Pros & Cons
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- Built-in magnetic Apple Watch charger lets to charge watch and iPhone simultaneously.
- Good build quality.
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- Expensive.
- No pass-through or fast charging.
Belkin Valet Charger Power Pack Specs
| Added Battery Life | 18 hours, 33 (Wi-Fi video streaming) minutes |
| Capacity | 6700 |
| Dimensions | 4.6 by 1.8 by 0.9 inches |
| Fast Charging | No |
| Pass-Through Charging | |
| Voltage | 5V/1A |
| Weight | 5.3 |
| Wireless Charging |
Just about any battery pack can charge your iPhone or iPad, but what about your Apple Watch? Sure, you can always carry your charging cable around and plug it into your battery, but that isn't terribly convenient. Or you can get the $99.99 Belkin Valet Charger. It's a 6,700mAh backup battery with a USB port for charging your mobile device, and an integrated magnetic charging dock for the Apple Watch, letting you supply power to both at the same time. It's a convenient option for Apple fans, though you pay a heavy premium for it.
Design and Features
The Belkin Valet Charger is a two-tone stick with a smooth aluminum finish on one end, and matte black plastic on the other, punctuated by a glossy white plastic circle. At 4.6 by 1.8 by 0.9 inches (HWD) and 5.3 ounces, the Valet is lighter than the Xiaomi Mi Power Bank Pro (5.1 by 2.9 by 0.5 inches, 7.0 ounces), but thicker. It'll still fit in your pocket without much trouble.
The top edge has a single USB port that can output at 5V/1A, which we measured at 5V/1.04A when charging an iPhone 8 Plus. That's fairly slow compared with other new batteries, and doesn't come close to those with support for fast charging standards like Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0. There's also a micro USB port for charging the battery itself. To the left of these ports you'll find the power button and a set of four green LEDs. Pressing the button shows you battery status and also begins charging via the USB port.
The most interesting feature of the Valet is that glossy white circle. It's a magnetic charging contact for the Apple Watch. We placed the Apple Watch Series 3 on the contact; it snapped into place easily, and had no trouble juicing up. The Valet is capable of simultaneously charging an iPhone (or other device) and an Apple Watch, but it can't handle pass-through charging, so you won't be able to charge anything if the battery itself is plugged in.
Performance and Conclusions
The 6,700mAh Valet performed well in our rundown test, clocking 18 hours, 33 minutes of power when streaming full-screen video over Wi-Fi at maximum brightness when connected to a phone. It's enough to charge your phone and watch fully at least once, maybe twice, though obviously, it's no match for more capacious batteries like the 10,000mAh Mi Power Bank Pro, which added 33 hours, 42 minutes in our tests.
The Belkin Valet Charger is a convenient portable charger for Apple users. No other battery can seamlessly charge your Apple Watch and iPhone at the same time, unless you get a battery with multiple USB ports and don't mind carrying around the charging cable for your watch. But at $100, you're paying a hefty premium to leave a cord at home. You can save a considerable amount of money with the Mi Power Bank Pro, which also offers nearly twice the power and faster charging capabilities, making it our Editors' Choice.