When I’m out and about, using my iPhone 15 Pro Max to take photos, listen to music, and find stuff with GPS, I find that my phone battery drains very quickly. While I’m at it, my Apple Watch Ultra is using its juice to track my steps, check my heart rate, and occasionally take over GPS maps duty. Battery life is at a premium when you use your phone on day trips, and it stretches even more when I’m away for the weekend.
The Belkin Boostcharge Pro has been a game changer, providing an extra top-up for both my Apple Watch and my iPhone. It ranks among the best portable battery packs for iPhone, and I highly recommend it.
Belkin Boostcharge Pro: Price and availability
Price is perhaps the Achilles heel of the Boostcharge Pro, as it costs $100/£100. For any portable battery pack, that would be a lot, but given you can only really charge your iPhone and Apple Watch once with it, that’s not a massive amount of power-per-penny.
It’s a premium device, however, so it does justify its price with quality materials and the built-in Apple Watch puck — although you might want to look elsewhere if you want the most battery life possible.
Belkin Boostcharge Pro: Specs and features
The first thing to note about the Boostcharge Pro is the built-in Apple Watch charging puck. It’s certainly my favorite feature about the charger — when I go away, it’s just one less cable that I have to pack. In fact, if I know I’m going away to a hotel or somewhere there’s going to be an accessible power plug at night, I only really need the battery and a single cable — the USB-C cable.
That way, I can plug the battery in to charge when my phone isn’t charging, and then use the puck to charge the Apple Watch when it needs more power. It’s great and means I can save loads of space in my luggage. You can even use the puck to charge your AirPods Pro 2 — although users of older AirPods will need to use the USB-C port.
The battery itself isn’t massive: It’s a 10,000mAh pack, which will give you a full charge of an iPhone and an Apple Watch. For me, that’s all I need over the day — and with the 3-day battery life of my Apple Watch Ultra, it acts as a useful boost rather than a full charge. It’s not the biggest capacity battery, however — there are bigger ones out there for less money. They won’t be as portable, however, and likely won’t have the charging puck.
Charging speed is good, too, with 20W for the iPhone and 7.5W for the Apple Watch. That’s a little slower than the Apple Watch charger you got with your watch, but it's plenty fast enough to top it up. You can see how much battery life is left in the charger using a little button that sits atop the charger, lighting up a series of four LEDs to show you the remaining charge.
Belkin Boostcharge Pro: Build and Looks
I like the look of the Boostcharge Pro, although it’s certainly not going to win any beauty competitions. It’s simple and effective, a pill-shaped oblong covered with a soft touch coating.
Materials on hand are good, too — the soft touch coating makes it feel more premium even though it’s made out of plastic, and there’s a reassuring heft to the whole affair. Giving a little contrast is the glossy top panel, which houses the button, LED lights, and USB charging port. The Apple Watch puck is integrated nicely as well, not sitting too far forward on the casing.
A subtle logo makes sure you know that you’ve got a quality Belkin device, and its smooth, pebble-like shape makes it easy to slip into a pocket. I have no concerns with the build — I have dropped it accidentally, and it’s come out the other side with nary a scratch in sight. It goes a little way to justifying the device's slightly higher price, setting it apart from other battery packs.
Belkin Boostcharge Pro: Competition
The Anker MagGo Power bank that we reviewed also has a 10,000mAh battery, although rather than an Apple Watch charging puck, it has a MagSafe charger instead. It’s cheaper by $10, too, although it will take up more room in your pocket.
Want to make your iPhone a camera? Then, the ShiftCam SnapGrip camera grip not only adds some cool camera features to your iPhone but also acts as a kind of MagSafe battery bank. There’s no way to plug your Watch into this one, mind you, so it’s a one-trick pony in that regard. It’s also $129 — one for the camera die-hards this one.
There are also some cheaper options out there in the best portable batteries for iPhone list, although you won’t get the Apple Watch charging puck or the premium build that comes with a Belkin battery. You might get more battery power, however.
Belkin Boostcharge Pro: Should you buy it?
You should buy this if…
- You want some extra battery to top up your iPhone and Apple Watch
- You don’t like carting around your Apple Watch charging cable
- You want a super portable battery
You shouldn’t buy this if…
- You want loads of extra battery life
- You don’t want to spend $100
Belkin Boostcharge Pro: Verdict
The Belkin Boostcharge Pro is an excellent portable battery bank with a cool extra feature in the form of its useful Apple Watch charging puck. It’s not cheap, mind you, although you do get a weighty, premium product for the $100 asking price. If you need some extra battery life on slightly longer trips, then the Boostcharge Pro is perfect.
Charging the batteries
The Belkin Boostcharge Pro is a great pocket power companion, with enough juice to keep your iPhone and Apple Watch going for just a little longer. Great for short trips, or if you're going out to take loads of photos and videos.
