Last month, Mophie announced the launch of its ultimate charging stand. Aimed at those with multiple sets of Apple headphones, it can charge AirPods Max headphones and a pair of AirPods or AirPods Pro at the same time.
Priced at $150, it immediately drew criticism on our forums, for its price compared to its performance. But is it actually worth it? I spent a few weeks watching it.
Design and build
The charging base is aluminum lined with smooth silicone along every surface your device comes in contact with. Underneath is a large rectangular pad of the same silicone to keep it from sliding easily on your desk. The Mophie logo is subtly stamped at the top just below the square indentation that shows you where to place your AirPods (or other Qi-enabled devices) to charge.
At 15.7 ounces (445 grams) on my kitchen scale, it’s heavy enough to hold my AirPods Max without wobble. But more on that later…
It comes with a decently long 5-foot USB-C cable coated with the same silicone that covers the stand, a 20W wall adapter, two magnetic charging dongles, and a pass-through adapter.
To use the stand, you insert a magnetic dongle into the USB-C port on the AirPods Max. This dongle then automatically connects to the stand’s charging port thanks to its magnetism. The second magnetic dongle included is an extra which is a nice touch, especially at this price point.
The pass-through adapter lets you always leave a charging dongle in the Max’s charging port so you can still charge it with a standard USB-C cable, avoiding wear and tear on the port with frequent removal and insertion. But on the other hand, it’s another adapter to carry around and avoid losing. The pro tip here is to keep this dongle connected to a USB-C cable that you use to charge the headphones when you’re away from home.
Using the pass-through adapter included in a USB-C cableThe charging dongle doesn’t pass through the audio, so if you’re using your AirPods Max for lossless audio or to connect to a 3.5mm analog device, you’ll need to remove the dongle each time.
Magnetic dongles are the main feature of the stand and aren’t a new concept—charging stands using magnetic dongles have been released by smaller companies for years (eg, the Max Stand a few years ago), and Mophie’s is a premium entry from Apple accessory makers.
How it works
When you place AirPods Max on the stand, the white LED on the front of the stand lights up for a few seconds and then turns off. Since you can’t see the status light next to the headphone’s USB-C port to verify charging while on the stand, it’s a little frustrating not being able to see the charging status after the stand light turns off.
Additionally, because the stand uses magnets built into the ear cup holders to keep the headphones in sleep mode, you won’t even see their charge level in Control Center or the battery widget on other Apple devices unless you remove them from the stand. I’d rather have this light stay on or pulse while charging the headphones.
Removing the ‘AirPods Max’ requires two hands because the stand weighs about a pound, not heavy enough to overcome the magnetic force from the charging dongle. You must use two hands to place the headphones on the stand because the ear cup holders are placed far enough apart that you have to extend the headband further.
This ear cup holder placement, however, allows the stand to accommodate AirPods or other Qi-enabled devices in the center. I was using a simple 3D-printed AirPods Max stand without charging capability where the ear cup holders are close enough together that it’s easy to drop and move the AirPods Max with one hand, so this was an adjustment for me.
The center charger fits easily into an AirPods Pro case, and the indentation makes it easy to notice where it should go. It’s even big enough to accommodate the large case covers I use. It also charged my iPhone 17 Pro although it took a few seconds to line up in the right place.
The center charger looks nice but feels like an addition to add value to the stand to justify the price. I would like to see a lower priced version without this center charger that would allow a narrower placement of the holders for the ear cups.
Next to my (non-charging) 3D-printed standIn my charging tests, I saw no noticeable difference between charging my AirPods Max with Apple’s USB-C cable directly to a 20W wall adapter, using the Max Stand, or using the USB-C cable with Mophie’s included pass-through adapter. Apple says a 5-minute charge adds 1.5 hours of listening time but doesn’t claim any fast-charging features beyond that, nor does Apple specifically recommend using a high-wattage wall adapter.
According to iFixit, the USB-C AirPods Max have the same battery cell as the original model released in 2020 with a total capacity of 664 mAh. ‘AirPods Max’ automatically limits the amount of power drawn while charging, and using a high-wattage wall adapter does not increase charging speed.
With this stand on my desk, I noticed that I was no longer hyper-vigilant about taking every opportunity to put my headphones in sleep mode to avoid draining the battery. I started leaving my AirPods Max around the house without a care in charging because I knew I could easily pop them into the stand for a quick charge anytime. Using a USB-C cable to charge them certainly isn’t difficult, but it takes more steps than simply dropping the headphones into a stand.
big question
Will Mophie offer a Lightning dongle that will allow the stand to work with older AirPods Max models that have a Lightning port? It seems like it would be an easy thing to do since the stand is only handling low power to the headphones and no data, and it would open up Mophie’s consumer base to sell more. This is the most frequently asked question on the stand’s product page and at the time of this review there is no official answer from Mophie, although there are those who claim that Mophie answered them directly and said no. We asked Mofi directly and they did not respond before this review was published.
A closer view of the magnetic dongleWe assume that the official answer to this question is no. While frustrating, it’s likely a licensing issue that’s preventing a Lightning dongle. The Lightning connector is proprietary and Apple licenses its use through its MFi program, while USB-C is not proprietary. If Mophie has done the math here, it must be that licensing a Lightning dongle is more expensive than offering it, even if it means losing a potentially large user base of Lightning AirPods Max owners.
Who is it for?
You often use your AirPods Max on or near a desk throughout the day and want an easy and quick way to charge them. Or you’re out and about all day and want to drop your AirPods Max in a dock by the door when you get home to charge overnight before leaving in the morning. And you have $150 to burn.
I was salty about the price when it was first announced, but I’ve come to appreciate this dock more and more and even use my AirPods Max more because of it. As with many things in life, making something simple has a big impact on how often it is used or done. So is it worth it? For me, the answer is yes.
Benefits:
- Solid, quality build
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Two devices can be charged simultaneously
- Easy and convenient charging
Disadvantages:
- No at-a-glance charging status indicator
- Two hands are required to place and remove the headphones
- Stretches the headband
- Pass-through adapters are another thing to lose
- the price
Note: Mophie provided MacRumors with a Max stand for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an authorized partner with Mophie When you click on a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps keep our site running.
