Review on Mophie Juice Pack - Protective Power Case With Wireless Charging And Charge Force Technology For IPhone 7 & 8, IPhone SE, Compatible With Qi-Enabled And Other Wireless Charging Systems by Jennifer Brogdon

I had been kicking around the idea of ordering one of the new Mophie Juice Pack Air cases for my regular size iPhone 7 but wasn't sure I wanted to haul around the extra weight/bulk. The only thing I really miss from my Android phone is wireless charging. After some discussion with a friend and Mophie fan, I decided to give it a whirl. Only a couple days in, but here are my impressions.SizeI have been carrying my iPhone 7 in a Spigen Neo Hybrid case for the most part, which is super slim and trim. The Mophie is quite bulky in comparison. The battery adds a chunk of weight as well. The width of the case across the screen isn't particularly big, and the upper bezel is slim as well. The bottom part of the case is longer to house the lightning connector and since it's closed off there are ports to route the lower mic/speaker sound out the front. This actually seems to work quite well and my phone seems "louder" as a result. The case has nicely rounded back edges, but that makes it very comfortable in hand. It also makes it difficult to measure the thickness! I figure it's around 16mm thick at the thickest part. In comparison, an Otterbox on an iPhone 7 is 15mm, with no battery or wireless charging. Normally that would be way too thick for me personally, but given the features it's not a bad tradeoff. Overall length-wise, the Mophie seems long due to the space at the bottom for sound channel routing and internal connector, but it's basically the same length as the Otterbox case. The edges of the case on the sides are slightly higher than the screen, but flare up at the ends of the case to offer screen "standoff" when the case is placed face-down. I measure 1.25mm of standoff at the ends of the case, so plenty of room for a glass screen protector and still maintaining a small amount of standoff.Some numbers, for those who enjoy such things:150.1 mm - Length70.4 mm - Width15.8 mm - Thickness (at the middle)241.6 g - Weight (with phone installed)97.2 g - Weight (case only)144.4 g - Weight (my iPhone 7)HandlingThe phone feels quite good in hand with the Mophie. The case itself has a soft-touch feel. It does seem to pick up fingerprints easily and there isn't any grip texturing, so while I haven't juggled it yet, I would call it "medium" for grip in the hand. The thickness and radius of the rear edges makes it very comfortable to hold. The buttons have excellent tactile feel. I have no issues reaching the mute switch on the side, it's got a nice cutout. As noted above, the case does add notable weight to the phone. Carrying it in a coat chest pocket, I notice the weight difference.ConnectivityThe case has no external lightning connector, only a micro USB for wired charging. For some, this is a deal-breaker. For me, it's a non-issue so far. I rarely plug my phone into my Mac to sync, I just let it sync wirelessly and that works fine. I didn't often use the lightning-to-headphone adapter, I use bluetooth. The wireless charging functionality is excellent. I did not spend the $ for Mophie-branded charging pads, I simply use cheapo Qi charging bases and they both work perfectly, so long as they are powered by good power supplies. I have a flat $9 charging pad at home on the nightstand and a $20 upright "stand" charging base on my desk at work. I've also tested the wireless charging ability on a number of vehicles that offer built in Qi-compatible charging pads and they have all worked nicely as well. As I said, wireless charging is something I really miss from my modern Android phones and it's super slick to have that ability. The system is set such that it charges the phone's internal battery first, and then charges the case.OverallI think the Mophie with wireless is a very nice piece of kit. I can typically get through a workday and evening at home (non-travel) on the built-in battery. If I am on my phone a bunch for work, or have significant WebEx or other on-phone work, I typically plug into a charger when in the car and that gets me to the end of the day, sometimes just barely. The Mophie for iPhone 7 has a 2525 mAh battery, in addition to the built-in iPhone 7 battery of 1960 mAh. That's a full additional charge, plus a bit. I haven't run both into the ground just yet, but may do so this weekend.ConclusionHonestly, I'm in a bit of a quandary with this case. It does everything it's supposed to, and does it well. And I absolutely understand the thickness/weight, it's a matter of physics when you include an additional battery that more than doubles the capacity of the phone itself. I think for work or personal travel or time away on vacation, I'd run this case without hesitation as I tend to burn far more battery power in those situations than I do on a typical work day. My conclusion for the moment is that I'll probably keep the case and put my phone in it for vacation or travel use. But I'm not sure I am willing to lose the super-svelte profile of my iPhone 7 for typical every day use. The wireless charging convenience IMHO may be enough to cause me to keep this case on the phone full-time, but it's a little bit strange: with wireless charging, my phone is often times sitting on a charging pad - which usually alleviates my need for the extra capacity. It's a serious case of "first world problems."I would not hesitate to recommend this case based on my short experience so far, and caution only those who are really hung up about the size (specifically the thickness) of their phone that they may not dig it. For those who don't care so much about the size or additional weight, the combination of super battery capacity and wireless charging convenience are a no-brainer and well worth the price of admission.I purchased this case with my own $, it was not a "review unit."