Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank 5000mAh Review — inexpensive, but could be better

Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank (5000mAh)

7

It's one of the most inexpensive wireless powerbank out there, but you will have to deal with quite a few drawbacks that come with the low price.

What's Good?

• Relatively compact dimensions
• Decently fast charging over wired

What's Not?

• Not true MagSafe charging
• Charges up slowly
• Gets scuffed too easily

Yes, that’s quite a mouthful of a name. Remember during my review of the iPhone 15 Pro, I complained about the battery life? Well, the only solution is to get a powerbank. I already have one, but here’s one to take advantage of the MagSafe wireless charging feature. The Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Fast Charge Power Bank 5000mAh. It’s quite inexpensive, but there are a quite a few drawbacks that might be actual dealbreakers to some. Here we go.

Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank — What’s Good?

Relatively compact dimensions

Baseus was quite clearly inspired by the clean design of Apple’s own MagSafe Battery Pack. With smooth curves on the outer side and a gray side that contacts the rear of your iPhone, it’s clearly not a looker. But, at least it doesn’t look bad. It’s quite a small unit, which is exactly what I wanted when I got the 5000mAh version. With that said, I am somewhat irked that the powerbank extends slightly beyond the lower edge of my iPhone 15 Pro. It doesn’t affect my grip on the whole contraption, but it just triggers me.

Decently fast charging over wired

While it is called the Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank, I actually ended up using it with a cable instead. More on that later. Luckily, there’s one in the box, and it’s nicely short too so it doesn’t get too in the way of normal use. I would eventually replace it with a nicer flat cable or something though. Charging my iPhone 15 Pro, I got from 20% charge to 72% in 30 minutes, as it does support Apple’s 9V 2.22A charging rate. It’s also pretty efficient, just taking off one LED off the three-LED charge indicator beside the USB-C port.

Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank — What’s Not?

Not true MagSafe charging

MagSafe charges at 15W, but based on the charging speed observed with the Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank, it’s not actually capable of MagSafe charging with iPhones. The power bank itself is rated for 15W wireless charging, but not MagSafe charging. It took me an hour to go from 20% to 54% in 60 minutes. It also gets quite warm, so it’s only really suitable if you’re going to use it indoors. If you want to charge quickly, just connect a USB-C cable. One thing to note is that it defaults to using the wireless charging, so you can’t slap it on the back of your iPhone and use it with a USB-C cable…

Charges up slowly

Despite its somewhat small 19.25WHr capacity, it takes over 3 hours to fully charge from empty! This is because it only accepts 12W charging. This power bank can output at 20W over USB-C, but only accepts input at 12W. Add in the slow trickle charging to top it off and you get a 3-hour long charge. The silver lining here is that it charges via USB-C, so at least there’s that. With that said, I have not encountered much issue with this slow charging speeds because I rarely use my power banks with my iPhone. When I do, I just charge it up when I reach home.

Gets scuffed too easily

I may not be the gentlest of people out there, but I have not seen any of my accessories get scuffed so fast. he dark line you see is a scuff on the body itself was obtained during my first day of use. At first, I thought it was just some dirt from me putting it on random surfaces throughout my day. However, it was actually like the matte coating was worn away. I honestly didn’t expect to see it get scuffed so quickly. I guess it’s nice that Baseus included some stickers in the box, in case you want to cover up some of your scratches or dings.

Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank (5000mAh) Specifications

Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank — should you buy this?

Maybe. While it may not be the fastest nor the most efficient way of charging your iPhone, it is a very convenient one. I found the best way to use it is to extend the life of your battery, instead of using it as an emergency juice up, like you would with conventional power banks. For example, you know you’re gonna stay out late today. Instead of waiting for your battery to hit 10% before whipping it out, slap it on the back of your iPhone at about 30% and let it slowly top up your battery while you go about your day.

I found this to be a great way to go through long days when I am attending events. Just slap it on the back of the phone and continue shooting photos and videos while it slowly charges. Think of it as how you would use an extended battery, rather than a power bank, and you’ll be set. It’s currently available for around RM75 — RM74.50 on Shopee, RM79 on Lazada, at the time of writing — so I would say that it is an inexpensive addition to my kit of accessories for my iPhone. If you have a preference for cheap phone cases with graphics, you might want to skip this though, as it does need to work with MagSafe cases.

Help support us!

If you are interested in the Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank, we would really appreciate if you purchase it via the links below. The affiliate links won’t cost you any extra, but it will be a great help to keep the lights on here at HelloExpress.

• Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank (Shopee): https://shope.ee/6pbFx9ZBto
• Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Power Bank (Lazada): https://s.lazada.com.my/s.79luo