How to choose a power bank for your laptop

With the increasing importance of digital devices in modern life, manufacturers tend to extend their battery life year by year. However, it’s inevitable that you may find your phone or laptop close to death no matter when you’re working in a cafe or just on your commute to work. Thus, a portable power bank is still a wise investment at any time your battery runs low.

Capacity and size

When looking for a power bank that best suits your need, the first things to consider are the capacity and size. The charging capacity is usually measured in milliampere-hours (mAh). If you are going to top up your phone once, a 5000mAh power bank will suffice. If you want to charge your devices for multiple times or simply power up your laptop, you’ll need one over 10,000mAh.

Of course, you also need to take into consideration of portability. The more charging capacity it has, the less portable the power bank will be. Check the physical dimensions in the sales listing and make sure both the capacity and the size meet your needs.

Input and output

Most power banks come with a 1A or 2.1A output or both. More specifically, 1A output is usually enough for a phone, 2.1A is suitable for a tablet, and a laptop charges the best with a 3A output. However, for the fastest charging speed, you have to make sure the power bank has the same output with your device’s input. If the output of your power bank is lower, the charging will slower. If it is higher, you’ll charge at full speed and no damage will be caused.

Ports

How many sockets or connectors on the power bank determines if it is compatible with the device you want to charge. Lots of power bank nowadays feature USB-C ports for both power input and power output, but they may provide you with traditional USB-A ports as well. As for Lightning port, there used to be few power banks with a Lightning cable or charging port, but you have great options now if you want to charge your iPhone.

Fast Charging

There’re two main fast charging standards: Qualcomn Quick Charge and USB Power Delivery. The former allows you to charge supported phones to 50 percent capacity in 30 minutes, while the latter is a a newer protocol in which two compatible devices negotiate on the fastest charging option available. Note that if you want to charge a laptop or console, the power bank needs to feature Power Delivery.

Recommendation:

Anker PowerCore+ 26800mAh PD Power Bank with USB-C Charger and Cable

Voltaic Systems V88 24,000mAh Portable Laptop Power Bank