MacFormat UK – June 2019

macformat.com @macformat JUNE 2019 | MACFORMAT | 87

A

pple’s big phones

use big batteries

to meet the needs

of their large displays and

how hard the devices are

worked these days. It’s still

easy for an iPhone to fall

short on a busy day. Apple

has introduced iPhone XR,

XS and XS Max models of its

humpbacked battery pack.

Beyond the bulge, they’re a

lot like its £45 silicone cases.

The hump on the iPhone

6s version was a little raised

from the bottom and inset

from the left and right. Here,

it’s more neatly integrated

into the overall shape. You

lose the option to rest

a finger under it for

support, sadly; we

found ourselves doing

that at the case’s

bottom and covering

some speaker holes.

You can fully charge both

iPhone and case overnight.

That took Apple’s 5W USB-A

adapter 6 hours 14 minutes,

and its 18W USB-C model

3 hours 17 minutes.

You have to accept extra

bulk, but the case lasted us

through more than 17 hours

of navigation, email, social

media, music and Personal

Hotspot without plugging in,

and about 15% charge left

on the XS Max’s battery.

The silicone is welcome

protection, but there’s no

screen cover like there is on

Apple’s stylish Leather Folio

(£129). Price is the big issue,

though; we’ll test Mophie’s

£99 Juice Pack Access soon.

ALAN STONEBRIDGE

Smart Battery Case

We like big batteries and we cannot lie...

£129 FROM Apple, apple.com/uk FEATURES Silicone body,

passthrough Lightning connector, Qi wireless charging

A good battery case

that integrates with

iOS’s status widget –

but it costs a packet.

++++++

Good for heavy use

Adds at least 17% to

your iPhone’s price

VERDICT

The XS Max case adds 109g to

the already considerable 208g

weight of the phone itself.

T

his handy battery

pack is both small

and affordable. At

only £11, powering up your

device on the go doesn’t mean

breaking the bank.

In fact, it’s less than half

the price of Belkin’s Pocket

Power 5K; it’s cheaper than

Anker’s tube-like PowerCore

5000, though not as portable.

Still, it’s easily small enough

to fit into a shirt pocket.

The USB-A ports mean

you can juice up two devices

at once, but you’re not likely to

get them

both fully

charged from

zero without

having to recharge

the Saver first.

It took 3 hours 12 minutes

to fully charge an iPhone XR

from 0%. When we had to

recharge the XR a couple of

days later, the Sandberg got

it to 7%; if you need to power

up two phones together, you

may get a bit more without

the power bank passively

draining by itself. Given that

Incredible value if

you don’t need a

hugely powerful

battery pack.

++++++

Compact and cheap

Doesn’t feel too sturdy

VERDICT

Sandberg Saver

Powerbank 5000

A bargain battery booster

£10.99 FROM Sandberg, sandberg.it FEATURES 5000mAh

battery, 2x USB-A ports, 9.8x6.3x1.4cm

the battery isn’t enough for

two charges of Apple’s 2018

iPhones, you may need a

more plentiful pack if

you’re a heavy user.

Elsewhere, the design is

nothing special, and looks

nowhere near as nice as

Belkin’s offering. But then

you are getting a compact

battery pack for just over a

tenner, easily offsetting the

so-so looks. ALEX BLAKE

The small display shows

you how much power is

left in the charger.

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