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Best Battery Case for iPhone 4S?

W

wiestlingjr

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2010
65
0
Hey guys, i'm looking to buy a battery case for my iPhone 4S since I am not getting the best battery life. The main one I've looked at has been the Mophie Juice Pack Air. I have a 25% off coupon to AT&T so I could get it for 59.99. Is this case worth it?

Do you think this case is worth it? Are there any other good alternatives? Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
I'm sorry, I don't have experience with any of them however I have noticed this forum has the worst view-to-reply ratio I've ever seen lol so I felt obligated to say SOMETHING...

I've been researching cases/screen protectors/bumpers/you name it ever since ordering my new phone. I've read a good deal about the mophie air and plus and even the other one mentioned on here (don't recall the name right now and it doesn't matter cause I haven't read enough about it to spend the money on it).

What I have read is that the Mophie is worth the cost. A coworker has one on his iPhone4 and he loves it. I'd probably get the air if I got one (and I may).

So sorry for no firsthand experience with it, but trust me if it's been written about it, I've probably read it.
 
If you're looking for the slimmest battery case i'd suggest the incipio offgrid. It will charge an empty iphone to 70%. I think this is a good trade-off for case size<capacity.
 
kierennyc said:
Yes, you are.

http://www.amazon.com/Incipio-offGR...W0YC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321577177&sr=8-1
Click to expand...

ah yes. apparently you can't just type "incipio offGRID" you must specify "Battery Case" or you will get this:

http://www.myincipio.com/iPad-Power...ackup-Battery-for-iPad-iPhone-iPod-1-Port.asp

I think it was the first or second google link. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm considering ALL options (naked/bumpers/cases/battery cases/etc.) So I'm still learning what's out there.

:)
 
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I have a mophie juice pack air snap in white (only available on the apple website) that I may sell if I get a good offer on it. Only used it a couple days and it's just too slippery for me and a tad heavy for my taste. I really don't have a NEED for it since battery life really improved on 5.0.1. Shoot me a PM if you have any interest. Its in my desk at work and won't be back til Monday so no pics for now...you can see them on apples website though.
 
wiestlingjr said:
Hey guys, i'm looking to buy a battery case for my iPhone 4S since I am not getting the best battery life. The main one I've looked at has been the Mophie Juice Pack Air. I have a 25% off coupon to AT&T so I could get it for 59.99. Is this case worth it?

Do you think this case is worth it? Are there any other good alternatives? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

You could get it even cheaper on amazon or ebay etc.

What I like to do before buying is checking Amazon's reviews and then looking for the best price once I choose the product.

Believe it or not, ebay is sometimes cheaper than Amazon but if you need it quick you cant beat Prime!
 
Well, I've done a fair amount of research and trying to decide myself which case(s) to go with. My criteria is probably way different than the average user as I'm on my phone a LOT due to the event organizing work that I do. So, I've been looking for the cases that offer the MOST amount of juice vs the sleeker thinner options. For most folks I think that the Phone Suit Elite is a good option as it's sleek (I think thinner than the Morphie) and quite a bit more battery life at 2100mAh. Most units that you find if you do a generic search will offer you 1200 - 1700 mAh and those don't give you a full charge. The Phone Suit Elite IS enough to give you one more full charge.

I've however been looking at 3 models that offer 3000 mAH which gives 2 more FULL charges. They would be considered by most to be quite bulky though.

1. NEW MUGEN 3000mAh POWER CASE
2. Mili - Power Pack 4
3. myCharge™ Portable Power Case 3000

All 3 of these offer 3000 mAh which is 2 more charges and each has a different look & feel to it.

I'm super curious if folks out there have tried these and what results have been had. Obviously all of these add some bulk to the phone and are not as 'sleek' as the Phone Suit Elite but I just was reading that one of the draw backs of the Phone Suit Elite is the top cover can fairly easily come off if you're pulling it out of your pocket and apparently the unit ships with an extra top piece. The Mili case doesn't even have a top piece. The myCharge unit actually has a hinged top piece and 'snaps' into place after you've placed your iphone into its cradle.

These 3 units are probably for the heavier users like myself. Most folks would probably be happier with Phone Suite Elite or even Morphie or one of those units that only offer 1700 - 2100 mAh as that may be all the extra juice most will need to make it through the day for a nightly charge.
 
had mophie juice pack plus since day one of my 4s. I love it, but there is that weight there. I can honestly say i'm used to the weight, it doesnt feel flimsy and the back feels good to hold.

Right now, i'm trying to get another case and a skin to switch in and out with the mophie. With the mophie case, the fit is perfectly tight if you have a screen protector on front and back of the iphone so there is no way to get anything beyond a screen protector or something as thin. Just FYI.

When I was deciding between battery cases, the two that I was looking at were the Boostcase and Mophie Juice Pack. Check out the Boostcase, it also has some awesome reviews.
 
shstiger2009 said:
The OffGrid by Incipio is great, I love it.
Click to expand...

Both the last 2 mentioned (the OffGrid & the Monoprice) seem great if you're only needing a relatively minimal extra juice as a moderate user and also priritizing thiness and modest pricing - shocking only $24 for Monoprice). However, I think if you're wanting to make sure you at least one other full charge & then some going for one of the models that get more like 2100 Phone Suit, Bootcase, Trent etc. The OffGrid is 1450 mAh and the Monoprice is 1800 mAh. Either would be fine for most... but if you are a heavy user and there are times when you forget to charge the night before and/or you're out all day and into the night, you could be left with a dead battery. For many that's not a big deal but for me and some out there it's just tragic to be with a dead battery. I'm going with at least 2100 - 3000 mAh to ensure 1 or 2 charges. The trick is still getting the least bulky and somewhat nice looking at same time.

There are some good options out there... still trying to make my final decision.
 
i got a iBattz case that has a removable battery pack. The case comes in white or black and 2 batteries. Makes for 3000mah of juice without sacrificing too much heft. It added a good feel to my hands. But I only use it during a long weekend where i know i am not near a charger for quite some time.
 
scuzy said:
i got a iBattz case that has a removable battery pack. The case comes in white or black and 2 batteries. Makes for 3000mah of juice without sacrificing too much heft. It added a good feel to my hands. But I only use it during a long weekend where i know i am not near a charger for quite some time.
Click to expand...

Hmmm that seems like quite a different styled option. Removable battery with 2 included and each one is 1500mAh. Well, if it's easy to buy more batteries like that and if you really like the look & feel of the case itself sounds like a great option. The problems it mentioned were taking the case off is a bit tricky. I'm not sure about the color options though. Is one red and the other black that they include when the ship it to you or are there other options?
 
macbookproyes said:
Hmmm that seems like quite a different styled option. Removable battery with 2 included and each one is 1500mAh. Well, if it's easy to buy more batteries like that and if you really like the look & feel of the case itself sounds like a great option. The problems it mentioned were taking the case off is a bit tricky. I'm not sure about the color options though. Is one red and the other black that they include when the ship it to you or are there other options?
Click to expand...

Because of my need to have a lot of portable battery power, my plan has been to get 2 battery cases - 1 that is moderate in the 2200 range that is for most of the time and then one of the 3000 mAh options. Out of all the battery cases I've seen though the one that has caught my eye is the myCharge Portable Power Case 3000. Even though it's a big power case, the single unit with a hinge to simply open & close the top piece seems like a cool design to me. The unfortunate thing though is that it has been OUT OF STOCK ever since I've stumbled on it in this last week.

I ended up buying the Mili 3000 mAh for my powerhouse case and am still deciding for my 2nd one. I thought it was going to be either Phone Suit Elite or Bootcase but now I'm considering the Mipow Maca 2200 Color Power Case or even one of those Solar panel cases which have 2400 mAh like the iCelltech or the NTK which can be found on eBay even for like $30.

It might be kind of cool to be out on the beach and even if the battery gets low with the case you get about 30 mins of call time for each hour of solar charge. That could work for me if the design doesn't look to funky when you actually have it on the phone.

Anyone ever use one of the soar cases options?
 
macbookproyes said:
Hmmm that seems like quite a different styled option. Removable battery with 2 included and each one is 1500mAh. Well, if it's easy to buy more batteries like that and if you really like the look & feel of the case itself sounds like a great option. The problems it mentioned were taking the case off is a bit tricky. I'm not sure about the color options though. Is one red and the other black that they include when the ship it to you or are there other options?
Click to expand...

the battery is BP-4L standard Nokia batteries you can find all over the net. The trim is very easy to remove. i think you can do a google on some reviews. It's one of the nicer base i think. Plus always having a extra charge batter comes in handy. SO far i have charge from 15% to full with one cell so i can get a total of 2 full charges on the 2 batteries. Without sacrificing any extra heft to the phone. I just don't like carrying a giant brick all the time. For me i use the case only on weekends i am away from a charge for a very long time.
 
Mophie Juice Pack Air is a safe choice. You won't go wrong with it.

Another alternative is the MiLi Power Spring 4. It's also Apple certified, and gives you 80% or close to 100% more battery life:

http://www.xengadget.com/products/1...-case-mili-power-spring-4-hi-c23-1600mah.aspx

Or: http://www.xengadget.com/products/1...battery-case-mili-power-spring-4-2000mah.aspx

wiestlingjr said:
Hey guys, i'm looking to buy a battery case for my iPhone 4S since I am not getting the best battery life. The main one I've looked at has been the Mophie Juice Pack Air. I have a 25% off coupon to AT&T so I could get it for 59.99. Is this case worth it?

Do you think this case is worth it? Are there any other good alternatives? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
 
another thing that made me decided the ibatt case over the others was the removable battery. after reading reviews of the mophie on amazon and how some of the mophie packs have short battery life having a removable battery makes sense. As you don't have to fork out for a new battery case if the internal battery on the mophie dies.
 
I've had the mophie juice pack plus for about 8 months now and have loved it. It never has any charging issues, gets you more than double the battery life, looks good, is a great case, feels solid, is built well, has LED indicators of battery life, has an easy toggle switch and comes with a good usb cable that can charge and sync.

The only thing I hate about it is that the side of the case blocks the camera flash and all of your flash pictures will look extremely white and washed out because of how the flash is reflecting back into the lens. I never really bother using the flash so I don't really care all that much, but it's something that may annoy the hell out of others.

Mophie does have great support though and their cases are often for sale for up to half off on amazon, so in the end I'm still happy with my purchase.
 
Last edited:
scuzy said:
another thing that made me decided the ibatt case over the others was the removable battery. after reading reviews of the mophie on amazon and how some of the mophie packs have short battery life having a removable battery makes sense. As you don't have to fork out for a new battery case if the internal battery on the mophie dies.
Click to expand...

Wow, what you're saying totally makes sense to have the flexibility of having extra batteries. So how much are these 1500 mAh replacable batteries then? Are ALL batteries that size only 1500 or is it possible to get one that size with 2200 or even 3000?

I take it it's really easy to take those batteries out and put new ones in. The only thing though i'm guessing is you can only charge ONE of those batteries at a time right? So if I get to plug in the battercase charger at night and don't take out that battery to put the 2nd one in then the next day I only have the iphone battery and only a 1500 mAh backup which on many days probably wouldn't get me all the way through.

I already did buy a Mili 3000 though and I know it's going to be bulky and I'm not going to like it all that much. It does have a cool kickstand though. I might look into one of those solar ones. We'll see. I'll take another look at this model and it could work if the batteries could be quite a bit higher mAh that only 1500.

----------
greenapplee said:
why not choose the solar charger,I think it's worth for iphone .
Click to expand...

Yeah I see the unit you're talking about. As far as a complete "External Charger" if/when the batter case runs out, I am thinking of getting one of those for extreme backup but I'd looking at one with a lot more power. The one you're suggesting is only 3000 mAh and although that's good for a battery case, for an external one I'm looking at one that is 16,000 mAh and could even give my laptop some extra juice if I need it and it's about the same size as the one you showed.

This one is only $70!

http://www.amazon.com/i-Sound-Portable-Power-iPhone-Blackberry/dp/B00439G3WS/ref=pd_sbs_e_4
 
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I would get the juice pack plus over the air for a few reasons:

1. The plus has a soft touch rubbery finish wear the air is hard plastic and a little slippery IMO.

2. The plus has the volume and power buttons built in where the air just has a channel cut out. The buttons make a BIG difference.

3. The plus has a larger battery (really a bonus more than anything).
 
The replacement Bp-4L batteries on amazon range from 8-24 bucks. I bought a external wall charger for the Bp-4L battery cost about 10 bucks. So I will always have a ready charge battery at all times.
 
That's an interesting product

scuzy said:
i got a iBattz case that has a removable battery pack. The case comes in white or black and 2 batteries. Makes for 3000mah of juice without sacrificing too much heft. It added a good feel to my hands. But I only use it during a long weekend where i know i am not near a charger for quite some time.
Click to expand...
 
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