BuQu Tech Magnetyze iPhone 5/5s Case Review

Introduction

Looking around the landscape, wireless charging is still a feature that’s not being widely adopted by many smartphones – including those nestled in the high-end segment. Nevertheless, it’s undoubtedly a feature that has its own particular set of benefits. Apple has been reluctant in bringing the feature to its iPhone, so that leaves many owners looking at various accessory makers to gain the functionality. Thus far, we’ve seen solutions, like the Powermat or Energizer’s Qi compatible inductive charger, that deliver the feature to several popular smartphones, but BuQu Tech’s Magnetyze case has a slightly different approach.

The package contains:

• Owners guide
• Magnetyze charging cable
• microUSB cable
• 3.5mm headset jack adapter

Design

The bull’s eye symbol in the rear of the case is the star of the show here, but the case’s conventional design is lackluster.

What we have here folks is your ordinary looking protective case for the iPhone 5/5s, which is hardly flattering with its all too straightforward design. Well, we do appreciate that it’s form fitting and doesn’t add a whole lot of bulk to the phone, but they seriously could’ve splash some flashiness or life into its otherwise boring design. Seeing that it employs a Lightning port to microUSB connection, there’s a miniscule amount of space added to the length of the iPhone – albeit, it’s nothing too much that would make the phone’s footprint extraordinarily larger than the phone by itself.

Although we barely notice the added weight and size of the case, we can’t say the same thing about its comfort when holding it in our hands. Firstly, it’s a bit slippery to grasp! And the more pressing issue here are the sharp edges of the case, especially the underside where the microUSB and 3.5mm headset ports rest, seeing that our fingers feel the even sharper cuts from those ports.

Constructed from plastic that has a slippery feel to it, the Magnetyze case attempts to emulate a metallic look with its patterned design, but it does little in hiding its hollow like feel. Inserting and removing the case is a breeze, since the entire thing is comprised out of two components – the bottom piece that holds the majority of the iPhone, and the smaller top piece that caps the entire thing.

Even though the case envelops everything around the sides, it’s nice to find that its power button, volume control, and mute switch are all accessible. With the latter, BuQu Tech is able to mimic the familiar operation of the switch. Two cutouts below the bottom part of the case allow us to interact between the iPhone’s microphone and internal speaker, while a microUSB port and an even more recessed 3.5mm headset jack round things out.

Due to the added depth that’s a result from the longer length of the case, we’re required to use the included headphone adapter if we want to connect a pair of headphones. So yeah, it’s unfortunate that we need to constantly carry it around if we want to listen to some music in peace. On the flip side, though, the microUSB port not only presents us with a hard wired option for charging, but it even permits us to sync the smartphone as well.

And finally, the rear of the Magnetyze case is home to a peculiar bull’s-eye shaped symbol that’s perched squarely in the middle. This gold plated symbol is what actually enables the case to ‘wirelessly’ charge the iPhone when it’s connected to the Magnetyze charging cable. That cable itself, has a magnet inside of it, which bonds firmly to the rear of the case – juicing up the iPhone in the process. Like we said, the connection is pretty firm and requires a bit of tug to remove, but to tell you the truth, we wouldn’t classify it as wireless charging per se, more so when there’s still a cable required for the process.

Performance

There’s no compromise to the charge time with the Magnetyze case, but its true potential is unearthed by using the other optional Magnetyze branded accessories.

First and foremost, it should be noted that the Magnetyze case isn’t compatible with those Qi standard wireless docking stations. Rather than employing the inductive charging technology found with many Qi compatible chargers, the Magnetyze case relies on a conductive-charging process instead – where the metal-to-metal connection between the rear of the case and the magnetized charging cable gets the job done.

Initially, we were a bit skeptical with how much time it would take for the Magnetyze case to charge our iPhone 5s. To our amazement, it manages to have the same identical charging time as Apple’s own Lightning cable – so there’s no delay in getting it juiced back up to 100%! Better yet, we like the idea of it having a microUSB port as an alternative source for juicing. Meaning, if we’re to lose our Lightning cable, we can merely use a microUSB cable instead, which of course is more readily available.

Ultimately, the Magnetyze case doesn’t really bring forth that notion of true wireless charging, seeing that there’s still a dangly cable attached to the back of the case. Now in order to truly reap the benefits of the Magnetyze case, you’ll probably want to invest in some of the other Magnetyze branded accessories from BuQu Tech.

Specifically, they include the Car Charging Stand, AC Wall Charger, Disc Charger, Desk Stand/Charger, and the Mobile Battery. With all of the aforementioned charger/stand combinations, they hold the smartphone in place thanks in part to the magnetic connection between them – while juicing it up simultaneously. As for the Mobile Battery, which is essentially an 1800 mAh battery that snaps onto the Magnetyze case via its magnetic connection, it’s just another charging solution on the go.

Conclusion

The concept of the Magnetyze case is pretty intriguing when we factor in all of the other related accessories for it, but as a standalone product, we wouldn’t say that it’s something so ground breaking to the point that it’s a must-have. At the very core of it all, it’s nothing more than a different kind of charging case for the iPhone 5s. Therefore, when you factor in its $59.99 cost, it seems like a big investment considering that the cool feature present here is just the magnetic charging connection – and it doesn’t do anything more than that, unless you pick up some of the other related accessories for the Magnetyze case.