Buying a power bank, what do I pay attention to?

Buying a power bank, what do I pay attention to?Thanks to a power bank, there is always spare power on the road. They come in all shapes and sizes. How do you find the power bank that suits you?

A power bank is a spare charger with a battery. A solution if there is no socket nearby. On the way in the car, on the bike or in the train, a power bank is useful, for example.

A power bank can power a smartphone or tablet. And there are also models with which the laptop can be charged and other devices, such as the battery of an SLR camera.

What should the power bank be able to charge? Just a smartphone? Or also a tablet? Or even the laptop? The battery of an average smartphone is smaller than that of a tablet. And its battery is smaller than that of a laptop.

Simply put: the larger the battery of the device, the greater the charging capacity of the power bank should be.

How often should the power bank do its job? Is that occasionally on the train or on holiday? Or should the power bank preferably be able to supply power for several days?

You understand, the following also applies here: the more intensive the use, the greater the charging capacity of the power bank must be.

How do you determine the desired loading capacity? Every smartphone or tablet has a battery whose capacity is expressed in mAh. The capacity of a power bank is also expressed in mAh. So a smartphone with a battery of 1500 mAh can be charged five times with a power bank of 7500 mAh (divide 7500 by 1500 = 5).

You can use this size as a starting point. If you want to charge your smartphone once on the road, you only need a power bank that can charge the phone once or twice.

To get an impression, this is the capacity of a few well-known models of phones and tablets:

  • iPhone 12: 2775 mAh
  • iPhone XS: 2658 mAh
  • Samsung Galaxy S20: 4500 mAh
  • Samsung Galaxy S10: 3400 mAh
  • Galaxy Tab A7: 7040 mAh
  • iPad Air: 8134 mAh
  • iPad Mini 5: 5160 mAh
  • Surface Pro 6: 5940 mAh

Something similar applies to a laptop. But sometimes the battery capacity is expressed in Wh (Watt hours). Then convert to mAh. Look in the specifications of the laptop to find out how much power the battery has (expressed in Wh or W) and how much output (expressed in V) the battery provides. mAh is then equal to 1000 times W divided by V. An example: the battery of an Acer laptop supplies 60 W and 10 V. We then arrive at 60,000/10 = 6,000 mAh.

The simplest power banks have one output. If you want to charge several devices at the same time, you need a power bank with more outputs. And those who want to charge a laptop will need an output for a plug.

Faster is of course better. How fast a power bank charges depends on the current. This is expressed in Ampere (A). 1 A is sufficient for a smartphone. Anyone who wants to charge a tablet uses 2 A. And a laptop can also be charged with 2 A, but it goes more smoothly with a strength of 2.4 A.

Also important: if the power bank is empty, how quickly will it be charged? Some models are equipped with solar cells so that they can be charged on the road using (indirect) sunlight.

Many power banks come with a (small) USB cable. Most users have enough cords at home. After all, every tablet and smartphone comes with a charging cable. This can be easily connected to any power bank.

  • Charging smartphone: go from 3000 to 6000 mAh
  • Charging tablet: go from 6000 to 12000 mAh
  • Charging laptop: go from 12,000 to 20,000 mAh

These are guidelines. You will know from your own experience that the time you can use on a battery charge depends a lot on the things you do with the device. The same applies, of course, to the extra charge that is available via a power bank.

Also note:

  • The number of USB connections;
  • Ability to connect power cord (for laptops);
  • Current (1A, 2A, 2.4A). Important for the loading speed.

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