Our mobile electronics are taking over. Backup batteries and chargers are being manufactured from hundreds of companies all over the world. The hard part is finding a battery or USB charger that is right for you and your gadgets that is also cost effective. Aukey has come up with some stylish, robust and inexpensive solutions covering all of the above.
Overview
Traveling with more than a few devices can be difficult as each requires to be juiced up every night. I have run into situations where I have been at airports, hotels or traveling on busses, trains, airplanes and ferries when I needed to do a quick charge of multiple devices. Smartwatches and electronic wearables are compounding the portable power problem, as most only last about 18 to 24 hours.
Batteries
20,000 mAh Dual USB Backup Battery – $35 on Amazon
20,000 mAh equates to a rated 10 times recharge for an iPhone 6, Samsung Note 4 up to five times and give an iPad an extra 30 hours of usage. Tests with an iPhone 5S, Samsung Note 3 and an iPad Air gave me nearly the rated charges for each. In the case of the 5S, I was able to get a few more charges as the iPhone 6’s internal battery is larger. It comes in a shiny white plastic case, has a power button, two USB ports, one rated at 1A output, one rated at 2.1A output and a flashlight. Charging such a battery takes the better part of a day, but Aukey has included a 2.1A microUSB input port to make it go as fast as possible.
18,000 mAh External Battery Pack & Laptop Charger – $74.99 on Amazon
Aukey’s portable battery with style and versatility packs a punch for larger devices like laptops. 10 power connectors are included in the kit along with five available voltages to charge various laptops. Tapping the power button switches between 5V, 12V, 16V and 19V. Or charge two gadgets simultaneously via its 1A and 2.1A USB ports. A light ring with blue LEDs shows how much power the battery has left in quarter increments. Because of the voltage switching hardware, this battery is bigger than the 20,000 mAh battery profiled above. The design of its battery case in brushed aluminum gives it style and a premium feel. It charges via a port that can handle DC 12-19V at 2A.
4,800 mAh N11 Qi wireless portable power bank with full sized USB port – L24.99 on Amazon (UK Only)
Some of the devices I carry around have Qi wireless charging hardware included like the Droid Turbo, Moto 360 smartwatch and the Samsung Note 3 with a Qi wireless charging card. I have used this slim backup battery for wired devices like the iPhone 5S, too. The full sized USB port can charge devices at 1A. The Qi wireless has an efficiency of about 72%, which is slightly above normal for these types of chargers. I used it to top off my devices while on the go, including the Moto 360, when its own wall charger stopped working.
Wall Chargers
Traveling with a cornucopia of gadgets like a GoPro, tablet, several smartphones, DSLR camera, smartwatch and a fitness tracker all need power. Skip bringing all of the wall adapters for each device by packing this and only the necessary USB cables. Aukey’s implementation of AI Power Technology in this product automatically adjusts the charging amperage to its maximum for each device. The AI Power tech figures out that an iPad needs 2.1A and a smartphone needs 1A without having to use one port or another. A single wall charger that provides the power to the main unit is nice for hotels and airports where only one plug may be available for use.
PA-U28 Turbo USB Fast Wall Charger with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 – $15.99 on Amazon
Smartphones with a Qualcomm 800 series chip have Quick Charge 2.0 technology and this wall charger can take batteries in those devices up to a 60% power level in about 30 minutes. The single full sized USB port offers charging levels of 5V/2A, 9V/2A and 12V/1.5A. This was helpful for charging at airports with short layovers. An hour in between flights could give you almost a complete charge on compatible smartphones.
The AI Power Technology in some of the products above will charge your gadgets at their fastest rate. That is key when you need them to be ready in a few hours.
Verdict
I utilized the 4,800 mAh Qi wireless enabled backup battery most of all. Its size and versatility in charging both wired and wireless devices made it an essential charging device for me. Having Aukey’s 20k mAh battery at the ready to charge iPads and several smartphones while traveling long distances worked well. Anything larger would have made that battery too bulky. I ended up utilizing the 8 USB wall charging station in the central part of my home. It was great having a port to charge whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted without having to search for a power brick.
The 18k mAh laptop compatible backup battery is nice to have for trips, but Aukey’s new 28k mAh version for only $50 more at $179 is a better option for true road warriors. If you are looking to power a newer, smaller laptop, 18k mAh is plenty for many more hours of use. The case design for each are similar with brushed aluminum.
Figuring out a way to safely fast charge devices is the next evolution to backup power tech. I like what Aukey has to offer and they are on the right track with their AI Power technology. If they roll that out to more of their products, other vendors will have to play catch up.
Note: Price and availability of the power products mentioned above change. One of the products, the 4,800 mAh Qi enabled battery, is only available to ship in the UK, but might be available in the US at a later date.
Overall Rating: [rating:4.0/5.0]
Pros:
- Large capacity batteries and fast charging USB wall chargers
- Qi Wireless compatible
- AI Power Smart Charging Technology
Cons:
- AI Power Technology is not offered in every product
- N11’s Charging LEDs Are Not Always Accurate
Disclosure: I was provided the above battery and charging products from Aukey at no cost for review. I was not compensated for this review. All thoughts and opinions are mine. All photos are courtesy of Aukey.
