With the development of technology, smartphones are becoming an integral part of our daily life. For the world on the go, making sure your phone stays charged of constant use throughout the day is the must. Knowing the capacity, physical size and weight, output and input, price, number of charging ports, the battery type you can pick a particular power bank for your phone so it can stay charged all day long.
Best tips for buying the best power bank
Table of Contents
Capacity
When choosing a power bank, you should focus on the charging capacity, which is measured in milliampere-hours (mAh). If you are planning on charging your phone, under 5000 mAh should suffice. If you are charging bigger devices like a tablet or laptop, you may need a power bank more than 10000 mAh.
Typically, smartphone batteries range from 2000 to 3000 mAH. If your phone battery capacity is 2000 mAH, a 2000mAH power bank can manage your phone up to half a charge. It doesn’t sound right, isn’t it? Even though it sounds bizarre, it does happen because the battery drains while charging. Make sure in mind your power bank might not fully charge your phone.
Because merchants sell lies about capacity, make sure you are cautious. The over the moon reviews may be paid; in reality, the edgy-looking power bank might not be impressive as it looks and sounds. To avoid being tricked by the wicked sellers, you should buy from reputed brands to avoid
Physical size and weight
The higher the capacity, the larger and heavier the power bank physically thus less mobile. The ideal power bank for your phone is the one that can fit perfectly in your pocket so you can easily move around. For your laptop, you need to look for a bigger one that can fit in your backpack or bag.
The good news is people are optimising power banks, so in the future, you may find a portable power bank that fits perfectly in your pocket with high capacity. That’s what we’ve been developing at HiQ.
Output and Input
Most power banks come with a 1 ampere (A) or 2.1 A output (or both). Your phone should suffice 1 A output, while your tablet is more suitable with 2.1 A, and laptop needs 3A for efficient output.
The Input ranges from 1 A to 2.4 A. Your device charges faster when the amperes of the output is higher. At the same time, your power bank will recharge faster if the input amperes are higher. If the phone or electronic devices cannot take the maximum current, it will take what it can handle.
To charge your phone better, you can look for power bank support fast charge (PD) and quick charge (QC). Most recent power banks and phones supply more PD charge than QC charge. With QC charge, you can only get it from Qualcomm processor’s phone.
Price
Finding a power bank that fits within your budget is not an easy task. Usually, this is almost always the factor that determines which of the other factors will be accommodated. Still, keep in mind, the higher the quality of the power bank, the higher the price. You should get one towards the upper end of your budget because the cheaper one may not necessarily be better.
Many technology websites post reviews of products comparing the quality and cost. You can have a glimpse at these reviews to decide which one to buy. Or you can look for the reviews on Youtube; you need an honest reviewer ( best of all, avoid one who usually posts sponsor videos).
Do not easily trust one source, probably ask for your friends and family opinions before buying one. Their feedback may be more reliable since they have already used it.
Number of charging ports
The number of charging ports determines the number of devices can charge at the same time. Simply put, the more ports there are, the more devices your power bank can charge simultaneously. This factor sometimes affects the size, so if you are looking for a portable one that can fit in your pocket, you may be looking at one with one or two ports.
The number of portable electronic devices has increased during recent years, so it might be better if you own one with many charging ports to recharge your devices easily. Remember that you have to recharge your power bank more frequently if you charge multiple devices on your power bank.
Lithium-ion vs lithium polymer
Lithium-Ion is cheaper and easily found. And Lithium-polymer cells are more expensive but provide twice as much charge density per unit weight. Lithium-ion lacks what’s called the memory effect ( when batteries become harder to charge over time)
Low-quality lithium-ion power banks not only adversely affect performance, but are also a potential hazard. Cheap battery packs usually sell on the streets do not list the correct mAh capacity so these batteries could easily explode due to overheating. For safe performance, buy a model that comes with overcharge protection (OCP), over-voltage protection (OVP) and over-temperature protection (OTP) that ensure its longevity.
Lithium-polymer batteries are more advanced than lithium-ion in every aspect. They tend to last longer, more lightweight and have a lower chance of suffering from leaking electrolyte. So, what’s the catch? There is no catch at all except you have to pay more for lithium-polymer. Although you should know beforehand that not all power bank specifications will state whether they are lithium-ion or lithium-polymer.
OneBattery: Exactly what to look for when you need a power bank
HiQ is releasing a power bank line soon this September. Not only includes everything convenience you need in a power bank, but the power bank is also sleek and slender in design. The power bank includes optimal technology as PD Fast charging and Qualcomm’s QC 3.0 Quick charging. The battery is lithium-polymer thus better quality than others lithium-ion.
There are many capacities for you to choose, ranging from 3000 mAh to 20000 mAh. The output and input are all PD USB-C to ensure fast charge. Have we mentioned about the size? The size is absolutely ideal to tuck into your jacket or put in your pocket with the smaller capacity power bank.
