Mophie’s powerstation hub is a versatile, if limited, portable battery

Mophie’s $99.95 powerstation hub is a portable battery that sports foldable AC power prongs and a small design (3.31 inches square by 1.16 inches thick). Conveniently it can be used as a wall outlet hub, then taken with you as a portable battery with a Qi-enabled wireless charging surface.

With its minimalist design, the hub only needs one AC plug to charge up to three devices. As a portable battery, it has USB-C PD and wireless charging capabilities/ You can charge up to four devices at once from the two USB-A ports (Quick Charge 3.0 15W port, and 5W port), one USB-C PD port (18W input/output), and Qi-enabled wireless surface (5W output).

The 18W fast-charge USB-C PD port charges some devices at the fastest speed possible and can be used for recharging before being slipped into a bag for traveling. The set-up offers a variety of possibilities. 

You could connect it to a MacBook Air (as I do) and use it as a charging hub for an iPhone and Apple Watch.

However, its very versatility can be a little confusing. For example, plug the power station hub into a wall outlet and you can’t use the Qi charger. If it’s being powered over USB-C, the USB-C port can't act as an output. You can use all four outputs simultaneously if you take advance of the internal battery. Unfortunately, it’s only a 6,100mAh battery so it goes through juice quickly when you connect multiple devices.

If you can understand and deal with its limitations, the powerstation hub offers a lot of functionality. And its non-slip boarder around the wireless charging surface keeps devices in place while charging.

Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★