Mophie Juice Pack Plus iPhone 6 battery case

Mophie's Juice Pack Plus case for the iPhone 6 makes the phone bigger and heavier, but it provides the thing we all crave most: extra battery life. Using the Mophie case, you can run the iPhone 6 for over twice as long as you're used to before having to plug it back in and recharge.

The Juice Pack Plus case is built with precision using a lightweight material, and it has an integrated 3300 milliamp-hour lithium polymer battery rated for 500 charge cycles. It adds about 4mm to the top and sides of the iPhone 6, about 13mm to the bottom, and there's a bit of extra thickness, too. It weighs 111g on its own, meaning your iPhone 6 will go from 126g to 237g with the Mophie Juice Pack Plus case installed.

To install the case, you must first pull off its top part, which then allows the iPhone 6 to slide down into the case's confines using tracks for guidance.The top part can then be re-attached to the case by sliding it on the phone in a similar manner.

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You need to make sure that the mute switch is in the same position both on the phone and on the case in order for the case to close. It doesn't matter if it's not, as the switch will revert to whichever position the case is set, but we recommend taking the time to align them in order to get the case closed in the smoothest fashion.

Buttons translate fluently from the case to the phone, with no problems whatsoever being faced by us when pressing the power and volume buttons. We didn't ever experience poor responsiveness from these buttons, and they largely feel like they are the iPhone's actual buttons except for the fact that they are a little stiffer in operation.

You can still use the camera while the Mophie Juice Pack Plus case is attached, with an ample gap given to ensure the lens on the rear is unimpeded in its field of view. The case acts as a protector of sorts to the lens, given that it adds an elevated border around it so that the lens never rests on a flat surface again.

Slits that face forward at the bottom of the case are ported to allow the speaker to continue emitting its sound unhindered, and for the microphone to pick up your voice.

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At the bottom edge, an adapter has to be plugged in to the headphone jack so that it can still be accessible to your headphones (the port is too deep for headphone plugs to reach otherwise), and the charging port on the bottom is of the micro-USB variety, negating the need to use your Lightning cable. You can continue to plug it in to your iPhone's charger, or accommodate a USB port on a computer.

In terms of how much extra power you get, the Juice Pack Plus is rated to give your iPhone 6 a further 120 per cent of battery life over its normal operation. This means you can use up the charge in your iPhone completely, then charge the iPhone using the case, let that run down again, and then charge the phone a further 20 per cent. It was a product that was true to its marketing during our tests, too, as we'll now explain.

A little switch at the back of the case determines whether the case is actively charging the phone or not. You can switch it on (to green) only when your phone's battery starts dipping to a low level, or you can leave it in the red position. We started charging our iPhone with the Mophie case when the iPhone's battery got down to 19 per cent (Mophie recommends you start charging at 20 per cent and stop at 80 per cent for optimal results). It took about an hour to completely charge the phone to 100 per cent from 19 per cent while the phone was only sporadically in use.

Our second charge started once more when the iPhone dipped down to 20 per cent. Starting the charge from this point, it was able to give a further 39 per cent worth of battery life in about 40min, taking the iPhone's charge to 59 per cent before the case was fully depleted. This 39 per cent battery charge, along with the 81 per cent battery charge from our first run, equals exactly the extra 120 per cent of battery life that Mophie claims the case can give you.

You can see how much charge is left in the Mophie case by pressing the button at the back. Four indicator lights in a row suggest a fully charged Mophie, with two suggesting a half-depleted Mophie. To recharge the Mophie, you have to plug it in to a charger or computer via micro-USB. The iPhone 6 will charge first, and once that reaches full capacity, then the case will start charging. Quick-charge technology allows the case to be filled with a full charge in about two hours.

In addition to supplying more battery life for your iPhone 6, the Mophie Juice Pack Plus can guard the phone against accidental drops. It features edge bumpers that can try their best to absorb shock if the phone is accidentally dropped. For this protection, it incorporates a rubber-like material in the frame across the top and its corners, and along the sides, inclusive of the bottom corners.

How much extra life you get out of the Mophie Juice Pack Plus depends on how use your phone. Suffice to say, it will more than double the time your phone can be used without being plugged in to a charger, though you will have to wait longer while charging in order for the case to also receive its charge. It's a good product to consider if you value extra battery life and don't care much about the extra bulk given to your phone.

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