Skip to main content

The BatteryBox promises to double your MacBook Air’s battery life

batterybox promises double macbook airs battery life pics2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Battery extenders and portable batteries are nothing new. Charge the juice box, plug it into your notebook, and bam: you have extra battery life. Though it seems like a fairly simple concept, there’s always more than one way to skin a cat, and let’s face it; some ways can be more efficient than others.

That’s what Gbatteries is claiming with its BatteryBox portable battery. It looks like any other portable battery, but the company claims that it’s what’s under the hood that sets it apart from the competition. Instead of simply supplying juice to your MacBook’s battery, Battery Box powers it via its own internal battery, which can decrease the rate at which your system’s battery degrades, Gbatteries states. On top of that, BatteryBox is stuffed with the company’s own batteryOS power management system, which allegedly manages power much more efficiently when compared with non-batteryOS assisted lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.

Gbatteries makes the case for batteryOS by alleging that it “is designed to dynamically manage energy inside of a li-ion battery pack during charging, idling, and discharging of the pack,” while standard batteries suck power via a steady stream, which the company claims is not as efficient, and doesn’t make use of all of a battery’s internal active materials. Gbatteries claims that with batteryOS, “any OEM li-ion battery to gain the ability store 10-40% more capacity (varies between specific type of li-ion chemistry), have a 4x higher cycle count, and not degrade in capacity over time.” Aside from Gbatteries’ claims of battery efficiency, they’ve also declared that the BatteryBox can provide a full charge to a 13-inch MacBook Air, along with 55 percent of a full charge to a 15-inch MacBook Pro, and 65 percent of a full charge to a 13-inch MacBook Pro.

As for specs, the 8.81 ounce BatteryBox sports a 50Whr/12,000 mAh battery, a single full-size USB port along with a microUSB connector, and includes a MagSafe 2 cable, allowing you to plug it into MagSafe2-equipped MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks. It’ll also charge anything that’s powered via USB or microUSB.

You can pre-order the Gbatteries BatteryBox now for $139, which is currently being beta tested. It’s expected to ship sometime this fall.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

Editors' Recommendations

Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
Why gaming on the M3 MacBook Air has left me impressed
Baldur's Gate 3 being played on the M3 MacBook Air.

Upon getting the new MacBook Air M3 in my possession, I had one major question: Can you play games on it?

That might sound like a silly first thought for a laptop of this type. After all, it's not marketed as a gaming laptop -- it's an incredibly thin, fanless laptop. Not exactly something even meant for any high-performance tasks.

Read more
Get the brand new MacBook Air M3 from just $399
Bladur's Gate 3 being played on the M3 MacBook Air.

The latest refresh to the MacBook Air with both the 13-inch and 15-inch models enjoying an upgrade to the M3 chipset has just been unveiled. If you’re keen to get the latest and greatest MacBook Air, we’ve got the MacBook deals for you. Over at Best Buy, you can buy the latest MacBook Air M3 from just $399 when you trade in an eligible MacBook at the same time. The value varies depending on the age of your existing MacBook and it’s a great way to save on highly sought-after technology. If you’re keen to learn more about the deal and the MacBook Air M3, keep reading and we’ll tell you all about it.

Why you should buy the MacBook Air M3
The MacBook Air saw its upgrade to the M3 chipset with surprisingly little fanfare earlier this week. Besides the substantial speed bump which sees it up to 60% faster than the M1 in certain cases, the MacBook Air M3 has also seen a GPU improvement, support for multiple monitors with the display closed, and Wi-Fi 6E support.

Read more
Apple MacBook Air M3 vs. MacBook Air M2: What’s the difference?
The screen of the MacBook Air M2.

Apple MacBook Air M2 Luke Larsen / Digital Trends

Apple's MacBook Air M2 sits at the top of our list of best laptops, and for good reason. It's incredibly well-built, exuding an elegance that few laptops can match. It's also plenty fast for productivity users, and its GPU is optimized for creators. It's keyboard, touchpad, and display are all top-notch.

Read more