14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is now taking orders for a new iPhone 5s accessory that expands the phone’s internal storage by an extra 32GB and doubles the phone’s battery life. The product is not cheap, but the end benefit is probably worth every penny for some users.
Priced at $179.95 in the US Apple Store and €179.95 in European Apple stores, the mophie space pack Battery Case with 32GB Storage for iPhone 5s expands two of the most important features your iPhone possesses: storage and battery life.
Regardless of your phone’s storage capacity (16GB, 32GB, or 64GB), the mophie space pack adds an extra 32GB on top of that, making it possible to lug around almost 100GB of storage at any time.
“You can now save more and delete less with the all-new space pack. It’s the extra power you love from mophie, now with built-in storage,” says the manufacturer. “Double your battery and store more photos, videos, music, and documents than ever before.”
The case apparently comes in two options, one of which adds only 16GB of storage if you don’t need all that much flash memory but want a full battery tank at all times.
Renowned accessory vendor mophie promises “up to 100% extra battery capacity for charging on-the-go,” complete with a dedicated Space app that allows customers to “easily manage, organize, and share files on the space pack.”
“Take photos with the Space app and save them straight to the space pack without using any storage on your iPhone,” mophie recommends.
There aren’t any drawbacks to using the space pack for playing videos and music as the media is routed through the iPhone, which also opens access to AirDrop, email, iMessage, Dropbox, and every other service that iOS has to offer.
The built-in four-light LED status indicator shows you how much battery is left and there’s a small knob situated on the back of the case which allows and restricts access to space pack storage.
Admittedly the accessory adds a fair amount of bulk to the thin iPhone 5s. The product’s dimensions are: height: 0.63 in./1.6 cm; width: 2.57 in./6.53 cm; weight: 2.8 oz./79.4 g; length: 5.66 in./14.38 cm.
The mophie space pack Battery Case with 32GB Storage is marketed as “for iPhone 5s,” but according to the compatibility chart, the hardware goes onto iPhone 5 handsets as well. Visit Apple’s online store for a closer look and/or to order your own.