With the spread of fast-charging mobile devices through USB-C, accessories such as chargers compatible with this technology have also established themselves (among the best for the Apple world there are this from Anker and this from Aukey); then we saw the debut of PowerDelivery batteries. At the beginning they were high-capacity accessories, close to 30 thousand mAh (or 100 Wh) designed more for computers than for smartphones, therefore heavy and decidedly uncomfortable to recharge a phone, but now lighter and more manageable accessories are starting to emerge. . One of these is the Anker PowerCore 10000 which presents itself as one of the smallest and lightest products . To understand how small it is, just put it near an iPhone XS Max and you will understand that it represents an ideal companion from a dimensional point of view and, having read the technical specifications, even an interesting accessory to extend its autonomy.
Anker PowerCore 10000 how it's made
The Anker battery, dimensions aside, looks very well built . The plastic is of good quality, textured on one side and matte on the other side. It has two ports, one USB-C that delivers up to 18W and one USB-2 that delivers 10W. The information on the state of charge comes from 4 blue LEDs each of which represents 25% of the charge. The weight is completely acceptable (more or less 180g on our scale) and the dimensions, as mentioned, perfectly compatible with those of a battery that is to be defined as pocket-sized.
Technically speaking, however, there are three fundamental characteristics
And it is the latter, in our opinion, the greatest advantage of a battery like this. Because it is easy to say: if its ability to recharge an iPhone XS Max in a short time is important, but not essential in many situations, it is certainly even more important to recharge the battery in a short time. A 10 thousand mAh battery with Micro-USB input takes no less than eight and a half hours to be fully restored. With an 18W input the time would be significantly reduced. How much?
Proof
Putting the Anker PowerCore 10000 to the test, it recharged in 2 hours and 45 minutes . Measured with our tester, the battery recharges at about 16W (14.9V and 1.09A); in practical terms it takes a lot less to recharge than the time it takes Apple's 5W charger to charge an iPhone XS Max that has a capacity of a third. Another detail to take into account is that the battery supplies an external device with 8.90V at 1.97 A, therefore it recharges faster than it discharges.
As for the actual capacity, with its 36.3 Wh it is able to recharge an iPhone XS Max (12.08 Wh) on paper about 3 times. Obviously there are typical inefficiencies of all batteries that reduce this range, so that realistically, according to our tests, a battery like this charges an iPhone XS Max a couple of times. We can think that it has enough capacity to restore, by way of example, more or less entirely, a little less than once all iPads (except iPad mini which can be recharged about twice). It can also recharge a MacBook Retina 12 ″ (40 Wh). We also experimented with this second option, finding that the laptop battery is recharged to about 70%; Also keep in mind that charging is slower than using the Mac charger which provides 30W and not 18W like this battery.
The Anker PowerCore 10000 battery, as mentioned, also has a USB 2 port with a 10W output. Thanks to it, as we have been able to see they experienced directly, it is possible to recharge both an iPhone XS or any iPhone with new fast charging technology, at 18W and an old iPhone at 10W (therefore at about 2A) at the maximum speed of the two ports.
Charging an external device occurs at 18W
Conclusions
The Anker PowerCore 10000 is a product of excellent quality that does not deny the Anker tradition. It is particularly useful for accompanying a trip with an iPhone in a situation where there are no sockets available, but above all it is able to combine a significant capacity with an excellent charging speed . This is precisely the most interesting aspect is that thanks to the USB-C input the 10 thousand mAh (36 Wh) are restored in two and a half hours. In practice, in a short time, about what it takes to recharge an iPhone XS Max using a standard 2A charger, you will have a battery capable of giving you the necessary peace of mind for a couple of days of work with any modern phone without coming close to a socket. or a full day of quiet autonomy if you want to use the phone for navigation or as a hotspot. This without breaking your pockets and without carrying around too many accessories.
Anker PowerCore 10000 costs 39.99 euros, but it can occasionally also be purchased at lower prices.
