Jackery's Jewel Lightning CableMy desk at home has a lightning cable on it that is permanently attached to my computer. It's an easy matter to charge an iPhone as required. Normally when I travel I'll wind up Apple's white accessory to take with me, now I'm ready to leave Cupertino's cable at home and switch to Jackery's Jewel Lightning Cable.
I'm a frequent traveller, and I'm a great believer in getting as much utility out of what I carry as possible. Anything where functionality can be enhanced will always catch my eye, and that includes having a noticeable in-line dongle on a lightning cable. That dongle is the key to Jackery's dual functionality, because it is a reserve battery.
Jackery has packed a 450mAh battery into the cable. The principle is a simple one. When you are using the cable to connect your smartphone to a deskbound computer, the power from the USB port will firstly charge your iPhone. When that is full, it will switch to charging the battery in the cable.
When the cable is not connected, you can press the flush button on the dongle to start the charging process and the stored energy will flow from the Jackery into the iPhone. This preserves the charge in the battery until you really need to use it. The small battery will not perform a complete top up on your iPhone. Expect to get around thirty percent - but that's enough for many critical situations.
Storing energy is bulky, and Jackery has to work out the optimum balance between a practical amount of power and keeping the cable as portable as possible. Given that the volume required to do a one hundred percent charge is not practical, I think it has found a good balance for weight and dimensions - a thicker stubbier construction would likely hold power but for a product that is designed to be travelled with a longer and thinner package is better, at lease in my little gadget bag that I carry.
Not everyone wants to wrap their smartphone in an inch of plastic so it can last two days without any external power, or carry a rechargeable battery pack the same size as their smartphone. Jackery's cable won't replace those monster cases, but it offers a quick hit of charge to get an iPhone to the end of a working day or can sit inside a travel bag as a lightning cable with an emergency power reserve for unexpected circumstances.
It's not a solution that works for everyone, but it's one that works for me.
Disclaimer: Jackery supplied a Jackery Jewel Lightning Cable for review purposes.
