Image: Simon Jary
At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Power bank in a protective phone case
- Robust two-part design
- Slimmer than previous models
- Magnetic back
Cons
- Battery capacity not as high as a power bank
- U.S. only
Our Verdict
Although a lower capacity than a separate power bank, having the battery pack built into a protective case means you don’t have to remember to carry another device with you, and functions both to protect your phone from drops and knocks and from loss of power.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
$99.95
Best Prices Today: Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 17 Pro
$99.95
$99.99
- Best for: Someone looking for slim, all-in-one solution that can top up your iPhone 17 Pro or 17 Pro Max.
- Not for: Someone who wants a low cost option with maximum recharge capacity.
With magnetic wireless power banks becoming faster, lighter and smaller, the iPhone battery case has become something of a rarity. Battery case pioneer Mophie is still at the forefront of the market, however, and its latest Juice Pack fights back against ultra-slim power banks with its extra protection and more solid design for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max.
After missing a few iPhone iterations, Mophie bounced back with its Juice Packs for iPhone 15 and 16 families. The latest version is available for the Pro models, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air, only. Owners of the plain iPhone 17 must look to Chinese imports on Amazon or stick with a phone case plus a portable power bank.
Design: Slimmer than you’d expect
Mophie (now owned by Zagg) has stuck with its preferred two-piece design for the new Juice Pack battery cases. The top part pulls off to allow the users to safely slip their iPhone into the large bottom section that features the integrated battery plus a USB-C connector for the iPhone to push into.
This makes installation feel safer than ramming the iPhone into a one-piece case where it’s harder to see the connection between the phone’s charging port and the battery case’s connector. We’ve had the connector bend and impact charging on some cheaper models.
Simon Jary
The two-part design, however, can come apart when pulled from your pocket, but Mophie’s design feels more robust and you should be less likely to inadvertently remove the top part when handling the battery case.
The physical connection, rather than a wireless one, means the charging should be more efficient than you’ll get from a purely magnetic one. I wouldn’t want to be forever putting the iPhone in and out of the case, for the possibility of damaging the phone’s charging port.
Most battery case users leave their iPhone in the case, so as long as you are sensitive when first placing the phone into the case, there’s little to be worried about.
The case is slimmer—0.76 inch or 1.9cm—and a little lighter compared to earlier battery cases, at just 3.6oz (98g). Cheaper and bulkier no-name battery cases can weigh in at over 5oz (around 150g).
Mophie
As with nearly every battery case out there, the color is a singular choice of black. We found the Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 17 Pro to be rather prone to fingerprints and marks—an obvious fallibility in a product that will often be in the user’s hands.
The back of the case features four LEDs that indicate remaining battery life in the case. To the left of these lights is the Standby/Status button that needs to be pressed to start or pause the charging process.
Just because the charging isn’t wireless doesn’t mean that the Mophie Juice Pack abandons MagSafe altogether. The back features an integrated passive magnet that allows a strong hold for wallets and other magnetic accessories. You cannot, however, wirelessly charge the case or the phone when inside it.
The case also includes a loop for a lanyard.
Simon Jary
Performance tests
Bulk and weight are kept within acceptable dimensions as Mophie hasn’t tried to shoehorn in a 10K or even 5K battery into the case. The Juice Pack for iPhone 17 Pro features a 3000mAh (milliamp-hours) battery, and the model for 17 Pro Max boasts a 3600mAh battery. This compares to the usual minimum 5000mAh found in a magnetic wireless power bank, so we expected the Juice Pack to recharge an empty iPhone to a lesser degree.
The battery capacity is higher than the 2800mAh found in the Juice Pack for iPhone 16.
In our tests this gained us an average score of 55% when recharging a fully drained iPhone 17 Pro. That score from the 3K battery case compares to the average 70-80% recharge scores we’ve recorded from the 5K power banks such as the Belkin BoostCharge Pro.
The Juice Pack’s recharge capacity should be enough to get you back to somewhere you can charge the phone up with a charger at a power socket but won’t get you as far away as a slimline 5000mAh power bank.
Priority passthrough charging means power is channeled to your iPhone first and then the battery pack when charging the case with the phone inside.
The compromise with a power bank is that it isn’t as robust a connection as a battery case, and they offer no drop protection as a battery case will. The Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 17 Pro offers drop protection of up to 6 feet. You’ll get the same or better protection from a dedicated iPhone case but this will need to be a separate purchase alongside the power bank.
Simon Jary
Price: Is it worth $99.95?
The Mophie Juice Pack battery case for iPhone 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max and iPhone Air costs $99.95 / £99.95, although availability outside of the U.S. looks in short supply at the time of writing.
A decent 5K wireless power bank costs half that amount but doesn’t double up as a protective case, which we’d always recommend to iPhone users. See our roundup of the best magnetic power banks for iPhone and best cases for iPhone 17 Pro.
The Mophie therefore represents good value for money, offering robust protection and an integrated battery pack to keep you going on the move.
Mophie
Should you buy the Mophie Juice Pack battery case for iPhone 17 Pro?
Mophie keeps making its Juice Pack battery cases slimmer, lighter and more robust than previous models, and this latest version even beats previous versions while on the recharge score.
If you want your iPhone to be as slim and protected as possible, a separate case with power bank applied when required is for you.
Having the battery pack built into a protective case means you don’t have to remember to carry a power bank with you, and functions both to protect your phone from drops and knocks and from loss of power.
Best Prices Today: Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 17 Pro
$99.95
$99.99
Author: Simon Jary, Contributor, Macworld
Simon has over 30 years of expert experience testing and reviewing ever-smaller and more powerful tech accessories, from USB-C and Thunderbolt docks to chargers, batteries, hubs and adapters. A former Editor of Macworld, he has contributed to PCWorld, Tech Advisor and TimeOut, as well as national newspapers such as The Times, Independent and Telegraph.
