Belkin’s $99 Apple Watch charging battery pack is still a bad idea

Belkin announced today a new battery pack, the Valet Charger Power Pack. It costs $99 for a 6700mAh rechargeable portable battery, charges via Micro USB, and has one USB port for charging something. But the biggest feature on it is an integrated Apple Watch charger, so you can charge your Apple Watch on the go.

this is still a terrible idea

And, as I said when the similarly overpriced Kanex GoPower Watch was announced earlier this year, this is still a terrible idea. $99 is expensive for any battery pack, much less one that has as little charging capability as the Valet Charger Power Pack does. A 26800mAh battery pack, with three fast-charging USB ports and considerably more charge costs half of what these integrated Apple Watch battery packs go for.

Also, as someone who has worn an Apple Watch almost every day since it first came out, making it through an entire day of battery life hasn’t really ever been a problem I’ve had. Sure, if any of these integrated Apple Watch charging packs were priced more in line with similar capacity battery chargers, the built-in charger would be a nice addition. But for the current price point, it feels to me more like an expensive solution in search of a problem.

That said, if the tyranny of carrying around an Apple Watch charger and plugging into a battery pack is too much for you, or you’re really set on the extra convenience of the integrated charging solution, the Valet Charger Power Pack is available now from Belkin’s website.