The Xperia Z Ultra is Sony’s largest smartphone to date with a 6.44-inch 1080p display. It is paired with a 3000mAh capacity battery, the same size as found in the Xperia Z1. However, in day-to-day use we have found the Xperia Z Ultra’s battery performance to be not as strong, unsurprising given the larger screen.
One solution for the power users out there is the battery case, to help prolong a phones battery life. Sony has its own solution for the Xperia Z Ultra called the CP12 Power Cover, however today we’re taking a look at Mugen Power’s 4000mAh Battery Case for the Sony Xperia Z Ultra [CC-6802]. The battery case costs $98.50 plus postage, with Mugen Power shipping worldwide. Free express delivery applies to orders over $150. Click through to read our thoughts.
Mugen Power 4000mAh Battery Case for Xperia Z Ultra review
The Mugen Power battery case has a capacity of 4000mAh. Think of this case as a battery reserve for your Xperia Z Ultra if you are running low on power. It will enable you to charge the handset at any point by flicking a switch on the case. The case itself is an assuming piece of black plastic, with the necessary side clips to keep the handset in place.
As can be seen by the specifications on the bottom part of the case it has a 1A output power. Therefore, do not expect the case to charge the handset quickly. For reference, Sony’s EP880 charger has an output of 1.5A.
The sticker on the inside of the case, shows how to install the handset, simply by gliding the Xperia Z Ultra left side first into the pins on the case. It is via the case pins that it charges the Xperia Z Ultra, connecting with the magnetic pins on the phone itself.
The case has five small rubber grips, as seen in the right of the picture below, to help keep the phone from slipping. The case also includes the necessary cut out for the camera lens.
Mugen Power’s 4000mAh battery case won’t win any design awards, the back of the case shows off a very functional look. At the top you can see the camera hole, in the middle is an in-built stand, whilst at the bottom you can see the case charge indicator button (next to four LED lights) and on the bottom left you will see the stylus.
The bottom of the case has, from left to right, the integrated stylus, a micro USB port used to charge the case and an ON/OFF switch. If the switch is turned off, then only the case is charged when connected to a USB charger. If the switch is turned on, both the case and phone is charged at the same time.
The Mugen Power case has four small blue LED charge indicators to show how much power the case has. This will light up for a few seconds once the button on the right side is pressed. Each LED indicator represents 25% of charge, so four blue lights means it is fully charged. Three lights represents 75% of charge, two lights means it is 50% charged and so on.
It is nice to see an integrated stylus included in this battery case. The stylus has a few ridges on its bottom making it easy to remove from the case.
The stylus measures 92mm in length, so a perfectly reasonable size to hold firmly. We had no issues with the tip of the stylus when using it to make notes on the Xperia Z Ultra.
Another nice touch is the inclusion of a stand in the middle of the handset with a nice faux-chrome effect adding some elegance to the case in what is an otherwise bland case.
We found that in use, the stand needed to be fully extended to avoid it tipping backwards. In the same vein, too much prodding on the display could also result in the case tipping over. However, in most cases, once the stand is set to watch a video, it should be perfectly fine.
Attaching the Xperia Z Ultra to the case is very easy. It slides in effortlessly, meaning you don’t have to worry about potentially scuffing the sides of the handset like you do for other cases. Once attached the case felt firmly in place, although be warned it doesn’t offer much protection to the front of the Xperia Z Ultra in the event of a drop.
We didn’t feel that the case impeded the use of the handset, however our only niggle was the type of plastic used. The Mugen Power case is made out of smooth plastic, which doesn’t leave you much grip. This led to the case gently slipping down our hand on occasion.
The depth of the case measures around 17mm (including the phone), adding significant bulk to the Xperia Z Ultra’s 6.5mm thickness. However, that 4000mAh capacity battery has to go somewhere and if you are looking for something to extend the life of your phone, there will always be some sacrifice to aesthetics and weight.
The case has the necessary openings to access the microSD slot, power button and volume rocker. It provides no protection for any of the four corners of the phone.
Here you can see the Xperia Z Ultra’s camera lens through the case’s cut out. The case did not hinder any picture taking.
The case itself weighs 155 grams…
… meaning that you’ll be carrying around a combined weight of 367 grams once the Xperia Z Ultra is included.
The case includes a charging indicator that turns from red to green when the case is charged. In terms of charging time, we found that the case would be fully charged from empty within three hours using a 2A USB charger.
When the battery is running low, you simply need to flick the switch to ON to start charging the handset. You will see the battery indicator light below is orange with the case switch on.
From our testing, we found that on average the case could charge the handset from 25% to full battery in 3 hours and 53 minutes. This was the average time across three runs, where the handset was left on standby connected to Wi-Fi but without a SIM. This also left around 25% charge remaining in the battery case on average i.e. one blue light remaining.
Overall, this case serves a specific purpose to the power users out there. Yes, it does detract from the beauty of the handset and it does add significant bulk, but it also keeps you going for a much longer period than the stock battery alone.
Compared to other cases, such as Sony’s own CP12 Power Cover, the Mugen Power 4000mAh Battery Case is competitively priced at $98.50 excluding delivery. The case also comes from a reliable third-party manufacturer, offering 1-year warranty and free returns. The inclusion of extra features such as the integrated stylus and kick stand is the icing on the cake and therefore if you need that extra power, we can heartily recommend the Mugen Power battery case.
Thanks to Mugen Power for sending us the Xperia Z Ultra 4000mAh Battery Case to review!