Mophie Juice Pack Helium for iPhone 5

By Carolyn Barry May 4, 2015
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Don’t be caught out with this 2-in-1 iPhone charger and cover

IT HAPPENS AT the most inopportune times: an important call you can’t make, missing that photo moment as your phone powers down to that disappointing black screen.

Let’s face it, a standard amount of messaging and web searching, a smidge of YouTube and all the selfies, will barely last you a day without needing to charge your phone.

When buying a portable iPhone charger, it’s best to go with a reputable brand. Certified by Apple Inc, the Mophie Helium juice pack almost doubles your iPhone’s available battery life.
The juice pack will add some bulk to your iPhone 5, but wrapping a battery up into a case is an easy way to always have your charger on you. I found that if I was going to be out all day, I snapped on the case just before heading out.

At home you can charge the juice pack with your phone by connecting it through a micro-USB cord to a computer or an iPhone-designated power pack. Mophie recommends not using the charger until your phone is on 20%, and then switching it to stand-by when you hit 80% (it needs a main power source to charge your phone beyond this).

There are two front speakers that redirect sound to the front of the device, which solves the annoying iPhone design of having the sound come out of speakers at one end.

The blinking charge light turned off after a brief time and I found this a little confusing as I thought something was amiss. But after reading further info on the website, I found that this feature is designed to “help you get a good night’s sleep” – that is, without a blinking light to disturb you. In reality, it’s likely more of an energy-saving function, as it’s a small light and you can just turn the device over to avoid seeing it.

What is useful is that pressing the small button on the back next to the LED lights will give you an indication of how much charge is left – 4/4 lights means a full charge.

The Helium juice pack comes in a variety of colours and has a one-year warranty. You should get about 500 full charge cycles before the performance of the juice pack starts to deteriorate.

RRP $99.95 www.mophie.com.au
Tested by Carolyn Barry