Other Portable Chargers We Tested
Photograph: Simon Hill
There are so many portable chargers out there. Here are a few more we like that just missed out on a place above for one reason or another.
OnePlus Slim Magnetic Power Bank for $70: Sleek in silver grey aluminum with a chamfered edge, this power bank looks lovely and is very slim, measuring 3.77 x 2.71 x 0.34 inches, not to mention lightweight at just 120 grams. But the 5,000-mAh capacity is just over half that after inefficiency takes a bite. Wireless charging tops out at 10 watts for Android and 7.5 watts for iPhone (even wired charging is limited to 10 watts). You can snag better performers for less.
Denvix PowerX Power Bank for $180: This beefy 25,000 mAh power bank can put out up to 200 watts via two USB-C ports, one USB-A, and a Qi wireless charging pad, to charge four devices simultaneously, maybe a laptop, a couple of phones, and some earbuds. The display shows power remaining, watts in or out, temperature, and a few other stats. It’s a solid option if you want something that can charge laptops, but the finish is a little too smooth, and it gets very warm when charging multiple devices.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Sharge Flow Mini for $13: With a similar design to Anker’s Nano Power Bank above and the same 5,000-mAh capacity, you might be tempted to go for this instead. It comes with interchangeable USB-C to USB-C or Lightning connectors (which I worry will be easy to lose) and has a built-in USB-C cable that doubles as a strap, though it’s tricky to pull out. There’s a power button with four LEDs to show the remaining power, and it only takes an hour and a half to refill, but the charging rate maxes out at 12 watts either way.
Cuktech 10 Power Bank for $40: With impressive build quality, including a nice grippy material on the underside and a handy display showing power output and input, this Cuktech (pronounced chook-tek) power bank almost earned a place above. Despite the modest capacity, it is built for speed and capable of outputting 100 watts, with support for PD 3.0 and PPS. It can also recharge in less than an hour (up to 90 W). The trade-off for the high speed is low efficiency. You won’t get anywhere near the 10,000-mAh capacity advertised, but this is true of most power banks. I also tested the higher-capacity Cuktech 15 Ultra ($90), which boasts double the power, can charge two or three devices simultaneously at up to 165 watts, and supports many fast-charging protocols including PPS, QC, PD3.1, FCP, SCP, and MiPPS.
Baseus Blade 2 for $80: With an extremely thin design, this 12,000-mAh-capacity power bank is easy to slip into a backpack and can charge most phones a couple of times or top up a laptop at up to 65 watts. It has a display showing battery life as a percentage of time remaining and the input or output for both USB-C ports. We've tried many products from up and down the Baseus product line. While they are generally reliable, we do think there are better options.
Photograph: RUGD
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