Mophie Launches New Powerstation USB-C 3XL for Charging Apple's MacBooks

[MacRumors]

Mophie today announced the launch of the new Powerstation USB-C 3XL, which has been designed to charge Apple's line of MacBook devices.

The fabric-covered Powerstation USB-C 3XL includes a 26,000mAh battery that Mophie says is able to provide a 12-inch MacBook with up to 18 hours of additional battery life. It is Mophie's largest Powerstation to date.

Though designed to charge the MacBook at full speed, the 45W Powerstation USB-C 3XL can be used to provide a little additional juice for the more powerful MacBook Pro models. Battery life won't go quite as far, though, nor will charging be as fast.

The Powerstation USB-C 3XL can also be used to fast charge an iPhone 8 or later with a USB-C to Lightning cable, and there is a built-in USB-A port for charging iOS devices and other accessories with a traditional USB-A to Lightning cable.

Mophie says the new Powerstation USB-C 3XL features Priority+ Charging that's designed to send power to connected devices before charging the Powerstation when it's plugged into a power source.

Mophie's new Powerstation USB-C 3XL can be purchased from the Mophie website, from the Apple online store, or from Apple retail stores starting today, with the device priced at $199.95.

Article Link: Mophie Launches New Powerstation USB-C 3XL for Charging Apple's MacBooks

 

[AvidArtist]

Any suggestions for one that’s actually great for a beefed-up MacBook Pro?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Any suggestions for one that’s actually great for a beefed-up MacBook Pro?

This is about as large as you're going to find right now. Honestly, if you need that much additional use time, I'd just grab a MacBook Air in addition to your Pro. Most of the work the vast majority do on the road doesn't take the processing power of a Pro. If you really need it, I'd think about optimizing your workflow and settings within the machine itself.

 

[gigapocket1]

This is about as large as you're going to find right now. Honestly, if you need that much additional use time, I'd just grab a MacBook Air in addition to your Pro. Most of the work the vast majority do on the road doesn't take the processing power of a Pro. If you really need it, I'd think about optimizing your workflow and settings within the machine itself.

Adobe photoshop and Lightroom are power hungry applications. What are your recommendations to optimize batery life

 

[billgrates3]

Any suggestions for one that’s actually great for a beefed-up MacBook Pro?

You should look at the Ravpower RP-PB058-2 for $79.99 on Amazon. My org has used 3 of these with 2016 & 2018 MBP 15" as well as MBair 2017. It works well with these, plus iPhones or Android phones. It can be Quickcharged also. The Ravpower has more ports than the Morphie.

 

[LogicalApex]

Any suggestions for one that’s actually great for a beefed-up MacBook Pro?

Bring along the power brick? At $200 and with added weight it seems to me that you'd be better served topping off with your power brick if needed.

If you're running your MBP at full throttle while unplugged then I'd optimize your workflow as OldSchoolMacGuy suggested.

 

[341328]

Pity is doesn’t also include wireless charging.

 

[Jimmy James]

The charge rate will be just as fast between different models in terms of supplying the same current. You’ll obviously realize fewer percent per minute increase on a larger battery.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Adobe photoshop and Lightroom are power hungry applications. What are your recommendations to optimize batery life

They're power hungry because Adobe hasn't ever bothered to build them properly for the Mac. Because of that, they consume WAY more power than they should. If Adobe would ever bother to write them properly for the platform, not only would they consume far less power, they'd also run far faster.

Not much you can do about those two piles of crap (I use them frequently too). Stuff like setting brightness down, limiting background apps, etc can all help add to battery life. Disable any unneeded options, animations, etc.

 

[patent10021]

Bring along the power brick?

Do you mean he should use his stock Apple charger? If so this makes zero sense. The whole point is to be mobile which also means ideally no wall worts. Why bother making USB-C MBP with a USB-C power if we cannot extend laptop usage without relying on wall worts? This is actually the only reason why I’m upgrading my 2015 to 2019 MBP. So I can easily charge it using a 3rd party USB-C power brick and not need an airport/cafe wall wort. When I travel many smaller cafes lack power or other people are using all the wall worts.

 

[wheelhot]

Hmm, am I even able to fly with these high capacity power banks? I thought max capacity is 10,000mAh?

 

[LogicalApex]

Do you mean he should use his stock Apple charger? If so this makes zero sense. The whole point is to be mobile which also means ideally no wall worts. Why bother making USB-C MBP with a USB-C power if we cannot extend laptop usage without relying on wall worts? This is actually the only reason why I’m upgrading my 2015 to 2019 MBP. So I can easily charge it using a 3rd party USB-C power brick and not need an airport/cafe wall wort. When I travel many smaller cafes lack power or other people are using all the wall worts.

Of course, it all depends on your workflow. But with my current workflow I get a full day charge out of my MBP easily so I can travel without needing to hunt for wall sockets on a regular basis. But I wouldn't want to cart around a $200 battery pack with a fair bit of extra weight to counter that.

If you're mobile and you're driving the MBP at full tilt then I would again suggest changing your workflow. As even this battery pack would do very little to help. Especially since this battery pack would probably fill a 15" 2018 MBP to a fair bit less than half its charge. I guess a true road warrior could carry 3 or 4 of them?

 

[skys15]

It looks like to me on the Mophie website that there are two usb-c ports. Don’t tell me one only works for input. That’d be stupid, isn’t one of the points of usb-c to simplify and get away from i/o specific ports? Just saying if there’s two ports, let’s them both input and output. Like apples laptops.

 

[billgrates3]

Hmm, am I even able to fly with these high capacity power banks? I thought max capacity is 10,000mAh?

As a Frequent Flyer with over 4M miles on AA (which includes a lot of miles on British Airways, that has zero power ports in economy) I've used various AC or DC power sources a lot over the past 10+ years. Here's what I've found:
1. the 26,000mAh capacity translates to just under the max 100W that the FAA and EU allow on planes.
2. I've found that the 87W power brick for 15" MBPs is a bit over the rating of my aircraft AC power outlets. It will work maybe 40% of the time, mainly if it's plugged in/out/ion over and over.
3. So, I am switching to the 61W AC brick that's now used for the 13" MBPs, as I almost never need to full charging capacity of the 87W brick.

The RavPower units has been very handy on many flights, train trips and bus rides where no power outlets were present, and they are great in an emergency power outage situation to keep my phone charged.

BTW - there's another EXTREMELY VALUABLE accessory to have with the USB-C powered MBs & MBPs (in particular for those who miss the fall protection that Magsafe used to give): i.e. the Griffin magnetic USB-C cable. See this:
https://griffintechnology.com/products/power/charging-cables/breaksafe-magnetic-usb-c-power-cable

 

[patent10021]

Of course, it all depends on your workflow. But with my current workflow I get a full day charge out of my MBP easily so I can travel without needing to hunt for wall sockets on a regular basis. But I wouldn't want to cart around a $200 battery pack with a fair bit of extra weight to counter that.

If you're mobile and you're driving the MBP at full tilt then I would again suggest changing your workflow. As even this battery pack would do very little to help. Especially since this battery pack would probably fill a 15" 2018 MBP to a fair bit less than half its charge. I guess a true road warrior could carry 3 or 4 of them?

if that’s the case then I might wait to get a 2019 MBP instead of a 2018 model. Because I need to know that I can go a full day with video and audio using a MBP without a wall wort. I’ve tried full video on my MBPr on a plane and it died mid flight. Seats had USB but no AC/DC.

 

[praetorian909]

It looks like to me on the Mophie website that there are two usb-c ports. Don’t tell me one only works for input. That’d be stupid, isn’t one of the points of usb-c to simplify and get away from i/o specific ports? Just saying if there’s two ports, let’s them both input and output. Like apples laptops.

Not really sure how that works. Especially since this is a battery, how does it know to give power or to charge itself if the ports are unidirectional (input & output)...

 

[-BigMac-]

Anyone else read Pixel 3XL powerstation?

 

[cerberusss]

Any suggestions for one that’s actually great for a beefed-up MacBook Pro?

It doesn't really matter whether it's beefed-up or not. What matters is how much power you use during the day. If you use ~20W but peak to 60W only occasionally, then you'll do fine with the Mophie (which can average 45W of output).

Plus, what you usually want, is get through the workday (8 hours). So say that with your usage, you get 5 hours out of your built-in battery. Then you just need to extend it with 3 hours. The Mophie will probably do that.

If however you are really pushing the laptop and you simply want the best, then get something from a boutique engineering company such as MCT:
http://mikegyver.com/products/devices/index.php?hunt=Apple Macbook

First you'd need a separate box for USB-C PD (Power Delivery), which is US$ 60
Then you'd get one or more of the batteries you need, which range from 12 to 52.8 AH.

 

[TheralSadurns]

Hmm, am I even able to fly with these high capacity power banks? I thought max capacity is 10,000mAh?

That is exactly the problem... and a thing that is really making me angry.
You cannot (!) measure battery capacity in mAh. mAh is only PART of the equation as the actual capacity depends on the Voltage too!
Only with these two do you know how much energy the battery actually stores. Which is Wh or for larger batteries (such as car batteries) in kWh.
And this is where the regulation strikes... you must have less than 100Wh in a single battery in order to take it with you on a flight.

 

[AppleTart]

Well said

This is about as large as you're going to find right now. Honestly, if you need that much additional use time, I'd just grab a MacBook Air in addition to your Pro. Most of the work the vast majority do on the road doesn't take the processing power of a Pro. If you really need it, I'd think about optimizing your workflow and settings within the machine itself.

 

[Xvp]

for those looking for a more powerful chargers on the go:
- Hyperjuice has a 27000mAH with 100W output (unfortunately its kickstarter campaign has ended & you'll have to pay a whopping $300 to buy it now)
- Jackery PowerBar with AC outlet is around $130 on Amazon, (obviously it's huge and you'll have to carry your charging brick with you)

Personally I can't justify spending that much on a battery pack.

 

[marku5]

Any suggestions for one that’s actually great for a beefed-up MacBook Pro?

you just missed the kickstarter..

but here you go:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hyperjuice-world-s-most-powerful-usb-c-power-bank#/

 

[clystron]

Not really sure how that works. Especially since this is a battery, how does it know to give power or to charge itself if the ports are unidirectional (input & output)...

I have a RavPower USB-C and you can switch power-directions by long-pressing the button on it. With two USB-C ports it would get a little more complicated of course....

 

[djemyo]

Mophie today announced the launch of the new Powerstation USB-C 3XL, which has been designed to charge Apple's line of MacBook devices.

The fabric-covered Powerstation USB-C 3XL includes a 26,000mAh battery that Mophie says is able to provide a 12-inch MacBook with up to 18 hours of additional battery life. It is Mophie's largest Powerstation to date.

Though designed to charge the MacBook at full speed, the 45W Powerstation USB-C 3XL can be used to provide a little additional juice for the more powerful MacBook Pro models. Battery life won't go quite as far, though, nor will charging be as fast.

The Powerstation USB-C 3XL can also be used to fast charge an iPhone 8 or later with a USB-C to Lightning cable, and there is a built-in USB-A port for charging iOS devices and other accessories with a traditional USB-A to Lightning cable.

Mophie says the new Powerstation USB-C 3XL features Priority+ Charging that's designed to send power to connected devices before charging the Powerstation when it's plugged into a power source.

Mophie's new Powerstation USB-C 3XL can be purchased from the Mophie website, from the Apple online store, or from Apple retail stores starting today, with the device priced at $199.95.

Article Link: Mophie Launches New Powerstation USB-C 3XL for Charging Apple's MacBooks

[doublepost=1539860723][/doublepost]I have been using XXL for a while now and the biggest problem with these when you are using your USB-C to Lightning cable is that you have to attach the USB-C side to XXL the last. I you do it otherwise, it won't start charging.

I have replaced it once and it is the same with the second one after a few use. And it's a hassle, you just want it to charge your phone at that moment, and it doesn't.

 

[freezah]

I’m using Xtorm 27000mah usb-c power bank for my MBP and MB. Costs around 119 euro, so in USA should be about $99.

https://www.xtorm.eu/en/power-banks/xtorm-45w-usb-c-power-bank-infinity-27-000/