My army of portable chargers is eight soldiers strong. It’s a little ridiculous, but the variety gives me flexibility to pick the perfect charger for the day’s needs, whether it’s my sleek MagSafe charger to keep my iPhone going on longer days or a bigger brick for my iPad, camera, and other devices when I anticipate heavier usage. My collection ballooned as charging tech improved over the years, but it’s way more than any one person needs.
I’m hoping to consolidate my kit with the Anker Prime 27,650mAh Power Bank (250W) I’ve been eyeing, and now seems a decent time to buy since it’s matching its all-time low of $124.99 ($55 off) at Amazon and directly from Anker with code WS7DV2MTYMJV. It’s compatible with an optional $69.99 magnetic charging base, but you can also use the included 140W charging cable to top up the power bank or charge your USB-C devices.
For most techies, a $125 power bank is absolutely overkill. If all you’re worried about charging is a phone and perhaps a Nintendo Switch or a pair of earbuds on the occasional extended outing, you could easily get by with something half the price. But it’s easier to justify expanding your budget for something like this when you regularly tote laptops, tablets, cameras, and other gear that you can’t wait around forever to charge.
It’s a little chunkier and heavier than the average power bank — it’s just small enough to be “portable” but definitely not meant for pockets — however, the 27,650mAh capacity may be worth the heft. Starting from 100 percent, it should fully charge smaller laptops like a MacBook Air with room to spare, and devices with smaller batteries can get several extra cycles. Cheaper power banks can, too, but you’re really paying for the charging bandwidth here.
The 250W maximum throughput (the fastest available from Anker’s smaller options) splits across two USB-C ports that can charge devices at up to 140W each (if used alone) and a USB-A port that can go up to 65W. If you’re charging two devices, you can simultaneously pull up to 140W and 100W from each USB-C port or 140W and 65W from USB-C and USB-A.
With three devices, the USB-C ports still offer plenty of headroom at 140W and 92W, but the USB-A port takes a steep drop to 18W — still suitable for charging a phone or smaller accessories at decent speeds. One caveat in all of this: a built-in mechanism periodically throttles charging speeds when the power bank is below 55 percent capacity, which Anker deems necessary for preserving long-term battery health.
I also like the built-in display that shows the power bank’s total capacity and how much time remains before it’s fully charged (Anker claims it can go from empty to full in as little as 37 minutes), plus the current power being delivered to each port. There’s also a companion app that’ll show all of this, plus a feature that makes the power bank emit a sound to help you locate it.