There are lots of types of power banks on the market and the main reason that there are so many is that there are a bunch of companies that are now selling them. When portable chargers hit the market they took off quite quickly, since they’re the charging electronics that we’re able to take anywhere that we want. Before they came into existence all of us had to settle for USB wall chargers or car chargers; even though there’s nothing wrong with those charging electronics, we had to keep our devices stationed in a single place.
Now there are lots of companies that have gained notice of just how high the demand of power banks currently is and that had led to a mass production of many types of them. There are lots of types of them on the market and in this article, I’ll be going over the 5 most useful types of power banks that are likely to add value to your portable charging experience.
Power Banks that have High Power Capacities
There are quite a lot of small power banks on the market and the small ones are the ones that are used the most. I’ll be going through what makes Mini power banks so popular but first I want to talk about the opposite ones from them and that would be ones that have higher power capacities.
High power capacity power banks are actually the least used type of portable chargers on the market since they have to use more batteries and that results in them being larger and heavier. The only setback that they have is that most of these chargers are not going to fit into your pocket, but for everything else that they feature, these portable chargers are very useful to own.
That’s because they have the long lasting power that is able to last for a week or even more if you’re using the power bank in a moderate manner. Along with a power capacity of about 20,000mAh or greater, these types of chargers often use many USB ports because they’re able to better split up the power. As a result, you’re able to charge lots of devices at once with these power banks. Having a charged up smartphone, tablet and even a laptop, as some high capacity power banks is able to do so, is something that is very convenient to have.
An aspect that you should pay attention to if you have a compatible device with Quick Charge or Type-C is to lookout for power banks that use Quick Charge or Type-C. That’s because when you use the compatible fast charging tech, you’re able to charge your smartphone very quickly while you’re on-the-go.
Mini Power banks
A power bank that is small is usually connected to its low power capacity, just as larger power banks are. However, technology has progressed over the years and we’re now at a point where power banks can be quite small and still maintain a high power capability. Let’s just over the common type of forms factors and power capacities that most Mini power banks have.
The capacity of a typical Mini power bank is usually just 3,000mAh to 5,000mAh. These types of chargers usually just come in cylinder shapes that are very short or they’re very slim because they use Lithium Polymer batteries. Overall, these types of power bank are able to go with you anywhere because of their extremely small size. What you need to know though, is that they don’t feature a lot of power and are most capable of charging smartphones only once or twice. Another thing is that most of them just use standard charging which can be a bummer for those that use Quick Charge or Type-C.
Luckily there are 10,000mAh power banks that basically have the same size as Mini power banks such as the above Anker PowerCore 10000 power bank. Yes, that’s basically double the power capacity of most Mini power bank and yet it has a high power capacity. What makes the PowerCore even better is that it has a standard charging speed of 2.4A and there are other versions of it that use Quick Charge.
Basically what I’m saying is that the Mini power bank arena is changing and you can actually look towards medium power capacities for still having small sizes.
Rugged Power Banks
Electronics are fragile device and then when you add in portability than the fragileness of them increases quite a lot and that’s because there’s a chance of them dropping. This is very true when it comes it smartphones which are why there are so many people walking around that have smartphones with a broken screen and we’re just now getting to point where newer smartphones are now waterproof.
That said, it is all the same for power banks, as just any normal power bank is going to get damaged once it’s dropped onto a hard flooring or when it gets exposed to lots of water. Which is why there are certain types of chargers that are built to take it and that would be Rugged power banks.
Rugged power banks are the type portable chargers that are built to be a lot stronger and it’s one of the best innovations for power bank in general because they’re portable. There aren’t exactly Rugged USB wall chargers or car chargers because those are stationary electronics. Power banks have a high chance of getting damaged and a Rugged power bank is a perfect solution as they’re shockproof and they’re also able to be waterproof.
Waterproofing with these power bank is possible when the charger is not in use and its USB ports are covered by a USB port protector.
Built-in Cables with Power Banks
Always having to remember to have a charging cable with a stationary charging electronic isn’t really a problem because there’s always a cable inside with an electronic like that. With that said, it can be a pain to always have to remember to grab a charging cable when you’re about to use your power bank and once you have a cable with your power bank, the cable is always going to be hanging out whether the power bank is in use or not.
That is why there are power banks that use their own charging cables. You no longer have to remember to bring a cable with you as it always has a cable that’s built-in. Another key aspect with these types of power banks is that the built-in cable is usually molded into a slot within the power bank which makes the portable charger like a block.
Another powerful aspect of these power banks is that there are some that use two built-in cables along with a USB port. One of the more useful built-in parts is the usage of an AC Adapter because that allows you to plug the power back into an AC Outlet, recharge the power bank and use it as a USB wall charger as well.
Power Supplies
These types of portable chargers are somewhat still in the rank of being a power bank and at the same time, they’re above that. That’s because portable power supplies have a lot more power capacity than just your regular high power capacity power bank since they can have power capacities that are within the 100,000mAh range or higher. This obviously makes the power supply quite large and heavy.
Another part that makes them useful is that they can power appliances, as portable power supplies can use AC Outlets, DC Ports, 12V Outlet and of course USB ports. These are the perfect type of portable chargers to take with you while you’re out camping or to have during a power outage.
Author Bio:
I’m Usman Haq. I have been tech blogging for just a few years now and it’s something that I have come to find value in. That’s because I can provide value to other people around the world.