Power Bank Feature Creep is Out of Control (theverge.com)
- Reference: 0180539819
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/01/07/1913253/power-bank-feature-creep-is-out-of-control
- Source link: https://www.theverge.com/tech/856225/power-banks-are-the-latest-victims-of-feature-creep
The feature creep is industry-wide. Anker no longer lists a display-less model in its 20,000mAh range, and both companies sell proprietary desk chargers. Basic alternatives exist -- Anker's PowerCore 10k runs $26 -- but they're becoming harder to find.
[1] https://www.theverge.com/tech/856225/power-banks-are-the-latest-victims-of-feature-creep
Chargers too (Score:2)
It's not just powerbanks that have unnecessary features. Chargers are affected too: the new Anker Nano 45W (A121D) doesn't support AVS, and PPS is limited up to 16V (not 20, what most laptops want). But it has a smart interactive display... you could argue that the old version is better.
Ecoflow needs to get in the UPS rack game (Score:2)
They need to kick the crap out of the legacy acid battery game for rack UPS gear. Come on now.
Re: (Score:2)
The big UPS vendors (Eaton, Vertiv, APC, etc) have a lithium option these days, they're just about 1.5-2x the price but on the other hand you don't have to swap the pack until 10 years. My back also appreciates them, they're not light by any stretch but there's enough savings to take that edge off the lead ones.
What is this author talking about display only (Score:2)
The trusty Powercore 26k with it's 4-blue dot UI and 5 ports is on their website right here [1]https://www.anker.com/products... [anker.com]
[1] https://www.anker.com/products/a1277?variant=37437650665622
Re: (Score:2)
That's an older line (The 337 has been around since 2020). The newer line has been refreshed to use glossy grey plastic and have a display on everything for some reason. The author is complaining about this trend.
Re: (Score:2)
Heavens, they released a product with new features?
The author (in the summary) specifically claims "Anker no longer lists a display-less model in its 20,000mAh range." Anker doesn't seem to offer any 20 Ah powerbanks so I assume "20,000mAh range" means 20 Ah or more, making the claim untrue. It's also cherrypicking one company and one specification.
Some people obviously want LCDs on their powerbanks. One of the posters above wants a flashlight. Whatever. There are still lots of black boxes with batteries av
I can use my phone to keep the power bank charged (Score:2)
Since the power bank has all the features I need.
mAh need too die (Score:3)
I sick of seeing devices specified in thousand thousandths of an A and at an assumed 3.7V, It made sense years ago when power banks were new. We need to move to Wh which are far more meaning full and easier to use. A hall mark of a decent power bank is the specs include a Wh figure, not just mAh.
Re: (Score:1)
One of the driving factors behind showing power in mAh is that marketing gets to print a more impressive big number on the box.
Although Wh would be preferred, I'd be happy if they even just changed to displaying mWh on the box - and it should be a win-win. they get a bigger more impressive number to display and I get a unit of measure that actually gives the total amount of electrical energy the device can store, instead of trying to guess whether the rating is based on whatever the battery cell voltages a
Re: (Score:2)
Yea, agree, the marketing people are too blame. Ideally they would print both figures with equal prominence for a while so non-tech people would get used to Wh, then drop the mAh after a year or two.
USB-C PD has really brought the issue to the fore, but one advantage of products with mAh only is I can instantly eliminate them from buying consideration, saving some time.
Re: (Score:2)
Energy should be measured in MegaJoules
Re: (Score:2)
MegaJoules are for children's toys.
I want Gigawatt-Centuries.
And the demand is probably less. (Score:2)
My smartwatches battery last a day and half under typical use.
My smartphone lasts almost two days with my typical use.
My laptop lasts around twenty hours if I was using it the whole time. Almost three full work days of typical use.
My drone has three swappable batteries giving it about 120 minutes of flight. I rarely fly it more than 30 minutes at any given time. I’m not racing or shooting a scripted movie.
Batteries have gotten good enough and chips have gotten efficient enough, I rarely use any
Pipe to Xi (Score:2)
Don’t forget the special vpn tunnel that sends your data, and any audio picked up in the local area to Xi Jinping’s cell phone.
Power Tool Battery (Score:2)
I have a USB adaptor for my cordless power tool batteries. I can charge my phone from dead 3 times off one of them with it, and I have half a dozen of them charged and ready to go for work at any given moment. They are available for every brand of cordless power tool I could remember to look up, and feature: USB ports.
Countdown to "Battery Pilot" in 3...2...1... (Score:2)
Time one of them releases a battery pack with always on AI integration, maybe to remind you in Skye's voice to recharge your bank if it's a lil flat.
Screens are way to far. (Score:2)
Phones already do 99% of the stuff you might want to carry with you. Screen, GPS, radio, etc. are already in your phones.
You want a power bank, get a flashlight/power bank combo. It gives you something a standard phone cannot reasonably replicate, but can also act as the powerbank to recharge your phone.
Re:Screens are way to far. (Score:4, Insightful)
The best power banks are actually the car jump-starters which all now have USB and a higher capacity for a lower cost. Bonus - they can jump-start a dead ICE vehicle.
Re: (Score:2)
Those are way overspec for power banks, as their primary purpose is to deliver several hundred amps at 12V for a few seconds.
That requires capabilities that power banks using for recharging devices do not need. Capabilities that make those things significantly heavier and more expensive than needed.
Re: (Score:2)
I bought one of those for $100 a few years ago. Yeah it's big and bulky, but I've used it to jump start vehicles on five occasions since then. It paid for itself as far as I'm concerned and the other incidental uses I've gotten out of it. Apparently I saved $170 buying it instead of some PoS designed to attract idiots.
Re: (Score:1)
You've obviously not seen a modern jump-starter then.
1.) They are tiny.
2.) They are smart enough to step down voltage.
3.) They come with USB C ports for purpose charging phones.
Stand alone power banks were a thing 20 years ago but in 2026 they have been replaced with actual useful chargers that can do multiple things other than to charge a phone because the owner is to dumb to buy a real flash light.
Take a look at an entry level jump-starter like the NOCO GB40 for instance. It also has a built in flash lig
Re: (Score:2)
They claim to be able to jump 60 dead cars at 1000 amps on a single charge. That's bonkers. They could have a built-in defibrillator for those 007 moments where your martini gets spiked with Digitalis and you need a good jolt.
Re: (Score:2)
I bought a jump pack because I needed a jump pack. But I was careful to get one that could do 65w USB-C PD to power a laptop.
I wanted it to be able to do multiple things.
Re: (Score:1)
> they can jump-start a dead ICE vehicle.
Nah. Those assholes can pay for their own tow truck to bail them out.
Re: (Score:2)
If you have a vehicle at hand, you already have a better charging solution than a power bank. A power bank is a portable, pocketable backup power supply for your phone for when you're walking around out of range of fixed charging or vehicles with power outlets.
Re: (Score:2)
Most modern phones had LED flashes that function well as flashlights.
The age of LEDs that burned out if you used them in always-on mode is long past.
Re: (Score:2)
I've found the problem of using phone LED flashes as flashlights isn't really the possibility of them burning out, but the fact that they are designed to flood. A good flashlight should have a combination of flood AND throw to really be useful. Even small, keychain-sized flashlights can do this, so I rarely use my phone as a flashlight, these days.
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed.
I bought one with a solar panel on one side, wireless charging on the other, USB-A & USB-C on one end, and flashlight on the other end. It has a few LEDs to indicate charge level. It has a built-in rubber case for durability, and rubber plugs on the ports for water-resistance. It is slightly larger than my phone. It came with a keyring/carabiner attachment, and short (~3") USB-A and USB-C cables.
It can fast-charge my phone multiple times per-charge, has flashlight modes, charges quickly via U
Re: (Score:2)
There is no way whatsoever that a PV cell on the side of a pocketable power bank is large enough to receive enough energy to be meaningful. These are joke features. The areas of the world with the highest insolation offer about 300W/m2. The size of a solar cell you can fit in your pocket is perhaps 0.01m^2. So you're looking at 3W of available solar energy - if you are in a subtropical desert at the right time of day and year and with the panel aimed optimally. Take out conversion efficiency of at most 20%
Re: (Score:2)
I feel like solar on power banks is just a way to keep them maintained.
Re: (Score:2)
Oddly enough, it does work. I expected something that could do a partial recharge if left in direct sunlight all day... but it picks up a significant amount of charge in just a couple hours on my desk at work getting sunlight thru the window (thru glass).
That is nothing compared to the rate it charges when plugged in to a real charger, but it is significant.
Re: (Score:2)
I have an Anker Solix 30w. It folds out to about 12"x36" and can charge both of my power banks to full in ~2 hours. Shit gets hot though, a bit afraid it will blow up one of the power banks. I'm guessing a little 5w panel could charge a small bank in a day.