Powerbanks for mobile devices – Part 4 / 4

EasyAcc PowerBank JP20 – 20’000mAh

Okay, let’s hit the 20Ah border and have a look at the really big things here.

EasyAcc is not too well-known here in Europe but they sell BatteryPacks via resellers. The JP20 from them has arrived at our desk and wants to be checked thoroughly.

Unpacking that beast you clearly notice it’s large dimensions and weight. Stuffing 8 LiIon cells into that case is a challenging task but worked well.

With 2 USB-B Ports that deliver a 3.4A combined power output max. the power bank may charge a tablet computer and a cell phone at the same time. The specialty is that it also offers a 9V/1A output for cameras so you can also charge them if your camera runs out of power.

The sky-blue display itself shows the accurate charge state. However our sample seems to have a problem, charging higher than 97%. At 97% the charging process gets interrupted repeatedly and the display starts flashing. The voltmeter however shows that there’s still power getting in but we doubt it’s anyhing near efficient with the constant switching.

The soft touch surface allows a good grip which isn’t bad at all with this heavy beast.

That’s all you can say about this battery pack now.

Charge:	Discharge:	Dimensions:
Input Voltage: 5.12V Input Power: 2.01A Input Duration: 21:35:00 Input Capacity: 16686mAh	Output Voltage: 5.06V Output Power: 0.94A Output Duration: 25:44:00 Output Capacity: 7341mAh IPhone Charged at: 231%	Weight: 458g Height: 185mm Width: 78mm Depth: 25mm
Overall efficiency: 44%
Battery type: LiIon (8 18650 cells)
Pros: Good and stable voltage and power ratings LCD display status indicator with percentage and port indicator Output power good Clearly communicated power ratings 2 USB B ports delivering max. 3.4A together 1 camera power output delivering 9V/1A ouput Good price Cons: Recharge using standard USB is slow (21.5 hours!) though it draws 2.01A Very poor efficiency Stops at 97% capacity and display then keeps flashing. Maybe defective? Very bulky
Price: Roughly 47 CHF / 41€

AData P20000D – 20’000mAh

AData, mostly known for it’s data storage solutions enters the powerbank market. The first product we got from them leaves a good impression and seems to deliver solid value for the buck. Although the similarity to other products is given, this powerbank however is being covered by the Quality assurance of AData. So if there’s a problem with the product, you don’t have to get in touch with an unknown company and haggle with the customer care service 8if existent!) to get a replacement.

So what do we have here? It’s just basic features. 2 USB B ports offering together 2.1A output power or 2.1A singe port power thus allowing tablet computers to be charged as well. Also a bright LED torch is built-in so you don’t have to search for the ports in complete darkness. The capacity display is backlit in blue so you can read it in complete darkness as well. The display backlight goes off also when charging so that beast may reside on your nightstand for charging. However with a charge time of 33 hours it takes more than a day to have it fully recharged. WTF! Come on, even bigger battery packs can charge a lot faster at same voltage/power and with bigger capacity. So what’s going wrong here? Maybe the integrated charging logic board is not optimized. However I’ll take further investigation into this and hopefully find out what makes the recharge process so sluggish.

Also the efficiency is, frankly said, terrible. 40% isn’t something that a battery pack schould end up with. This appears to be a severe design flaw in the charging logic or the logic board itself. Maybe it’s just that the pack has been charged and discharged twice…

Charge:	Discharge:	Dimensions:
Input Voltage: 5.12V Input Power: 1.91A Input Duration: 33:36:00 Input Capacity: 32501mAh	Output Voltage: 5.03V Output Power: 1.42A Output Duration: 22:41:00 Output Capacity: 13767mAh IPhone Charged at: 422%	Weight: 450g Height: 163mm Width: 83mm Depth: 23mm
Overall efficiency: 42%
Battery type: LiIon (8 18650 cells)
Pros: Good and stable voltage and power ratings LCD display status indicator with percentage and port indicator Output power good Clearly communicated power ratings 2 USB B ports delivering max. 2.1A together Good price Cons: Recharge using standard USB is slow (33 hours!) though it draws 1.91A Very poor efficiency Takes 60% more power than it’s designed capacity although the output capacity is only 68% of it. Need to check after a few more complete Charge cycles…
Price: Roughly 65 CHF / 59€

Anker Astro E7 Gen2 (A1210) – 25’600mAh

On to Anker… Although this brand is rather unknown, they seem to have a good portfolio of power products so time to have a closer look at the Astro E7 Gen2.

Although this power bank comes with a whopping 483g weight, it is sort of portable. But you certainly don’t want to carry it in your jacket’s pocket. With a total power output of 4A (20W!) this beast can feed two tablet computers or 3 cell phones with ease. The IQ Power technology allows intelligent power distribution. So when you attach 2 cell phones and one tablet computer to it, the tablet computer gets 2A while the cell phones get 1A each. Clevery done and a real deal if you have multiple devices to be charged at once. A single port is however fed with 2A maximum although the output power is designed for 4A. Anyhow. The black glossy is a real magnet for dist and fingerprints which might let the battery pack look smudgy soon if you don’t carry around a microfibre cloth with you.

The built-in torch is not that bright but serves it’s task. No less, no more.

4 LED show the current capacity. As they’re tiny, you might have trouble seeing the capacity during the day.

On to the facts…

Charge:	Discharge:	Dimensions:
Input Voltage: 5.15V Input Power: 1.51A Input Duration: 19:55:38 Input Capacity: 22856mAh	Output Voltage: 5.12V Output Power: 1.92A Output Duration: 21:59:00 Output Capacity: 14756mAh IPhone Charged at: 468%	Weight: 483g Height: 167mm Width: 82mm Depth: 21mm
Overall efficiency: 64%
Battery type: LiIon (8 18650 cells)
Pros: Good and stable voltage and power ratings LCD display status indicator Output power excellent Clearly communicated power ratings 2 USB B ports delivering max. 2.1A together Good price Average efficiency Cons: Recharge using standard USB is slow (19 hours!) though it draws 1.51A Very glossy appearance making it a magnet for dust, scratches and fingerprints
Price: Roughly 65 CHF / 59€

Aukey PB-Y7 – 30’000mAh

The final contestant with the biggest capacity is a real biggie here. So far we haven’t found any bigger battery pack for mobile devices. We speak of a total size of 30Ah which is sufficient to pump up your iPhone approx. 8 times.

Not only is this powerbank equipped with two USB-B connectors but also with a USB-C connector to supply higher current output. Devices capable of Quick Charge with higher currents (the iPhone 7 / iPad Pro Gen1 / iPhoneX are such phones btw.) will profit from a much quicker charge process.

The USB-C port will also detect if it’s used for charging. So it also acts as an input port for the battery pack allowing it to be juiced up much faster than with the conventional MicroUSB port.

The built-in torch is not that bright but serves it’s task. No less, no more.

A LED-illuminated power button shows the current capacity. White means: 100-66%, Green means: 66-33%, Red means: 33-0%.

As we have mentioned in the intro already you might run into trouble having this biggie with you on flights as it exceeds the maximum allowed capacity of 60Wh on some airlines. Other airlines allow 100Wh but you better have a chat with your airline and clarify things before you end up leaving your mobile power gadget at the airport.

On to the facts…

Charge:	Discharge:	Dimensions:
USB-B: Input Voltage: 5.13V Input Power: 1.94A Input Duration: 16:36:19 Input Capacity: 28216mAh – USB-C: Input Voltage USB-C: 14.5V Input Power USB-C: 1.52A Input Duration USB-C: 05:48:35 Input Capacity USB-C: 13174mAh	USB-B: Output Voltage: 5.03V Output Power: 1.42A Output Duration: 22:41:00 Output Capacity: 25767mAh IPhone Charged at: 822% – USB-C: Output Voltage: 14.9V Output Power: 1.92A Output Duration: 03:12:53 Output Capacity: 11852mAh	Weight: 581g Height: 152mm Width: 81mm Depth: 33mm
Overall efficiency: USB-B: 91% / USB-C: 90%
Battery type: LiPo
Pros: Good and stable voltage and power ratings Fast Charge and Recharge via USB-C (offering 9,12,14.5V current at up to 2A) Output power excellent Clearly communicated power ratings 2 USB B ports delivering max. 3A together 1 USB port is designed for Quick Charge supported by some devices Good price Excellent efficiency Cons: Recharge using standard USB is slow (16.5 hours!) though it draws 1.94A Indicator LED not accurate (especially when red)
Price: Roughly 65 CHF / 59€

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