Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K Review: More Power!

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K does a decent job charging up Qi2 compliant smartphones – but outside iPhones, there’s precious few of those.

Pros	Cons
Qi2 compatible for magnetic attachment	Bulky on smaller phones
15W wireless charging	Expensive for capacity
Passthrough and direct cable charging supported	Charge lights make it harder to fully judge battery capacity

Score: 3.5/5

 

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In this review

Specifications
Design
Performance
Conclusion

It’s a simple truism that smartphone batteries never last as long as you want them to. That’s led to a secondary market in portable battery packs, and I’ve reviewed more than a few of those over the years.

For example, last year, I put the Belkin BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 5K + Stand through its paces.

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K is essentially the super-sized variant of the Power Bank 5K, with the added hook of Qi2 compatibility for even faster charging.

Given the extra power and faster charging it offers, it’s a good option if you really do need wireless charging as part of your portable battery solution.

Design

When I mentioned the Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K being the super-sized version of the Wireless Power Bank 5K, I truly wasn’t kidding.

It’s a nondescript rectangle available in either white or black finishes with a light circle imprinted on it to guide you as to which side has the magnetic induction coils within it. At the rear there’s a small kickstand that allows it to stand horizontally, which works quite well if you’re connecting up an iPhone and want to use Standby Mode overnight with it.

My one complaint here is that it’s the exact same small strip of metal as on the smaller 5K battery, even though the 8K model is a larger unit. It’s still a little tricky to get it to fold out, and I guess I’ve also been a bit spoilt by the Anker MagGo Power Bank 10K and its very wide fold out stand.

Belkin also provides a USB-C to USB-C cable in the box – Lightning is so two years ago – which can be used both for charging the Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K when it goes flat or charging devices that lack wireless charging capabilities. Given the price premium that you pay for a wireless charging bank relative to a standard one I don’t know why you’d go down that route exclusively, but it’s a nice plus to have.

Belkin has also stuck to just having simple indicator lights on the side of the Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K to show battery status.

Again I’ll pull the Anker MagGo into the conversation, simply because its inclusion of an actual LED display to show precise battery power gives you a much better gauge of how much power is actually left compared to having four glowing dots in play.

Performance

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K’s big party trick is that it’s a Qi2 compliant power bank, which means it supports charging at up to 15W.

With full transparency in mind, it was sent to me as part of the review kit for the HMD Skyline, because that phone is the first Android model with Qi2 on board.

Does the Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K work for recharging devices wirelessly?

Yes, but it’s worth knowing the limitations in play here.

While it’s nice that you can use the Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K in passthrough mode plugged into a wall, where it wil charge your device first before recharging itself, even at 15W, charging is not a rapid process for any connected smartphone.

It’s also worth being aware that wireless charging is by its nature a lossy process, even with magnetic alignment. The Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K still gets a little warm while charging, and that heat is absolutely lost energy.

It would be less than if you just had standard Qi wireless charging in place, because Qi2 should ensure a more direct alignment of the magnetic charging coils between the battery pack and your device – though as I found with the HMD Skyline, a weaker magnetic attachment might make that point moot.

Don’t expect to get 8,000mAh fully out of its battery if you’re using it wirelessly – though you could expect to get more if you do charge devices via USB-C cable.

Again though, I’d question the wisdom of paying for a wireless charger if you’re not going to use it wirelessly; there’s absolutely no shortage of power banks with this much power and more for quite a bit less than what you'll pay here.

You'd absolutely get most 5,000mAh Android phones charged at least once, and mathematically twice wouldn't be fe asible there -- but based on my own ad-hoc tests, you're probably not getting more than half of that battery charged again before the Belkin would need recharging itself. That's not so much the fault of the Power Bank, but instead the practical realities of wireless charging.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K Alex’s Verdict

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K is a very specific device for those who specifically want and need a wireless charging bank – and are prepared to pay for it.

There’s just no doubt that you can get a basic cable-only power bank for less than the asking price of the Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K.

It’s also not a great idea if you don’t have a Qi2-compliant device, and right now that’s basically just iPhones and the HMD Skyline – though at least the appearance of that phone should herald a lot more options within the Android space in that regard.

Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K: Pricing and availability

The Belkin BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank with Qi2 8K retails in Australia for $109.95

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