BuQu Tech’s PowerArmour Battery Case for iPhone 6 ($80) is one of the first battery cases we’ve seen for Apple’s new iPhones. The case features a built-in Lightning charger that can slide up or down to accommodate an iPhone 6, and the 2800 mAh battery offers a full charge. PowerArmour unfortunately lacks button coverage — the sleep/wake button and volume controls are left exposed. A power switch on the back controls the charging, and four LEDs denote how much charge is left within the battery.
A headphone adapter and micro-USB cable are also included with the case, the latter for charging the battery, naturally.
PowerArmour unfortunately leaves the iPhone 6 buttons and parts of the phone’s sides exposed. We wouldn’t really trust it to protect the phone from a tough drop. It’s a shame, because PowerArmour’s charging implementation is clever. The Lightning connector slides up and down with ease for charging, and the simple power switch is a foolproof way of putting the user in control of the charging.
A microfiber backing for the iPhone is a nice touch. PowerArmour isn’t quite as sharp as Tylt’s Energi, but it’s also slightly thinner.
We found PowerArmour’s charging performance to be respectable — it recharged an iPhone 6 fully in 2:27, while offering another 8 percent charge after depleting the battery again, for a total of 108 percent. The battery itself recharged in 3:50 using 2A input charging. These won’t be the most impressive numbers we see, but they certainly suffice as a good charging option.
While we wish PowerArmour offered a bit more coverage as a case, its battery still makes it worth a look.