I'm a sucker for anything MagSafe. It's not healthy, actually. So when Baseus offered to send out a couple of battery pack samples, I was in. Baseus sent over the Baseus PicoGo AM31 Mini Magnetic Power Bank and AM41 battery packs, both of which are MagSafe. There are a couple of differences between them, and I've spent the last couple of weeks testing them out.
Of the two battery packs, the 5,000mAh AM31 is the more versatile of the two. It is slightly thicker than the 10,000mAh AM41, and it features a kickstand that flips out. The kickstand can hold the iPhone up in portrait or landscape orientation, so you can use it for media consumption, regardless of your platform. It measures half an inch in thickness. Meanwhile, the AM41 is extremely slim at 0.3 inches. For reference, that's thinner than the iPhone itself, so it doesn't add too much bulk.
Both battery packs have a soft-touch coating on the MagSafe side of the power bank, while the rest of the body is colored plastic. The soft-touch material feels nice, and it helps provide a bit of grip on the glass back of the iPhone, if you're carrying it without a case. I use an Oh Snap case with a powerful MagSafe magnet (and wireless charge-through, which is a nice bonus), which grabs the power pack firmly. All that being said, I'd like the magnets on the power bank to be a bit stronger, just to ensure the battery pack stays in place. It never dislodged from the back of the phone (with or without the case), but it rotated on the magnet, which is not ideal.
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Both power banks have a USB-C port that supports bi-directional power. You can charge the power bank with the USB-C port, or you can output power through it. So yes, that means you can charge two devices at the same time. Both power banks have power buttons and five LEDs to indicate charge level.
Obviously, the headline of the AM41 is how slim it is for a 10,000mAh portable. Both are valuable, but I prefer a slim, more powerful battery over a kickstand – that might just be me.
One thing of note: the battery packs get very warm to the touch while attached. They don't get "hot" with a capital H, but they get quite warm. My daughter noted that she didn't feel comfortable holding the battery pack while it was charging. I've used a lot of MagSafe battery packs over the years, so I'm more accustomed to how warm they can get, and I wasn't concerned.
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That being said, I'm also used to carrying my phone in my hand while it has a charger attached to the back. Slide that phone/battery combo into a pocket on a day when the heat index reaches triple digits, and yeah – it won't be awesome. I noticed the AM41 seemed to get hotter than the AM31 – I wonder if the larger chassis allows for more heat dissipation.
It's also noteworthy that the battery doesn't get as hot when you plug in a cable to charge your phone. Yes, this defeats the purpose of a MagSafe charger; that fact is not lost on me. But it's a way around the heat.
You can pick up the Baseus PicoGo AM31 Mini Magnetic Power Bank and the PicoGo AM41 for $69.99.
[Image credit: Adam Doud/Techlicious]
