The Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand is a simple power bank with a few neat features that elevate it above most phone power packs.
Pros
Easy MagSafe connection
Included stand works well
Supports wired charging of other devices
Cons
Wired charging isn’t particularly fast
5,000mAh isn’t a lot of power
Stand can be tricky to pop out
Score: 3.5/5
Battery packs are a super common accessory, because smartphone battery life isn’t always that great. Sure, sometimes that’s our fault, because we’re all guilty of not charging our phones at some point when we could have, right?
That’s the problem that the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand aims to change. Yes, that is an insanely long name to say out loud.
But is it any good? To be honest, most battery packs pass by me as much of a muchness, but Belkin’s pitch for easy charging and an included stand intrigued me.
Design
The actual battery pack part of the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand is a solid little brick in either black or white finishes. It measures in at 95x63x16mm and weighs around 150g based on my own rough measurements.
What that means is that for some iPhone models you’ll nearly be adding the weight of the phone again with the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand in play. That’s a natural enough consequence of adding battery capacity, however.
Magsafe compatibility aside, the other eye catching design note for this battery is the included kickstand. It’s a small metal bar that pushes out from the back, primarily supporting the phone in a landscape orientation, so you could use it to watch something on a plane seat back table, or use it to make your iPhone an alarm clock overnight, for example.
The support itself is fine, though if you don’t have long fingernails you may find it a little tricky to get out of its socket. Even a small groove cut in the end might have made it easier to flip out – maybe something for the V2 model, Belkin?
Performance
As its name suggests, the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand comes with a 5K – or in this case, 5,000mAh – battery for charging MagSafe gadgets.
MagSafe is Apple’s own take on magnetically attaching Qi wireless gear, and you’ll find it across a range of mostly newer iPhones. However, Qi isn’t Apple’s own proprietary standard, which means you can charge pretty much any QI-compatible gadget with this battery pack; it just won’t magnetically connect.
You can also charge from the USB-C port at the base, albeit at a maximum of 10W, which isn’t quick for a modern charger. Some power beats none, but you can get faster for wired charging.
I’ve tested the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand over a few days now using it to keep an Apple iPhone 14 Pro charged mostly, though I did also ensure that it would happily charge other devices including a Pixel 7A and a set of Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen.
There’s not too much to say on its charging prowess; Qi is naturally a slower charging connection – 7.5W in this case — but you can offset that thanks to its portability. It’s small enough that I could pop it on the back of the iPhone, head out to a meeting and have it happily providing juice to the phone while I was busy.
It’s also pleasing to note that the USB-C port on the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand is bidirectional, so while you’ll need to use it to power the battery inside back up, you can also plug in low-power devices with USB-C plugs to charge them up. No, you can’t charge your MacBook with it; it’s not PD certified for that kind of charging.
How long will that 5,000mAh last? It very much depends. At a strict mathematical level, the iPhone 14 Pro I mostly tested with has (as per third party teardowns) a 3,200mAh battery. That means that the 5,000mAh battery should be good for just over 1.5 full charges before it goes flat.
It’s not quite that simple, however, because Qi is a slighty inefficient transfer mechanism, with typical loss rates of around 25%. You’ll see a full charge from it – and I have – but maybe not a lot more. Naturally the amount of extra use you’ll get out of it will also vary depending on the power draw of the apps you’re using as well.
Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand: Alex’s Verdict
The Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand is a pretty simple device that basically has one job – and it mostly does it well.
The stand is a good addition that makes it just that little bit easier to use your phone in a hands-free way, and I do like the fact that it’s not just an iPhone charger battery, though I suspect most people who buy one will be iPhone owners.
Belkin Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand: Pricing and availability
The Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand sells in Australia for $69.95. You can buy one (and help support this independent journalist) by using the button below!
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Belkin Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand: Alternatives
Belkin isn’t alone in this space by a long shot. A quick search finds this Anker model with a slightly different stand as well as numerous odd-brand-name products promising “Magnetic Compatibility”. I’d be wary of both magnetic and battery quality in those cases, so be careful out there.
Apple also has its own Magsafe battery pack that it sells, although that’s a considerably more pricey unit. I reviewed that one here.
Alternatively, there are thousands of regular battery charging packs on the market these days. I couldn’t possibly list them all.
