4.5

Build Quality
Price-to-Value Ratio
Overall Design

The myCharge HubPlus portable charger is an iPhone and smartphone plug-in charger that also does double duty as a backup portable battery-based charger. With a 6,000 mAh battery, it can recharge your typical iPhone 6 or 6s about three times before you need to plug it in.

Better yet, the myCharge HubPlus comes with two built-in cables — an Apple Lightning cable that will charge newer iPhones and iPads, as well as a micro-USB cable that will charge most Android-based smartphones and devices. The output is 3.4 amps shared, which means it has enough throughput to charge two devices at the same time.

In terms of charging speed, myCharge says it’s faster than most competitors, and while I’m not the kind of guy who sits around with a timer, I can say that charging seems as least as fast as using a regular Apple provided USB wall charger with a standard Lightning cable.

So it’s pretty good. Why is this an issue at all? Cheaper batteries and chargers skimp on quality and output capabilities, which means they can be painfully slow to charge. (In case you’re wondering, I avoid cheap, off-brand electrical devices as much as possible due to risk of shock, failure, or fire hazard.)

myCharge HubPlus Review: Excellent Build Quality

The myCharge HubPlus has excellent build quality — it’s stout and solid. I like it most for travel because I can toss it in my bag and know that I’m covered for charging, even when outlets are hard to find. You can do passthrough charging by plugging it into a wall socket and then plugging it into your device. The downside is also the upside — the short built-in charging cables are only about three inches long, so your device isn’t very mobile if you’re plugged into a wall socket. If you need to use your iPhone, for example, while charging from the battery, you can hold the HubPlus behind your iPhone and still use it. I once streamed a TV show while charging from the HubPlus, and despite the streaming video load on my iPhone 6, with the screen set to a bright level, I was able to build a charge in the iPhone while using it.

Nice.

All-in-all, the myCharge HubPlus is a great travel device that’s also handy around the house when you just don’t want to leave your device tethered to a wall. It’s also good for teens, if only because the Lightning and micro-USB cables are built-in and can’t be lost or left behind. Either way, the HubPlus looks good, works great, and does exactly what it’s designed to do. If you’re looking for an even larger battery pack, check out the HubUltra — or if you want a smaller unit, try the HubMini.

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About the author

Chris Maxcer

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I've been writing about the tech industry since the birth of the email newsletter, and I still remember the clacking Mac keyboards from high school -- Apple's seed-planting strategy at work. I'm a big fan of elegant gear and great tech, but there's something to be said for turning it all off -- or most of it -- to go outside. Online I like to call out cool stuff on Wicked Cool Bite and blog with my buddies at Man Makes Fire. To catch me, take a "firstnamelastname" guess at the url of this site.