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The battery life of your smartphone is under a lot of extra strain from apps, social media, music streaming and online video – a power bank will help keep your phone charged throughout the day.
We test power banks designed to keep even the most power-hungry smartphones kicking day and night. Our detailed test reveals:
Our interactive comparison table shows the number of devices each power bank can simultaneously charge, whether they can power a tablet, laptop and Nintendo Switch, and other useful features and functions such as auto on/off settings, fast charge and USB-C output.
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List of brands we tested in this review.
Recommended retail.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 25 and 189
We recommend models with an overall score of 75% or more.
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Without any cables or packaging.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 170 and 1018
Based on the number of times each battery charged a test phone to 80%.
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 0 and 0
Refers to the power bank's ability to charge multiple devices at once, if more than one port is available. Higher scoring models showed a limited drop in charging performance when two or more devices were plugged in. This does not contribute to the overall score.
Takes into account the position of the display on the unit and how easy it is to see and understand at a glance.
If the power bank could charge a tablet via USB.
We connected USB-C enabled power banks to USB-C laptops to determine whether they could power the device (not charge it). If the laptop didn't indicate that it was on battery power, then we determined that the power bank on test couldn't power it.
We connected USB-C enabled power banks to a Nintendo Switch, to determine whether they could power the device (not charge it). If the Switch didn't indicate that it was on battery power, then we determined that the power bank couldn't power it.
Think of capacity as the fuel for the battery. Most of the latest smartphones have a battery with around 3000mAh, so a 10,000mAh power bank should be able to charge the smartphone up to three times and a 20,000mAh power bank more than six times. Stated capacity is the capacity given by the vendor in milliamp hours (mAh).
enter value/s in increments of 1 between 6000 and 26800
Refers to the type of display present on the power bank.
A Similar model is identical in most aspects except for a few. This means that a majority of its test results are identical so you can reasonably expect to get the same results from the model we tested, but for those aspects which aren't identical, we'll note these as "Not Tested" in the Compare tables.
A Tested model refers to a model that is still current and available in the Australian market. You should be able to order this model through your local retailer, or find it online.
These models can't be found in retailers or online or are no longer manufactured. You may still find these models on second hand websites, or in second hand dealers. Test methods may change over time, so criteria which can't be directly compared will contain an N/A.
An Identical model is exactly that. Performance characteristics will be identical and the only difference will be something trivial such as colour, which won't have an impact on performance.
These are models we haven't yet tested but that are available.
