The company has yet to comment. Maybe their components look ugly for marketing purposes. Get the iClarified app for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac OS X, and Apple Watch! Get the iClarified newsletter right to your email! Get the iClarified app for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac OS X, and Apple Watch! Get the iClarified newsletter right to your email!
A simpler solution would be just buy a new pair of earphones. Slight variation with the snap-off design here. It is absolutely necessary to be able to snap the case or, in this case (no pun intended), part of the case off. How else will one be able to insert their iPhone, I noticed a possible efficiency issue with the snap-off design.
LifeCHARGE managed to keep the battery and lightning charger port intact. The snap-off is does not separate the battery from the rest of the charging component. The same cannot be said with Mophie. Mophie's design actually separates the battery (upper half) from the charging component (lower half). Rather than having direct wires connecting the two components together, the Mophie Juice Pack Helium relies on contact pins. To me, this is inefficient and redundant.
The next picture illustrates this slightly better. The two metal prongs come in contact with the battery base to create a circuit. I speculate that the connection will fail quickly over time due to everyday wear and tear. The connection surface will become dull from the metal to metal contact. It will also lose conductivity as it is exposed to external environment.
I'm one of those people that constantly do case swaps. I've already experienced the stretched loose silicone shell with my Otterbox cases and I have no doubt that a similar occurrence will happen with this. Avoid taking the case apart as wear and tear may render it useless faster than the battery degrades.
I have performed a charge test, but I suspect that this connection choice by Mophie may impact the results. How long it took to charge up each case. When it came to charging the iPhone 5S, the LifeCHARGE did take slightly longer. However, it managed to fully charge the iPhone while the Mophie only managed approximately 80%. Both charge tests were done when the iPhone's battery drained to the 15% level. Since we are working with an internal lithium-ion battery, it was not a good idea to fully drain the device prior to charging.
The 15% critical level represents a good charge point and so both charge tests were benchmarked at this level. Which Is The Better Buy, The Mophie Juice Pack Helium is a tad overpriced for what its worth. It was incapable of completely charging the device to full yet it carries a hefty price tag.
I could not get over its design choice to integrate both a battery status toggle button and a power toggle flick switch. Despite this, I do find the flick switch more manageable than the tiny power toggle button found on the LifeCHARGE. If you are willing to overlook this drawback, the LifeCHARGE carries a more affordable price tag allowing you to save a few bucks and truly double the battery life of your device. Keep in mind that the bigger battery capacity found in the LifeCHARGE battery case also contributes to a slightly heavier weight.
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