Anker PowerCore 20100 Power Bank Review

Earlier this week we reviewed Anker’s PowerCore 10000 and were charmed by its quality and happily crowned it the best powerbank in the 10,000mAh range. Let’s see if the 20,000mAh version – the Anker PowerCore 20100 – can impress us as much as its smaller brother did.

Design and Portability

The Anker PowerCore 20100 looks a lot like the Anker PowerCore 10000, both in design as well as stature. With the exception of it being almost twice as long, the thickness and width are identical. The device measures 6.5 x 2.3 inches and is 0.87 inches thick. Now for a 20000mAh powerbank, that is very impressive. It might be longer than the iMuto 20000mAh, but takes up less space because it’s a lot slimmer. The PowerCore 20100 is as portable as it gets at this powerlevel and anything smaller than this will undoubtedly have less battery capacity.

The design itself is exactly what we’re used to from Anker. It might look a bit dull, but whether you like the design or not, you can’t deny that it’s made of excellent quality material. The casing feels very tough and made to last, and the smooth matte finish has an anti-scratch layer that keeps it from showing wear and tear. It’s tested against heavy impact and vibration so there’s no need to worry if you drop the device. In terms of case quality, Anker’s devices are one of the best and way ahead of others like Aukey‘s.

Features

After seeing the awesome digital battery reading on the iMuto 20000mAh yesterday, I’m a little bummed out that this unit treats us with LED battery indicators again. When powerbanks reach huge capacities as this, it’s incredibly useful to see exactly how much charge is left in the device. Four LED battery indicators just aren’t accurate enough and are precisely that, “indicators”.

Where the PowerCore 20100 does clearly have the edge over the iMuto 20000mAh however, is the smartports. A smartport is a charging port that automatically detects the connected device and provides the safest, quickest charging speed possible. Anker’s PowerIQ and VoltageBoost make sure of this.

Even though the iMuto 20000mAh also had smartports, it didn’t provide optimal output when charging two devices, and could only output a maximum total of 3.1A. The PowerCore 201000’s smartports on the other hand, both work independently and can each provide a maximum output of 2.4A for a total of 4.8A. Simply put, this means you can charge two tablets at the same time. Both at maximum charging speeds instead of one charging slower than the other.

Sadly, the Anker PowerCore 20100 does not support pass through charging. Which means you can’t charge devices when the powerbank itself is being charged up. If you want a 20,000mAh power bank that supports pass-through charging the iMuto 20000mAh or Jackery Titan 20100mAh are suited for the job.

Power

Before we discuss the power of the Anker PowerCore 20100, it’s important to note that according to Anker, the power bank is not compatible with the following devices:

• iPod nano
• iPod Classic
• HP TouchPad
• Dell Venue 11 Pro
• Asus tablets
• Some GPS and Bluetooth devices

Apart from these, it’s compatible with basically every micro-USB device including Android and Apple smartphones, tablets and even a 12 inch Macbook.

The Anker Powercore 20100 possesses an enormous battery capacity of 20,000mAh. In most 20,000mAh powerbanks we’ve come across, after calculating heat loss and such, this normally comes down to about 15,000mAh. Anker’s devices however always seem to provide the actual number as promised, at least closer to it. The PowerCore 20100 gives more charges than the iMuto 20,000mAh and is able to charge an iPhone 5S seven times compared to iMuto’s barely six. It almost manages to charge a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 four times and can even charge an iPad Mini twice. The powerbank also holds charge way better than most powerbanks and doesn’t lose battery over time.

It’s a perfect little device for those who are long away from home and need a week’s worth of charges for their mobile device. Without having to worry about any outlets being in the vicinity. It’s even capable of charging a 12 inch Macbook once. However, if you’re looking for a dedicated laptop powerbank the MAXOAK 50,000 Portable Charger for example is a better choice.

A downside to a portable charger of this massive capacity is that it takes long to recharge. Depending on your wall charger, it can take anywhere from 10 hours to a whopping 20 hours. This is negated by its long use time though, and is not that big a problem as you’ll probably be charging it once a week at max.

Conclusion

Has the Anker PowerCore 20100 impressed us as much as the PowerCore 10000 has? In a way, it definitely has. It’s not as portable and compact, but at this powerlevel we can’t expect it to be. The quality and build are great, and the power keeps better charge than other 20,000mAh power banks we’ve come across. It’s a simply designed, yet very impressive device that – apart from some compatibilty issues – does exactly what you expect it to. Provide you with many charges for your mobile devices, all while doing it in the quickest, safest way possible.

Technical Specifications