that this is Mophie's first case that includes charging through a passthrough Lightning port. Previously, Mophie's battery cases included a MicroUSB port for passthrough wired charging. With a Lightning port -- and wireless charging -- keeping the Juice Pack Air topped off is far easier.

Juice Pack Air vs Smart Battery Case

The biggest issue I had switching from Apple's case to Mophie's was the lack of iOS integration with the Juice Pack Air. Apple's ‌Smart Battery Case‌ displays the battery life of the case itself every time you charge it, and in the iOS Widgets screen, making it a cinch to quickly see how much battery you have left in total. It's a small bonus, but one that became so wholly integrated into my day-to-day ‌iPhone‌ X usage that I felt a bit hindered without it.

juice pack air review 11
In comparison, the Juice Pack Air has four small LED lights on the lower back of the case. A button to their left can be pressed and the LEDs will activate to represent how much battery is left in the case, and holding it will turn the case on to charge your ‌iPhone‌.

I had an ongoing issue with guessing what battery was left in the Juice Pack Air, particularly as the LEDs would dwindle down to two or three lights fairly early in the day, and then stay at one light until around 4 or 5 p.m. For those afternoon hours, I never knew exactly how close the case was to being dead.

juice pack air review 10
Turning on the two cases is also very different. With Apple's, the case simply activates the minute it's charged and is always providing battery to the ‌iPhone‌. With Mophie's you have to manually activate it with a long press of the button next to the LEDs.

This is a difference that can either be a pro or con, depending on how much control you want over your battery case. I liked not having to think about turning the case on, but those who would prefer to run out their ‌iPhone‌ battery a little bit before it begins charging would find advantage in the Juice Pack Air.

Bottom Line

Mophie's new line of Juice Pack Air cases for the ‌iPhone‌ XS and XS Max offer the battery life and solid craftsmanship that's expected from Mophie, but a few of its design choices keep it from being the absolute best ‌iPhone‌ battery case on the market.

juice pack air review 5
At $99.95, you're essentially doubling the battery life of your ‌iPhone‌ in an accessory that has a sleek body but unattractive chin design. For $30 more at $129.00, Apple's case just nudges out Mophie's in terms of battery life, and has a more subtle design, barring a slightly bigger battery hump.

If you need a battery case for an ‌iPhone‌ X, XS, or XS Max that can barely make it through the day on its own, the Juice Pack Air is still a solid choice in its price range.

How to Buy

The Juice Pack Air for iPhone XS and XS Max is available to purchase for $99.95 on Mophie.com. Colors available include Black, Gold, Navy, and Deep Red.

Note: Mophie provided MacRumors with the Juice Pack Air for ‌iPhone‌ XS for the purposes of this review; no other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Mophie. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Tag: Mophie

Top Rated Comments

jav6454 Avatar
60 months ago
In the end, Apple's solution is better. The case and iOS integration saves a hassle of trying to balance charge and power draw.

Because iOS can communicate directly with Apple's case, it means wear on the internal iPhone battery is reduced as its the iPhone's CPU handling when and where to get power from and how to manage battery power, not the user.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boshii Avatar
60 months ago
Too late for these. New iPhones coming in a month and they won’t fit this case.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TrulsZK Avatar
60 months ago
In my opinion Apple's Smart battery case is better due to the iOS integration you will not get from the Juice Pack.
The only thing I do not like is that I have to look at the today widget to see battery percentage of the case, iOS should merge the two batteries and show a combined battery percentage in the status bar, or show both batteries, like dual sim.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blevins321 Avatar
60 months ago

No one wants a USB-C connector other than about 10,000 people that exist inside this delusional tech bubble. The rest of 1 billion people or so with iPhones want Lightning to stay just as it is.
I think this preference might be changing now that iPads use USB-C. It would be very nice to not have to carry around another cable just to charge my phone when my iPad and laptop both otherwise use the same cord.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ruslan120 Avatar
60 months ago
It would have been cool if Mophie had innovated in this space and added reverse wireless charging to the back of this to offer a leg up on the competition.

I’m imagining wirelessly charging my AirPods on the go.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PhillyGuy72 Avatar
60 months ago
I had the Morphie for a day and then returned it, it worked but the length was just a tad too long for my pocket. Traded it for the XS Max Smart Battery last week, which was (still is) on Sale at Best buy for 110 in black. Yeah it's heavier and I did have some odd readings in the first night when it came to % on the case and phone. Seemed it synced up and it's perfect now. For me, the Apple case is just better for me.
[doublepost=1566304816][/doublepost]
BPA free? Or does the box come with the usual fine print... "might cause cancer" ?
I think everything I buy now has that "May cause cancer" warning.
That "California Proposition 65" warning disclaimer that by law must be on all things plastic.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
apple wallet drivers license feature

Apple Said iPhone Driver's Licenses Would Expand to These 8 U.S. States… Two Years Ago

Thursday March 14, 2024 7:33 am PDT by
In just four U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports, businesses, and venues. Adoption of the feature has been slow since Apple first announced it in September 2021, with IDs in the Wallet app only available in Arizona,...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
OLED iPad Air

iPad Air Next on Apple's OLED Tablet Roadmap Following iPad Pro

Friday March 15, 2024 3:30 am PDT by
The iPad Air will be the next Apple tablet to adopt OLED display panel technology following its upcoming OLED iPad Pro models, according to an updated forecast from research firm Omdia (via The Elec). "In 2028, we expect the iPad Air to go OLED as well, with the iPad Air using single-stack and the iPad Pro using two-stack tandem OLEDs," said Omdia researcher Kang Min-soo, speaking on...
Walmart MacBook Air M1

Walmart Begins Selling MacBook Air With M1 Chip for $699 in U.S.

Friday March 15, 2024 6:57 am PDT by
Walmart today announced that it has started selling the MacBook Air with the M1 chip in the U.S., with pricing set at a very reasonable $699. The laptop can be ordered now on Walmart.com, and it will be available soon at select Walmart stores. This is the first time that customers can purchase a Mac that is sold directly by Walmart, the company said in a press release. Some other retailers...