The Mophie Powerstation XXL is our current best pick for the best portable battery pack, and for good reason – it’s well-designed, has plenty of ports, and high enough efficiency to make it a complete portable battery pack.
After using and testing Mophie’s latest Powerstation Wireless XL for a while, I must say that this bundle gives your older colleague a shot. If it weren’t for the fact that there is a dedicated Lightning port, limiting the Wireless XL’s broader appeal, this power bank is likely to replace the XXL as our top pick. Let’s dive in.
Note: This review is part of our summary of portable power banks. Go there for details on competing products and our testing methods.
The $ 99.95 Powerstation Wireless XL has two ports, a USB-C port and a Lightning port. The USB-C port can provide speeds of up to 18W, making it compatible with the iPhone’s maximum charging speed. The Lightning port has a single purpose: to allow iPhone users to use the same cable and wall adapter that comes with their phone to charge the battery. It’s a nice touch, and a welcome feature for those who don’t want to worry about another cable to charge a battery.
MophieThe Lightning port is a boon for Apple device owners, who already have the cable. Otherwise, USB-C is at hand.
The Wireless XL is made primarily of black plastic, save for the glass-like material on the top and a rubberized coating on the bottom to prevent it from slipping around your desk. On the left side of the package is a power button, along with four indicator lights, each of which represents 25 percent of the battery’s capacity.
The top of the Powerstation Wireless XL is framed by a rubber ring, which helps keep your phone in place if you’re using the wireless charging feature in the package. The Qi-compatible platform can generate 5W charging speeds, allowing you to wirelessly complete your AirPods, Galaxy Buds, or smartphones. But what really takes the Powerstation Wireless XL to the next level is the fact that it can wirelessly charge the package.
So is. You can place the package on a Qi wireless platform and it will recharge up to 10W. You can even use the wireless charging function to charge your phone while wirelessly charging the package. Transfer charging will ensure that your phone or other device has priority before the package begins charging.
As for efficiency, the Powerstation Wireless XL has a total capacity of 10,000mAh, or 38Wh. By running our standard test process, the Wireless XL demonstrated an efficiency rating of 90.16 percent, using 34.26 of total capacity. That’s not the most efficient package we’ve tested, but it’s near the top, and just behind the Powerstation XXL’s 92.51 efficiency rating.
Testing the Wireless XL was made difficult by the fact that the battery indicator lights don’t come on when the package finishes charging, unless you physically touch the device. In the end, we can confidently say that using the lighting port for charging took around 3 hours. You can also use the USB-C port to charge up to 18W, reducing the total charge time to approximately 2.5 hours.
Overall, the Powerstation Wireless XL is small, light, and incredibly portable, while offering a set of features unlike anything we’ve tried before. The fact that you can charge the package wirelessly while charging your phone wirelessly is impressive.
If you’re an avid iPhone user with more lighting cords than you know what to do, the Powerstation Wireless XL should fit perfectly.
