Review: Willgoo case keeps your Apple Pencil charged and its accessories within easy reach

I’m always forgetting to charge my Apple Pencil in a timely fashion, which can be annoying when I’m out and about without any dongles or cables. And because of its design, I refrain from stowing the Apple stylus in my bag or backpack out of fear it might break without any protection. Apple’s leather case and others I’ve tried weren’t very helpful. But Willgoo’s handy stylus carrying box with a built-in battery has solved my Pencil woes in one fell swoop.

Apple Pencil woes

The original Pencil ships with a replacement tip and a male-to-male Lightning adapter in the box. To charge it, you also need a Lightning cable (it doesn’t ship with the Pencil). The infamous charging method leaves a lot to be desired: charging the accessory requires plugging it into the Lightning port on your iPad Pro, which always feels like a weird thing to do.

Isn’t it high time you treated yourself to a proper Apple Pencil charging case?

Enter Willgoo

Willgoo’s carrying was designed to store not only your Pencil but its accessories and charging cables. In addition to the carrying case itself, you will also find the instruction manual along with a short USB Type A to Micro-USB cable for charging the internal battery.

The box is eight inches wide, 1.7 inches deep and one inch tall, making it comparable in size to Apple’s Pencil box. It’s definitely small enough to fit in a smaller purse or pouch. Weighing in at 4.6 ounces (130 grams), it’s light enough to carry around with ease.

The shiny plastic box in snow white finish is very nicely designed. The stylish graphite lid has matte surface finish and snaps magnetically with a satisfying click.

Integrated battery

This holder has a secret: inside of it, there is a built-in 1,700mAh lithium-ion battery for recharging your Pencil when it’s out of power, directly from the box! The internal battery can recharge your stylus from dead to 100% about ten times before needing recharging itself.

Unfortunately, the case lacks a Lightning port. Instead, it has a USB Type A port for charging the Pencil and Micro-USB for charging the internal battery. To charge the stylus, connect it to USB Type A port (labeled “OUTPUT”) using your iPhone’s Lightning to USB cable and the male-to-male adapter that came with your Pencil.

Charging my Pencil via Willgoo’s carrying case (PowerPic is in the background)

I used a short USB to Lightning cable that Willgoo sent me as a courtesy, but I wish it was included. You will definitely need to supply your own charging cable (treat yourself to a charming POW! universal charging cable). I suspect the box wasn’t designed to fit both the the Micro-USB cable you get with it and Apple’s Lightning cable because it wouldn’t really make much sense to make the case bigger just for that.

Charging the case itself

The box can also charge other Lightning devices. Charging its battery requires connecting the included cable to the Micro-USB port, labeled “INPUT,” and plugging the other end into a power source, like a USB adapter or your notebook’s USB port.

Charging the Willgoo case through my MacBook Air battery

There are four blue indicator lights next to the USB port that light up when the internal battery is charging or the case is used to charge your Pencil or another Lightning device, like iPhone or the AirPods charging case. When all four LEDs are on, the 1,700mAh battery has been fully recharged.

Charging my iPhone using the Willgoo case

For those wondering, it took me about 40 minutes to recharge the box from dead to 100% with the supplied Micro-USB cable and Apple’s 10W iPad adapter. The internal battery has a standby time of approximately 50 days. iPhone X has a 2,700mAh battery, which means that when you’re in a tight spot with no wall plug you can get your iPhone X from dead to about 50% via this case before the internal battery is depleted completely.

Final words

I didn’t like there was no Lightning cable in the box. The included instruction manual, not very information, is a typical Chinese manual with poor grammar and tiny fonts. The lack of a built-in Lightning port is my biggest gripe with this accessory.

On the flip side, the case is lightweight and portable enough to always have with you when you need it. It certainly works as advertised and the ability to charge other Lightning devices, like the AirPods case and iPhone, is a big plus. That it looks slick and elegant doesn’t hurt either.

ROUNDUP: The top Apple Pencil accessories

Decluttering the desktop and making your mobile experience more seamless is much better than having your stylus, its cap, the replacement tip and the charger attachment cap all laying on your desk or free-floating in your purse/bag.

Similar Apple Pencil holders and carrying cases include the Thankscase aluminum dock that holds your Pencil vertically, Belkin’s carrying case + stand combo, TechMatte’s charging dock with a built-in charging cable and many more.

Technical specifications

• Battery capacity: 1,700mAh
• Standby time: 50 days
• Apple Pencil charging: 10 full charge cycles
• Case color: white with graphite cover
• Length: 7.95 inches (20 cm)
• Width: 1.73 inches (4.4 cm)
• Height: 1 inches (2.54 cm)
• Weight: 4.7 ounces (133 grams)
• Input: 4.2V
• Output: 0.3V-4.2V

Pros and cons

Here’s what we liked and disliked about Willgoo’s Pencil holder.

Pros

• Keeps Apple Pencil and its accessories in one storage.
• Charges your iPhone, AirPods and other Lightning devices.
• Low price and stylish design.

Cons

• Lightning cable not included.
• No Lightning port.
• Doesn’t fit the Lightning cable that came with your iPhone.

You can pick your Willgoo carrying case for Apple Pencil from Amazon at $25.

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