Folks, if you're looking at buying a battery pack this year — specifically one with Qi2 support (and especially *Qi2.2*) for your iPhone or Pixel — The Verge just published something genuinely worth diving into because Cameron Faulkner's tested seven different options and the results are honestly more nuanced than most folks expect. This isn't some cookie-cutter "buy this, it's the best" article; they actually evaluated these on their merits and what stood out to me immediately was that a lot of people buying Qi2 battery packs aren't getting what they think they're paying for when it comes to actual performance versus marketing numbers slapped on packaging. The critical takeaway is: don't just look at how fast the box *says* your new power bank will charge; you actually want to be looking at wattage output AND quality of cell components in combination — because a cheaper Qi2 battery that genuinely nails its rated spec beats an overpriced one doing something mediocre most days.
What I found particularly useful is Faulkner's emphasis on understanding what voltage and actual charging speed ratings mean for your specific phone models, since the numbers play out differently depending on whether you're dealing with iPhones versus Pixels when comparing MagSafe-compatible batteries to those that use PixelSnap instead of magnetic arrays from Apple — which means there are genuinely multiple solid options across different price ranges right now rather than a single undisputed king. My advice for anyone shopping around is straightforward: read the specific voltage and charging speed specs on your shortlist, then compare against what you'll actually experience in real-world conditions (heat management and whether it throttles under sustained load tend to be the silent killers that make people return products after buying them), because getting a battery whose ratings align perfectly with Qi2.2 standards — even if its price tag isn't eye-catching — almost always outperforms grabbing whichever option costs more but barely clears those performance marks most of the time you're using it outside your home.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/939362/best-magsafe-qi2-2-batteries-power-banks
What I found particularly useful is Faulkner's emphasis on understanding what voltage and actual charging speed ratings mean for your specific phone models, since the numbers play out differently depending on whether you're dealing with iPhones versus Pixels when comparing MagSafe-compatible batteries to those that use PixelSnap instead of magnetic arrays from Apple — which means there are genuinely multiple solid options across different price ranges right now rather than a single undisputed king. My advice for anyone shopping around is straightforward: read the specific voltage and charging speed specs on your shortlist, then compare against what you'll actually experience in real-world conditions (heat management and whether it throttles under sustained load tend to be the silent killers that make people return products after buying them), because getting a battery whose ratings align perfectly with Qi2.2 standards — even if its price tag isn't eye-catching — almost always outperforms grabbing whichever option costs more but barely clears those performance marks most of the time you're using it outside your home.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/939362/best-magsafe-qi2-2-batteries-power-banks