Anker PowerCore Elite 20000 Portable Charger Review

We were very excited to hear that one of the best powerbanks we’ve ever reviewed – the Anker PowerCore 20100 – had a new version coming out. The Anker Powercore Elite 20000 is a beefed up version of it’s predecessor and today we’re going to find out if this upgrade is worth to buy.

Design and Portability

The design of the Anker PowerCore Elite is not much like its predecessor. It is rectangle shaped as well, but has less rounded edges, is flatter on top and the bottom, and is slightly thicker and wider. However, it’s actually shorter in length which is surprising since it has more charging ports. Three to be exact. These charging ports are blue of color and along with the four blue battery indicators give the PowerCore Elite a cool luxury look. On the back of the device, the Anker logo in huge dark letters is embedded on the case. Talking about the case, it feels robust and sturdy and is very well built. Even though it’s made of plastic, the shell feels like high quality and is surely made to last.

One downside to the PowerCore Elite is that it’s slightly heavier than its predecessor. It weighs 13.4oz which is one full ounce more. However, keep in mind that this one has a sturdier case and one more charge port. And – like always with Anker products – it comes with a mesh pouch that makes it just that much easier to carry with you and keeps it from scratching.

Features

Unlike the PowerCore 20100, the Powercore Elite 20000 has a whopping three charge ports instead of two. This means you can charge three devices simultaneously including smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, smartwatches and basically any other micro USB charged device. All the charging ports are smartports that are fitted with the PowerIQ technology. Which means the port will adapt to the devices you’re charging and tailor it to the most efficient charge speed.

One thing that’s also cool is that the Anker PowerCore Elite has two input ports instead of one. Yes, two INPUT ports. Why, do you ask? Well, so you can recharge the powerbank twice as fast as you normally could. It’s a feature we also saw on the EasyAcc Monster and is very convenient on powerhouses such as this one. It cuts the recharge time of the powerbank in half and makes it recharge in 6 hours instead of the usual 12. However, like most powerbanks, it does not come with a wall charger. To benefit from the quick recharge times you’re going to have to get wall charger with dual 2A input. They’re not expensive at all though and you can get one here on Amazon.

Power

The battery capacity of the Powercore Elite is 20000mAh, just like its predecessor. This allows the power to charge an average smartphone about four to six times, depending on how big your smartphone is.

You can also charge tablets at a very quick rate. This is because the max output of a port is a whopping 3A. This is significantly stronger than the previous PowerCore 20100 which only had a max output of 2.4A per port. It makes for massive differences in charging times, especially if you’re charging big devices like a tablet. It can charge a small tablet like an iPad mini in under 5 hours and thanks to the massive battery of 20000mAh it has enough capacity to do it twice.

Conclusion

All in all, the Anker PowerCore Elite 20000 has enough extra functionality to call it a worthy upgrade to the PowerCore 20100. it has three charging ports for simultaneous charging, double input so you can recharge the powerbank twice as fast, and a max output of 3A which makes for lightning quick charge times. Weirdly, it’s in the same price range as its predecessor so if you have the chance to pick one of these bad boys up, I’d definitely recommend you to get this new version.

Technical specifications