A great option for charging multiple devices while traveling.
A few years ago, when I was traveling a lot more, I was always at a loss about what chargers to take with me. Since I had an iPhone, laptop, Apple Watch, and AirPods, I just couldn’t decide what the best option was. For the longest time, I would just take a bunch of cables with me and then plug in and out cables to charge my phone, watch, and whatever else. While this works, it’s not ideal. These days, having a battery with enough oomph to get my devices powered and ready to go is the best option. That’s why I’m glad that I now have the Powerstation All-in-one from Mophie.
DETAILS
The Powerstation All-in-one is a 8,000 mAh wireless portable battery that features a built-in Apple Watch charger. It’s designed to work with the AirPods Pro, AirPods (with wireless charging case), Apple Watch, and iPhone. In addition to the built-in Apple Watch charger, the Powerstation has a wireless charging pad, a USB-A, and a USB-C port included. The battery recharges using the USB-C port. It does come with a short USB-C to USB-A charging cable. Mophie refers to this battery as the “Swiss Army knife of Portable Chargers.” The wireless charger provides up to 5W of power for compatible devices and the USB-C port can deliver up to 18W of power.
| Warranty | 2 years |
| Dimensions | 2.83 in x 6.48 in x 0.7 in |
| Weight | 0.24 lb |
| Capacity | 8,000 mAh |
| Apple Watch Charger | Compatible with charging flat or nightstand mode |
| Total number of devices that can charge simultaneously | 4 |
USER EXPERIENCE
As is the case with most Mophie products, the battery comes in a very nice retail package. There is a clear image of the product on the front, which is always reassuring to the buyer because you know what to expect. There are some details called out like the fact that the battery can provide up to 42 additional hours of battery life for connected devices. Inside the box are the battery, a quick start guide, and a USB-C cable for charging. The quick start guide is really just an illustrated walkthrough of how to place your devices so they get a proper charge.
The battery is close to the same size as a modern smartphone. I laid my iPhone 12 Pro next to it and while the iPhone is a bit wider and shorter, the battery and phone stack nicely together for transport. There is a silicone border around the top edges of the battery. I assume that Mophie product designers placed it there to keep phones from sliding off while charging, but in my opinion, this semi-sticky surface is just a collection plate for dust and lint. I personally like to throw batteries like this into my pocket when I’m on the go. This silicone border gets dirty really quickly.
As far as performance goes, I thought the Powerstation was adequate. The Apple Watch charger is designed to be used for the watch to lay flat or in nightstand mode. I have the 44mm Apple Watch Series 6 and have a Sports Loop as the band. I tried to place the loop around the body of the battery so that the watch could charge while laying flat. At first, I had an issue with the charger sitting too low to make a connection. After I press the watch body down, the magnetic charger connected quite easily and I didn’t have any lost connections after that. The charger also worked very well in nightstand mode. In addition to charging the watch, I also charged my iPhone 12 Pro using the wireless charging pad. The charging results are in the table below. Strangely enough, both the phone and watch gained the exact same percentage during the time they were charging.
| Time Elapsed | Battery Life Gained | Charging Rate | |
| iPhone 12 Pro (wireless) | 58 minutes | 27% | 0.47% per minute |
| Apple Watch Series 6 (watch charger) | 58 minutes | 27% | 0.47% per minute |
I was very happy with the performance and overall design of the device, but there was one concerning factor that I experienced while using it. When I pressed the power button to either activate the charging capabilities of the device or to check how much power is available (indicated by the 4 LEDs on the side of the battery), I heard a buzzing/humming sound that was audible throughout the entire battery. The sound would go away once it went into standby mode. To me, it sounded like an electrical noise, but I didn’t notice any decrease in performance or problem with heat.
CONCLUSION
With the exception of the strange noise the battery makes and the silicone border that collects dust, I’ve been very happy with the Powerstation. It’s a great option for travel and I’m looking forward to being able to use it for that purpose. The design of this power bank is something I’ve been looking for for a long time and I think it will be very useful to a lot of people.
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