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MagyarSharge ICEMAG wireless power bank hands-on review: Light up your new iPhone
Sharge touts the ICEMAG as "the world's first power bank for MagSafe with active cooling". Accordingly, it might be the ideal starter accessory for those thinking about buying a RedMagic gaming smartphone; then again, the gadget is clearly mainly aimed at use with iPhones of the 12 to 15 generations.
Unboxing and First Impressions
The ICEMAG turned up in a nice retail box, with its own little USB type-C to -C cable and user guide
It is also the brand's latest transparent-design accessory, graced with a clear window towards its bottom edge that puts some of its internals (the inside of its USB type-C port included) on show.
The rest of the power bank is finished in a white plastic (which might get grubby over time, although it hasn't done so thus far) that allows for an easy grip and goes well with the rest of its esthetics.
Wireless Charging Test
The ICEMAG has a design much like the RAVPOWER wireless power bank that actually became one of my favorite iPhone 12 accessories after its review. That, however, made it all the more disappointing when I switched to a 13 Pro and the accessory did not fit perfectly on its back as before due to its larger camera hump.
They still work together, but only if you want to hold the iPhone aloft in landscape mode for content consumption. Nevertheless, it is just one of many reasons for my actually regretting the upgrade to a 13 Pro: worrying that a second wireless power bank would not be fully compatible with the thing.
Fortunately, however, the ICEMAG does fit perfectly under the triple rear cameras, albeit with a small overhang over the 13 Pro's bottom edge.
I get the impression that its footprint would fit just inside that of a Pro Max by contrast. All the same, I'm happy with how the power bank works with the smaller iPhone, as it acts as a sizable grip for the device.
Its magnets are at least as strong as that of its RAVPOWER rival, enabling me to hold the iPhone up by its new power bank alone.
Then again, that trick might fail if I had a case on the device, unless it too was MagSafe compatible.
The Sharge accessory also works with a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, although the magnetic effect is much weaker in that case.
Wired Charging Test
The ICEMAG also has a USB type-C port rated to charge a device at up to 20W, which works at close to that estimated max rate:
The accessory can also support pass-through charging, by which it can still act as a wireless charger while powering itself back up, even from 0%.
Finally, it also charges itself at up to 20W. Its 10,000mAh typical capacity means it takes about 3 hours and 40 minutes to do so, as its cousin the Shargeek 170 predicted.
However, most readers of our article on this topic might be most interested in its integrated fan, which is also rated to be RGB-enabled. I found that both functions worked well, with the lighting cycling through a range of colors.
Fun as that is, there is no denying that the fan is audible as it spins up, which it does from the instant an iPhone is placed on the ICEMAG's charging pad, and for the entire duration of charging.
It is somewhat of a whine, although it falls short of headache-inducing (which, in my experience, is saying a lot). Some casual testing with the Android Sound Meter app suggests that it can get as loud as 48 decibels (dB), which, if accurate, exceeds the 25dB maximum level estimated by Sharge.
Then again, it really does seem to keep the accessory cool, even after a full session of charging.
Conclusion
All in all, I have to say I've enjoyed testing the ICEMAG power bank. Its "8,000 rpm" cooling system is louder than advertised (or rather, that a Samsung flagship smartphone seems to perceive it to be), which calls its use as a travel gadget into question. It might attract attention out in public (possibly from people who wonder how you got an entire PC case into your pocket, if nothing else) - however, it has other advantages that make up for that apparent discrepancy in my opinion.
The fact that it both lights up and makes noise makes for a unique and potentially better wireless charging experience than normal, in that it is very easy to make sure you haven't walked away and left your smartphone failing to power up because it hasn't been placed on the charger just right, as with other accessories of its type.
In addition, it's nice to be able to simply look up to check my device is still charging from across the room. On that note, it's almost a shame this accessory hadn't been designed as a charging stand instead. Then again, the option of portability makes its experience that little bit more fun. Accordingly, if you want a new magnetic charging accessory and perhaps also don't mind about the risk of annoying people on public transport, the ICEMAG power bank is for you.
Price and availability
It is currently available either from Sharge or on Amazon for the price of US$59.99 at the time of writing.
Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
