Battery technology is improving, but not as quickly as we would all like – everyone has had the frustrating experience of getting to the end of a long day and running out of battery before you get home. Portable power banks have therefore become a must-have gadget, with many people relying on the little gadgets to help them get through a long day or a music festival weekend.
These portable chargers come in all shapes and sizes, and today we are looking at a 10,000mAh portable charger with LCD display from gadget manufacturer Ainope.
Look & feel
The Ainope power bank is a small black device made out of textured plastic and measuring about the size of a pack of playing cards with a small LCD display in one corner. It has comfortably rounded edges and is one of the smaller 10,000mAh power banks we’ve tested – it would fit comfortably in any small bag, but is a bit of a tight squeeze in a trouser-pocket.
In use
One of my biggest complaints with most power banks is how difficult it is to see how much power is still available. Some powerbanks give you no signal at all, while others use three or four LEDs to signify capacity. The inclusion of a small LCD display (showing 0-100) on this power bank is therefore a welcome change, with it now straight forward to see how much charge is left – it’s just a black and white display about the size of a thumbnail, but that is all you need.
Other useful additions to this power bank is both USB-C and Micro-USB ports to charge it up, and two USB-A ports to connect and charge multiple devices at the same time. Need to charge up both your iPhone and your friend’s Pixel 3A at the same time? No problem.
On the downside, the power bank does not include PD (power delivery) quick charging, so charging a phone is relatively slow as is recharging the power bank once it is empty. It’s not a deal breaker, but with most smartphones now supporting either PD or Qualcomm’s QuickCharge technology, they would have been welcome additions.
On a more general note, power banks do not perfectly transfer their stored power to your phone, with an average loss of about 20-25%. This means that a 10,000mAh power bank like this one will give around two charges to a Google Pixel 3 XL or iPhone XR, and that is exactly what we found in our tests.
Specifications
- Capacity: 10,000mAh / 37wH
- Size: 95mm x 63mm x 24mm
- Weight: 195g
- Ports (input): 1 x USB-C (5V/2A) and 1 x Micro-USB (5V/2A)
- Ports (output): 2 x USB-A (5V/2.1A and 5V/1A)
Conclusion
The small size and extremely useful LCD display makes the Ainope power bank a great option for those heading to a festival this summer and needing to charge their phone two or three times over the course of a weekend, and the ability to charge two phones at once will is a great bonus. We would have liked to see PD or QuickCharge included, but for under £25 it is still great value for money.
Buy
Price at time of review: £21.99 (Amazon UK)
