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Power
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Portability
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Features
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Value
Summary
Incredible efficiency, great value, a massive capacity, and the extra Lightning input is a neat bonus for when you don't have a micro-USB cable on you. All in all, the Aukey 20000mAh 3.4A Portable Charger is a great bang for the buck.
- A battery efficiency of 87%, enough capacity to charge an average phone eight times
- Two inputs to charge the power bank with a Lightning or micro-USB cable
- Not expensive, great value
- Bulky
Last week’s Jackery Titan S introduced us to a new way of charging with a modern USB-C port. Today we’ll be taking a look at another novelty we haven’t seen yet, as this Aukey 20000mAh Portable Charger has a Lightning input to charge the power bank. Is this extra convenience worth the upgrade to a new powerbank? We’ll find out for you.
Design and portability
The design of most Aukey power banks we’ve come across have been rather dull and frankly, not spectacular. This one doesn’t look spectacular either by any means, but is a nice step ahead of other Aukey’s. This one has a slick, smooth matte black finish and the Aukey logo is imprinted on top with silver brushed letters. And an impressive feature that makes it stand out a bit is the color changing power button. Which changes in color depending on battery charge level. It gives the device a unique look you won’t see on other portable chargers and makes this powerbank by far the best looking Aukey device we’ve seen yet.
As are most 20,000mAh power banks, the Aukey 3.4A is quite bulky. It’s a rather thick device and you won’t fit it in your pocket easily. However, power banks with such battery capacities can’t be sized down enough to fit in regular pockets. For the capacity it boasts it’s portability is very decent. It’s perfect for carrying in your handbag or purse and it’s not all that heavy either. Besides, if we’d compare it to other high-powered power banks like the RAVPower 22000 and the Anker PowerCore II 20000, the Aukey 20000mAh wins the competition for portability easily. It’s slightly wider than the other two, but more than half an inch shorter in length.
Features
The Aukey 20000 has a total of four ports. Two of which can be used to charge devices, and the other are input ports that can be used to charge the powerbank itself. These 2 inputs consist of a micro-USB port and a Lightning port. This means that you can charge the powerbank with either a iOS lightning cable or a micro-USB cable. It’s a great convenience since you won’t always have a micro-USB at hand and instead can use your Lightning cable, or vice-versa.
The device is fitted with safety features like overcharge and short circuit protection, and smart charging, but not pass through charging. Which is charging devices during charging of the powerbank itself. It’s a very convenient feature that is found on most Jackery and RAVPower devices, but sadly we haven’t yet seen an Aukey device rock this feature, including this one.
Like mentioned above, a unique cool feature is the battery indication system the Aukey uses. It’s filled with a total of 9 LEDs of 3 different colors: red, green and white. The power button will light up red if the battery is in the 0 – 30% range, green when in 30 – 70% and bright white when it’s 70% or above. It’s a nice addition and a change up to the usual blinkering LED’s we normally see.
Like most Aukey devices, this one is also fitted with a small LED flashlight. Always a nice bonus.
Power
This power bank is unique in the way that the battery cells are aligned. Instead of 6 3350mAh battery cells like on most 20000mAh powerbanks, this one has two 10,000mAh battery cells, also both lithium polymer. Why exactly Aukey chose this line-up instead of the usual is not quite clear to me, as lithium polymer cells might expand when fully charged which can cause some trouble or damage within the shell, although it is rare. An advantage to this particular line-up is that it does save space and allows Aukey to make it more “space efficient” than most 20000mAh power banks, which results in a wider but shorter case. It’s also lower in costs which means a lower price tag.
So, how much does 20,000mAh account for? In a test with an amperemeter the Aukey shows to have a battery efficiency of roughly 87%, which is one of the best we’ve seen yet. Not surprisingly, as the other highest efficiency rated power bank we saw was also an Aukey device. The test displays about 64Wh of output energy, which is enough to provide an average phone with eight full charges. It beats out both the Anker PowerCore II 20000 and the Jackery Titan S, who both only pump out just about seven average phone charges. However, they both do have a higher total output, which means they charge devices quicker than the Aukey does.
Conclusion
The Aukey brings some extra convenience that most 20,000mAh power banks don’t carry with them. With two different input types you can use either a Lightning cable or Micro-USB cable to charge the power bank, whichever you have on hand. As it is also slightly shorter than most 20,000mAh power banks, it could fit in a jacket pocket more easily, although it’s not exactly ideal for it. All in all, the great power efficiency, charging versatility and quality make this a neat device with great value thanks to its relatively low retail price.
View this Portable Charger on AmazonSpecifications
Measurements: | 5.9 x 3.26 x 0.8 inches |
Weight: | 388g (13.7oz) |
Charging ports: | 2 (2.4A max per port) |
Compatible with: | iPhone, Android, tablet (most USB devices, except small ones like fitnesstrackers) |
Pass through charging: | No |
Smart charging ports: | Yes |
Qualcomm Quick Charge: | No |
Battery indication: | 3 colored LED’s (red/green/white) |
Power capacity: | 20000 mAh |
Total max output: | 3.4A |
Total max input: | 2A |
Time to recharge itself: | 12 hours (20+ hours with a 1A adapter) |
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