Urbn 5000 mAh Compact MagTag Wireless Power Bank Review: A small charger with big ambitions

You won’t run out of options if you go surfing the web for wireless power banks. However, many of us are waiting for Qi2 chargers to arrive, which will bring additional features such as a magnetic lock and faster charging speeds. And while they haven’t yet arrived as power banks in India, many who need the wireless convenience of on-the-go charging will have to use standard Qi chargers (and their limitations). I recently received a wireless charger made by Urbn for review. What makes it interesting is its small form factor, which is barely noticeable even behind a standard-sized iPhone model. However, after a few weeks of use, I found a number of limitations that make it difficult to recommend this model compared to other offerings available in India.

Urbn 5,000mAh Compact MagTag Wireless Power Bank Review: Design and Specifications

The Urbn 5000 mAh Compact MagTag Wireless Power Bank, hereinafter referred to as the Urbn MagTag Charger, comes with some interesting features. Key among them is its small and well-rounded pebble-like design, which has a really small footprint of just 9cm x 6.3cm, with a thickness of 1.6cm. It’s also very light at just 121 grams. While its outer shell is made of plastic, its outer surface is covered in a rubber-like texture that offers good grip and feels solid without unwanted gaps. However, I have noticed that the charging pad area is a proper magnet for dust and gets quite messy after some use.

The LED battery charge indicators only reveal an estimate of battery life

The power bank has only one button on its back, which is flanked by two LED indicators to show the amount of charging power left in the batteries. Unlike most other wireless power banks I’ve used, the charging process isn’t activated when a smartphone is placed on the charging pad, but only when the button is pressed.

While it was something I had to remind myself to do, it does have its advantages, as you can keep the power bank on the back of your iPhone all day, but you can only activate wireless charging when needed with the push of a button.

Although the LEDs are a handy indicator of the current capacity of the internal battery, you should keep in mind that this is only an estimate. The power bank displaying one LED (instead of four) indicates that it can hold anything between 25 percent to 10 percent of its charge capacity. So, a lit LED does not mean that it is currently holding 25 percent of the battery’s charge capacity. I would honestly prefer a digital battery monitor display on the back that would give users a more accurate idea of ​​the remaining charge instead of such ratings.

The Urbn MagTag rarely aligns perfectly due to its weaker bottom magnet

I only tested this power bank with iPhones as they contain smaller batteries. The manufacturer claims both on the box and on their website that it is MagSafe compatible, but I have my doubts about that. The magnetic ring and the panel below it were not strong enough to hold my iPhone 14 Pro firmly in place. The round surface had a better hold and so very often the power bank kept spinning because the magnet underneath it never latched onto the phone properly.

As the product name suggests, the power bank offers a 5000 mAh power backup. However, Urbn also sells another model with a higher capacity of 10,000 mAh. Urbn claims to offer a maximum wireless charging power of 15W with 10W input via USB-C port.

Urbn 5,000mAh Compact MagTag Wireless Power Bank Review: Performance

While the design of the power bank seems to meet all the requirements of a budget charger, it doesn’t hit the mark or live up to expectations when it comes to the actual charging process.

As this is a “MagSafe Compatible” charger, it’s not actually capable of reaching the advertised “Maximum 15W” of iPhone wireless charging, but is apparently limited to 7.5W. Then there’s also the the expected power loss that occurs when charging devices wirelessly.

Considering the above two factors, the Urbn MagTag can’t even fully charge the iPhone 14 Pro’s 3200mAh battery. It managed to charge 23 percent in 30 minutes and then proceeded to charge the phone to 46 percent in 1 hour. 2 hours later, the power bank finally gave up and stopped charging the phone at 80 percent, with one LED glowing, hinting at about 25 percent charge left in the tank.

Urbn MagTag’s 5000mAh battery can’t fully wirelessly charge iPhone 14 Pro’s 3200mAh battery

Quite frustrated, I decided to try charging the iPhone 14 Pro using its official cable plugged into the USB-C port of the power bank. This led to better results. I fully charged the phone in 2 hours and 3 minutes, with some power left for another charge.

Once depleted, the Urbn MagTag takes about two hours and 25 minutes to fully charge.

Urbn 5,000mAh Compact MagTag Wireless Power Bank Review: Verdict

Overall, the Urbn MagTag in its 5,000mAh flavor (priced at Rs. 2,499) can’t be used for full wireless charging on an iPhone, and obviously won’t lend itself to premium Android devices that already come equipped with 5,000mAh batteries (for various reasons ). Its usefulness as a wireless charger is mainly limited to short top-ups when pocketed (thanks to its compact size), but I’m not sure it’ll do well given its slightly weaker magnets. The power bank also supports pass-through charging, which charges both smartphones (wirelessly) while charging the batteries in the power bank itself, so it can be used as a desk charger when connected to a power cable and adapter.

Indeed, it makes more sense to go for the larger (and thicker) 10,000 mAh model (at an odd price of Rs 2,199) as it has the higher capacity it should theoretically be able to deliver one full charge for a regular sized iPhone. Although the market is flooded with options, I would recommend the Daily Objects Surge Magnetic MagSafe Battery Pack instead, as it offers a lot of features (and a better design) at a slightly higher price of Rs. 5,999.

Price: Rupees 2499

Professionals:

• Small and compact design
• USB-C port
• ON / OFF button
• Doubles as a desktop charger

Cons:

• LED indicators show the approximate remaining charge
• The magnets are a bit weak
• It cannot deliver one full charge