Chris InglisThe latest in power bank technology for mobiles comes from Belkin with their BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand. Despite the unit’s small profile, it makes charging your iPhone while on-the-go a breeze. There are no cables to worry about and with its sturdy fold-out stand, allows you to charge the phone whilst watching a video or hands-free on a video call. The unit comes in white or black variants and this review utilised the white version.
With the latest in MagSafe technology, this magnetic wireless power bank simply attaches to the back of an iPhone with ease. Weighing in at 150g which is less than my iPhone 12 Pro, putting them together does feel a little weighty in my hands. This was fine when riding in the car or on the bus but at home or at the office, utilising the fold-out stand was my preferred option. It supports the iPhone in either portrait or landscape orientations and doesn’t feel like it’s going to topple over. The stand also angled the phone so I could easily read notifications at a glance and watch videos in either orientation.
The power bank has a 5,000 mAH charging potential, so it’s not the most powerful power bank on the market but its smaller profile was better suited for my mobile gaming activities. This provides up to an additional 19 hours of video playback on my iPhone which far surpasses my requirements. I don’t play too many mobile games aside from when needing to review one, but it gave me confidence that I didn’t have to worry about conserving battery power or remembering to plug it back into my usual USB power before going to bed.
Having the BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank connected to the phone doesn’t obstruct the camera thankfully and it’s easy to read how much power is remaining via the four LED indicators on the side of the power bank, next to the power button. My phone has a thin but firm case to protect the phone, and this power bank has no issue magnetically connecting through it. My wife’s phone case is slightly thicker and a softer material, so while the power bank doesn’t mag lock as strongly to her phone through the case, it still maintains connection enough to charge her phone.
We tried this power bank on our kid’s iPads which unfortunately didn’t connect, and it also didn’t connect to our Apple watches, so it is restricted only to iPhones. However, the device comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable, so this was able to power up my Nintendo Switch and EPOS H3 Pro Hybrid headset. My PCs are showing their age as they don’t have USB-C connections, so I was reliant on my iPhone 13’s power adaptor to charge the power bank. However, this power bank allows pass-through charging so you can continue to wirelessly charge a connected device when charging the power bank itself.
The BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank can wirelessly charge the iPhone with up to 7.5W of power so it is not as fast as utilising a USB-C charging cable plugged into mains power. However, utilising the supplied USB-C cable can output 10W of charging power for other devices. This is a great benefit for keeping my Nintendo Switch charged and this will come in use when I next take my family on a camping trip.
Overall, I was impressed with the capabilities of the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank, particularly with its small profile and handy fold-out stand. Being limited to connecting just to our iPhones though meant it’s not the all-in-one solution that would suit all of my device requirements. However, I could still charge my Nintendo Switch and EPOS headphones with the supplied USB-C cable. This has allowed me to get back to playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom while on the commute to work and not have to worry about battery power, so I am a happy gamer.
This review utilised a unit supplied by Closer Communications and the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand is available now for AUD69.95 from Belkin, Amazon, and other retailers.
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