Hands on with Mophie's Juice Pack Helium for iPhone 5
Despite being significantly thinner than its predecessor, the iPhone 5 offers roughly the same battery life. Which, depending on how you use your phone, means anywhere from a full day or more of use, to requiring a late-afternoon charging session. For those in the latter camp—and I occasionally find myself in that group, especially when doing things like covering last week’s Macworld/iWorld show—a battery case is an appealing option. These accessories protect your phone like a case, but include an internal battery for charging—or live-powering—the handset throughout the day.
Unfortunately, the iPhone 5’s taller, thinner shape means battery cases for the iPhone 4/4S don’t fit; and the new Lightning connector means vendors have had to completely retool their electronics. A slew of iPhone 5-compatible battery cases were previewed at CES, but you won’t yet find those models on store shelves.
The first model we’ve seen that’s actually available for sale is from—fittingly—veteran battery-case maker Mophie. Just yesterday, the company let slip details about its new $80 Juice Pack Helium, currently available for pre-order. The company sent us one of the first units, and we’ve been testing it today.
Thin is in
Mophie’s $100 Juice Pack Plus has been our favorite iPhone 4/4S battery case since we reviewed it, but the new Juice Pack Helium appears to be a direct descendent of the company’s Juice Pack Air, which is slimmer than the Plus and uses a 25-percent-smaller battery (1500mAh for the Helium and Air, compared to 2000mAh for the Plus).
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