Newer smartphones have the great ability to optimize their power consumption. However, chances are that if you're out of the house all day, perhaps in places where it's virtually impossible to access an electrical outlet, you may arrive at a certain time with only 1% charge remaining. The power bank is the saving grace. If you live with the anxiety of suddenly having a flat battery, you need to find out which is the best portable charger. In this guide you can finally know everything about the gadget par excellence of the twenty-first century: how to choose the right model for you and what are the power banks of 2019 cheap and that perform their function at its best. We have selected the best manufacturers on the market: power bank RAVPower, Anker or Aukey.
Advice on choosing the best power bank
You can find power banks of all sizes, shapes, colors, types and numbers of inputs, capacities and more practically everywhere. The choice is so wide that if you're not familiar with the technical specifications of portable chargers and your smartphone's battery, you could find yourself in serious difficulty and possibly buy a product that may turn out to be a bad surprise when you use it. For this reason, we have decided to explain a few aspects that will help you to choose the right power bank for your phone.
Power bank capacity
The capacity of a power bank is the same as the capacity of a lithium battery (found in all electronic devices, including your smartphone). It is measured in MilliAmperOr (mAh), which is a unit of measure that indicates the number of amperes that flow through a device over the course of an hour.
In order to find out which power bank is perfect for your device, you need to find the mAh value that it has, then you need to take the box that your smartphone was in and look for the data that indicates the capacity of its battery. Once you have found out the two mAh values, you already have a basic piece of information after doing a simple operation.
If, for example, you find a 10.000 mAh power bank and your smartphone's battery is 3.000 mAh, you need to calculate the real value of the power bank, as the mAh value of the portable charger is reported based on a voltage of 3,7V, while the mAh value of the phone's battery is based on a voltage of 5V. So the operation is as follows:
10.000 (number of mAh of the power bank) times 3,7 (the voltage of the power bank) divided by 5 (the voltage of the phone battery). From this operation, the real capacity of the power bank is 7,400 mAh. So you will be able to charge your smartphone twice fully and halfway again.
Materials, size and weight
When choosing a portable charger it is important to understand the materials it is made of, its size and weight. As far as materials are concerned, we recommend that you choose those that are more resistant to water and debris if you plan to use the power bank for excursions, trips and outings, where it may be exposed to dangerous situations.
As far as weight and size are concerned, you should also choose according to your needs: if you travel a lot and it is impossible for you to charge during the day, we recommend that you get an external battery with high amperage, although it may weigh a bit more and be bulky. If, however, you go out every now and then and you simply need to revive your phone, a small power bank, cylindrical or rectangular shape that fits easily into your pocket, is right for you.
Input power
Usually a power bank has at least 2 inputs: the input one, which allows you to charge the external battery itself and the output one, capable of charging your device. There are those that have more than one output and of course they allow you to charge different devices.
Each output port on the power bank is capable of delivering different amounts of power and this is measured in Ampere (A) and you need to recognise this in the specifications to be able to tell how powerful the charger is. There are ports that deliver 1 Ampere and others that deliver 2.1 or 2.4 Ampere. The 2.1 or 2.4 amps are able to deliver more power and therefore charge your device faster.
Of course, if the power bank has more than one port and you are going to connect more than one device, you have to take into account that the total power is divided between the ports (e.g. 4A on one port and 2A on two ports).
Other details
When choosing a power bank that suits your needs, it can be very useful to have built-in LEDs that allow you to see how much charge is left. Ci sono poi i power bank che integrano la torcia, molto utili in caso di escursioni notturne e rientro a casa in tarda notte.
Viaggio in aereo
Se viaggi spesso ed hai intenzione di comprare un power bank potente, devi tenere conto in fase di acquisto di alcune limitazioni imposte dalle compagnie aeree per quanto riguarda il trasporto con sé dei caricabatterie portatili.
Sono tre, in particolare, le regole a cui in generale devi attenerti, a prescindere dalla compagnia aerea scelta per volare. Vediamoli qui di seguito:
- La potenza del power bank non deve mai superare le 100Wh e non puoi mettere in valigia un caricabatterie dalla capacità superiore ai 27.000 mAh circa;
- Nel bagaglio a mano puoi portare al massimo due power bank, separati tra loro;
- Il power bank non va messo nel bagaglio da stiva.
Se non ti attieni a queste regole, gli addetti alla sicurezza potrebbero benissimo ritirare il tuo dispositivo.
I migliori power bank del 2019
Ora che sei a conoscenza di questi aspetti fondamentali per la scelta di un caricabatterie portatile, è arrivato il momento di scoprire quali sono i modelli di power bank più interessanti di quest’anno.
Li suddividiamo in tre categorie:
- power Bank fino a 10.000 mAh;
- power Bank fino a 25.000 mAh;
- power Bank da 50.000 mAh ed oltre.
Power bank fino a 10.000 mAh
I caricabatterie portatili che hanno una capacità massima di 10.000 mAh sono generalmente i più economici e di dimensioni ridotte, così che tu possa tenere il tuo power bank tranquillamente nella tasca dei pantaloni o nella giacca. Questi sono i migliori power bank secondo la nostra selezione.
ANKER PowerCore II 6700 mAh
Anker è una delle società cinese leader nel settore dei caricabatteria portatili. Una azienda che per molti è garanzia di qualità ed affidabilità. The Anker PowerCore II power bank has a classic, compact design with curved edges and is made of high quality materials. It is a handbag power bank that weighs only 132 grams and measures 96 x 43 x 23 mm. It is, therefore, a great travel companion, able to give a boost of energy to your smartphone in times of need.
The charging technology is the PowerIq, able to automatically identify the device connected to the USB Type-A port and can adjust the charging speed, so as to optimize the time. The price of this external battery is about 21 euros.
RAVPower Power Bank 10,000 mAh
RAV, like Anker, is one of the best-known power bank manufacturers in the world. This model, in particular, is one of the best performing, thanks to its charging speed of 3.4A. The two output ports can be used simultaneously, with a maximum of 2.4A per port up to 3.4A.
From an aesthetic point of view, the RAVPower power bank is compact and easy to carry, thanks also to the pouch that you can find in the package. Its rounded corners improve its grip. If you own an iPhone or an Android device, with two and a half recharges provided by this external battery you can easily spend a weekend away from home. The price on major online retailers starts from 16 euros.
Powerbank Silvercrest 6000 mAh
Sold in the stores of the chain Lidl, this power bank is able to offer that surplus of charge that can get you through the day with your smartphone on. 6000 mAh are, in fact, enough to recharge modern phones.
Weighing 130 grams and with dimensions of 95x48x23 mm, PowerBank Silvercrest fits perfectly in your pocket or purse, so you can use it whenever you want during the day. Very useful is the presence of a digital display that indicates the state of charge. You can find it for the price of 12.99 euros.
Power Bank up to 25,000 mAh
If you need to be away from home for several days, need to go to places where electrical outlets are scarce or if you simply need to charge multiple devices, power banks up to 25,000 mAh are powerful to the point. The cost is surprisingly not that high. Find out which two are the best in our opinion.
KEDRON Express E1 Power Bank 24000mAh
This power bank is the most powerful in its class. It is an external battery with wireless technology that allows you to charge without a cable, but also allows you to charge by cable other devices that do not have this technology.
The inputs are 2 (microUSB and Ligthing). The outputs are 3 and allow you to charge 3 devices simultaneously. Worthy of note is the presence of a display that allows you to check the remaining charge. The cost is definitely affordable: about 35 euros.
AUKEY Power Bank 20000mAh
One of the best-selling power bank models of 2019 is this one from Aukey, given its excellent performance and rather compact design. Its dimensions are not exactly perfect to fit it in our pockets: we could compare them to those of a calculator, only slightly heavier. It is, however, a really powerful external battery that allows you to quickly recharge two devices.
The two output ports are 1A and 2.1A up to a total of 3.1A and both outputs have an AlPower smart charging system, able to identify your device's voltage and recharge your device's battery at maximum speed. This great performance and low price (about 26 euros) have made Aukey Power Bank a successful product.
50,000 mAh power bank
Certainly, power banks with this capacity are the best performing ones ever, but they are also the least convenient and a bit heavier. However, if you need to charge several devices, this power bank is the ideal solution.
PowerOak K2
This external battery is one of the most powerful and largest ever. It weighs 1.26 kg and has 14 adapters that allow you to connect most notebooks and laptops. Le porte sono 6: due da 5V/1A per smartphone e tablet con carica USB, due da 5V/2A, una da 12V/2,5A per fotocamere digitali, una da 20V/5A per pc portatili.
La particolarità apprezzata del power bank PowerOak K2 è la ricarica solare, ma è comunque presente l’alimentazione a rete. Se hai intenzione di caricare con i pannelli solari, ogni pannello è adatto a condizione che la tensione di ingresso sia tra i 14 ed i 40 V, mentre la potenza massima sia pari a 78 W.
Abbiamo selezionato questo dispositivo perché secondo noi ha le seguenti caratteristiche rispetto agli altri in commercio:
- migliore rapporto peso/potenza;
- migliore rapporto prezzo/capacità della batteria;
- migliore tecnologia della batteria con più di 1.500 cicli di vita (90% di profondità di scarica);
- migliori componenti disponibili;
- carica ad energia solare da 76W con MPPT integrato.
Il prezzo è di 199 euro. Not cheap, but definitely, if your needs are to have a performing device that can quickly charge numerous devices, PowerOak K2 is the perfect choice.