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Belkin vs Mophie wireless charger for iP8/8+/X ?

larzy

larzy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 16, 2008
288
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Denmark
What are your thoughts and experiences with these two chargers? From the look of pictures online the Mophie seems thinner and a bit smaller.

Any pros and cons?

For me, one of the pros of the Belkin is the small charging dot unless it light up the bedroom when charing overnight. I assume it would be yellow/orange when charging and green when the battery is full?

Also size - the Mophie has a diameter of 9,7cm vs 11,86 cm

I've also read some mention the power brick is quite big for one of them.

I know there're threads covering different QI chargers, but with this thread I want peoples opinions on these two.
 
The details on these wireless charges are severely lacking.. What kind of charger do they come with? The previous Belkin Boost for Android came with a proprietary power cord / plug. Is it the same with this new "for Apple" one? Who wants to pay money for a charger where you can't easily replace the power cable if needed? With Mophie I have no clue what they use. I would except both to use Lightning, but that doesn't seem to be the case? Which, if true is downright silly for "Apple branded" wireless chargers.
 
Both of these chargers come with their own power brick and proprietary cable that connects into the charger. Not too sure why this is but it doesn't bother me too much as the wireless charger will be at home and if I travel I'll take the lightning cable and wall plug (which will now be spare).

Regarding which one is better - well for me at least I went with the Belkin one for a couple of reasons.

1) It is bigger than the Mophie and as I have a plus sized phone it seemed like it would be easier for me to place it on there rather than "balance" it on the smaller one

2) As it's White it looks a little bit like the Apple Watch wireless charger, which I have on my bedside cabinet and this will go next to it

Apart from that not sure there's too much difference really. One more thing is that I read a couple of reviews somewhere that said the Mophie would possibly be slightly noisy, might be a factor for you if it's going in the bedroom.

I have reserved mine and pick it up tomorrow with my 8+ so I'll check in when I've got them :)
 
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TwiceNightly said:
Both of these chargers come with their own power brick and proprietary cable that connects into the charger. Not too sure why this is but it doesn't bother me too much as the wireless charger will be at home and if I travel I'll take the lightning cable and wall plug (which will now be spare).

Regarding which one is better - well for me at least I went with the Belkin one for a couple of reasons.

1) It is bigger than the Mophie and as I have a plus sized phone it seemed like it would be easier for me to place it on there rather than "balance" it on the smaller one

2) As it's White it looks a little bit like the Apple Watch wireless charger, which I have on my bedside cabinet and this will go next to it

Apart from that not sure there's too much difference really. One more thing is that I read a couple of reviews somewhere that said the Mophie would possibly be slightly noisy, might be a factor for you if it's going in the bedroom.

I have reserved mine and pick it up tomorrow with my 8+ so I'll check in when I've got them :)
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I got the mophie one delivered yesterday. Obviously not too much to say as of now since my phone won’t be here till pick up tomorrow. :). Once I have it, I can see the specifics.
 
AE14 said:
I got the mophie one delivered yesterday. Obviously not too much to say as of now since my phone won’t be here till pick up tomorrow. :). Once I have it, I can see the specifics.
Click to expand...

I've got a feeling the little charging LED is in a better position on the Mophie one. It could potentially light up the bedroom on the Belkin.

As you say, I guess we'll see tomorrow! :)
 
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From what I can see the Mophie doesn't have a charging LED on the unit - but I could be wrong.

About the Belkin one, I'd think you can position the iPhone so it covers the LED if it bothers you in the dark when charging.
 
The Belkin charger states that it will work through a phone case (up to 3mm)... and the Mophie does not specify... curious if that is a real issue.

The Belkin charger is white, which I prefer, but Mophie has a stellar reputation for all things charging-related. I think I'm going to buy both, try them out and return the "loser".

I've also seen some Qi chargers on Amazon in the $15-20 range... wondering what the quality of any of those might be.
 
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dwfaust said:
The Belkin charger states that it will work through a phone case (up to 3mm)... and the Mophie does not specify... curious if that is a real issue.

The Belkin charger is white, which I prefer, but Mophie has a stellar reputation for all things charging-related. I think I'm going to buy both, try them out and return the "loser".

I've also seen some Qi chargers on Amazon in the $15-20 range... wondering what the quality of any of those might be.
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Both support charging through phone cases – see last image for the mophie charging base: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HL812/mophie-wireless-charging-base?fnode=42

I went with mophie, I feel it'll suit Space Grey more.
 
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Size difference. The Benkin is a few mm higher compared to the Mophie.
 

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The Belkin one seems great. Looks really nice, no noise at all and you can easily position the iPhone over the charging light when placing it down (the light stays Green all the time to indicate that the phone is in the right position, it doesn't go off when it's charged).

The only disappointing thing is that the iPhone doesn't make that sound effect when you start charging it. I'm sure i even saw/heard that on the keynote too!

https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/28/ios-11-new-inductive-charging-sound/
 
To touch on the OPs post.

I have the Belkin in my possession while awaiting my 8+ delivery today - the brick is huge.

In a typical power strip - it would obstruct 2, possibly 3, outlets. Unless of course you could fit it into the last outlet and just let it overhang the end.
 
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Also, still very confused as to what best option might be cost-to-quality wise for taking advantage of wireless charging and wired “fast”-charging.

Just want to know where to dump my money to have what’ll do the job for some time looking forward.
 
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RWil85 said:
Also, still very confused as to what best option might be cost-to-quality wise for taking advantage of wireless charging and wired “fast”-charging.

Just want to know where to dump my money to have what’ll do the job for some time looking forward.
Click to expand...

Same, but I am leaning towards the Mophie. I see it as a long term investment and the fast charge sounds good. I also worry about the safety of cheap chargers off Amazon/eBay - perhaps more than I should.
 
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Adamj53 said:
Same, but I am leaning towards the Mophie. I see it as a long term investment and the fast charge sounds good. I also worry about the safety of cheap chargers off Amazon/eBay - perhaps more than I should.
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Exactly.

I’d rather spend a bit more $ for a reliable brand - whether it be Belkin, Mophie, Apple, etc for charging products.

But, if it comes at a seriously reduced output in terms of throughout on the charge, etc - it’s making me second guess these buys at the moment.

Brands like Anker, etc seem like a nice alternative - would just like to see something definitive on if/how they work.
 
RWil85 said:
Exactly.

I’d rather spend a bit more $ for a reliable brand - whether it be Belkin, Mophie, Apple, etc for charging products.

But, if it comes at a seriously reduced output in terms of throughout on the charge, etc - it’s making me second guess these buys at the moment.

Brands like Anker, etc seem like a nice alternative - would just like to see something definitive on if/how they work.
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I might get a cheap one for my desk at work but a reliable brand for home.
 
I’ve gone for the Anker Powertouch 10 fast charger with the 18w wall charger... £30 all in. In fact I bought 2 for the price of one of the Mophie or Belkin versions.. 1 for home, 1 for work desk. I suspect they will charge slower, but not that much slower for the money..

To be honest, for a bedside table through the night I can’t see much down side to a slightly slower charge - by the time I’m up in the morning it will have a full charge.. I won’t be carrying these things around for portable charging scenarios.
 
Dunkrag said:
I’ve gone for the Anker Powertouch 10 fast charger with the 18w wall charger... £30 all in. In fact I bought 2 for the price of one of the Mophie or Belkin versions.. 1 for home, 1 for work desk. I suspect they will charge slower, but not that much slower for the money..

To be honest, for a bedside table through the night I can’t see much down side to a slightly slower charge - by the time I’m up in the morning it will have a full charge.. I won’t be carrying these things around for portable charging scenarios.
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I’m with you for overnight - but, would be great to take advantage of max rate while on desk at work.

Only because I’m trying to figure this out - why do you suspect that one will charge more slowly if the ratings exceed what the phone can take anyway?

I take it that the 8’s are able to take 5W max vis wireless right now and that’ll be increased to 7.5W in the near future in a software update. Maybe it’ll do just fine then compared to the Mophie/Belkin.
 
TwiceNightly said:
The Belkin one seems great. Looks really nice, no noise at all and you can easily position the iPhone over the charging light when placing it down (the light stays Green all the time to indicate that the phone is in the right position, it doesn't go off when it's charged).

The only disappointing thing is that the iPhone doesn't make that sound effect when you start charging it. I'm sure i even saw/heard that on the keynote too!

https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/28/ios-11-new-inductive-charging-sound/
Click to expand...
I got the Belkin and it make the charging sound and show the current percentage when placed on the charger. I like it!
 
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RWil85 said:
Nice product.

$90, though - and everyone points fingers at Apple for lofty pricing lol.
Click to expand...

It’s gorgeous. Luckily I didn’t pay for it. Samsung gave me one last time I saw one of their sales reps. One of the perks of managing one of the “big four’s” telcomm retail locations.
 
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