Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Man, if you ever thought wireless charging was decently efficient then look no further than this product.

5000 mAh and only a full charge for the 12 mini which carries a 2227 mAh battery, and it only charges with 5W at most?

Wow, that's a terrible waste of power and time both when charging the battery pack and discharging it.

If the charging speed was just more than 10W then maybe the more than 50 percent loss would be acceptable.
FYI the iPhone 12 mini charges wirelessly at 12 W not five however this product they charge on me at 5 W
 
Compared to your microwave, TV or kettle, charging a cellphone is a drop in the world's energy ocean.

The biggest issue with wireless charging inefficiency is the heat it generates. Heat kills electronics.
well, the kettle is a 100% efficient device, by definition as other resistive loads so all the energy is used up for the intended purpose - but i see your point in the magnitude of power being consumed. i must add, there are a lot of phones out there, and i hope we don't waste energy due to some questionable 'convenience'. and the 70ish % is the best possible situation. in many cases it is far worse.
 
well, the kettle is a 100% efficient device, by definition as other resistive loads so all the energy is used up for the intended purpose - but i see your point in the magnitude of power being consumed. i must add, there are a lot of phones out there, and i hope we don't waste energy due to some questionable 'convenience'. and the 70ish % is the best possible situation. in many cases it is far worse.
Well, not MY kettle. It has an obnoxiously bright blue LED...:) Even if every person fully charged up a 5000mah battery every day it would be about 1/3rd of 1 cent at average power rates or $1.35 a year. If you boil a 1800W kettle for 10 minutes a day (say 3 times) that uses about $22 per year. I think we can afford to be ever so slightly inefficient with the phone chargers. BTW, boiling a kettle is, in practice, not 100% efficient because people tend to boil more water than they use. :p
 
So, my Anker MagSafe battery arrived. Not as thick as pictured and it sticks well to the MagSafe case. Passes the “shake test”.

I like that it is charged USB-C, and can output USB-C so I can use a cable to charge my AirPods or my Satechi USB-C Watch AirPods Charger. Perfect battery companion for a traveler.
 
So, my Anker MagSafe battery arrived. Not as thick as pictured and it sticks well to the MagSafe case. Passes the “shake test”.

I like that it is charged USB-C, and can output USB-C so I can use a cable to charge my AirPods or my Satechi USB-C Watch AirPods Charger. Perfect battery companion for a traveler.

Can you post some photos please?
 
A battery pack from an extremely reputable company. A high quality piece of tech that offers convenience in charging. Instead of having to carry 3 different products (a battery pack, a cord and your phone) you have a single device with a battery pack that’s attached to your phone. I sell furniture and there’s a lot of down time so I spend a lot of time on YouTube and playing mobile games. I work from 10-6:30 and by about 3:30 my phone is giving me the 20% notification. This product will give me the boost I need to get through the day and I won’t have to fumble around with a cord, battery pack and my phone. Nobody wants a cord hanging out of their pocket with a phone and a battery pack stuffed in their pocket. Give Anker a break. This is a first generation product from Anker and Apple is probably far from releasing their MagSafe battery pack (if it’s ever released at all). Anker is doing something Apple hasn’t achieved yet and may never. Sure this first iteration seems a bit rushed but there will be improvements made on later models. At least we have something like this to experience and use. And for some, (like me) it may be just what they need to get them that last little push they need to get their phone through the day and in a nice little magnetic package at that. 5 watts? So what. It charges and does it’s job.
 
A battery pack from an extremely reputable company. A high quality piece of tech that offers convenience in charging. Instead of having to carry 3 different products (a battery pack, a cord and your phone) you have a single device with a battery pack that’s attached to your phone. I sell furniture and there’s a lot of down time so I spend a lot of time on YouTube and playing mobile games. I work from 10-6:30 and by about 3:30 my phone is giving me the 20% notification. This product will give me the boost I need to get through the day and I won’t have to fumble around with a cord, battery pack and my phone. Nobody wants a cord hanging out of their pocket with a phone and a battery pack stuffed in their pocket. Give Anker a break. This is a first generation product from Anker and Apple is probably far from releasing their MagSafe battery pack (if it’s ever released at all). Anker is doing something Apple hasn’t achieved yet and may never. Sure this first iteration seems a bit rushed but there will be improvements made on later models. At least we have something like this to experience and use. And for some, (like me) it may be just what they need to get them that last little push they need to get their phone through the day and in a nice little magnetic package at that. 5 watts? So what. It charges
A battery pack from an extremely reputable company. A high quality piece of tech that offers convenience in charging. Instead of having to carry 3 different products (a battery pack, a cord and your phone) you have a single device with a battery pack that’s attached to your phone. I sell furniture and there’s a lot of down time so I spend a lot of time on YouTube and playing mobile games. I work from 10-6:30 and by about 3:30 my phone is giving me the 20% notification. This product will give me the boost I need to get through the day and I won’t have to fumble around with a cord, battery pack and my phone. Nobody wants a cord hanging out of their pocket with a phone and a battery pack stuffed in their pocket. Give Anker a break. This is a first generation product from Anker and Apple is probably far from releasing their MagSafe battery pack (if it’s ever released at all). Anker is doing something Apple hasn’t achieved yet and may never. Sure this first iteration seems a bit rushed but there will be improvements made on later models. At least we have something like this to experience and use. And for some, (like me) it may be just what they need to get them that last little push they need to get their phone through the day and in a nice little magnetic package at that. 5 watts? So what. It charges and does it’s job.
PLUS!!!!!! ITS ONLY $40!!!!!! Apples will probably break the $100 mark!
 
Can you attach the Anker to iPhone and still use a short cable if wanted a fast boost? Would it disable MagSafe charging and use wired even though attached?

@iGeneo with you having one could you test please?

Thanks
 
Can you attach the Anker to iPhone and still use a short cable if wanted a fast boost? Would it disable MagSafe charging and use wired even though attached?

@iGeneo with you having one could you test please?

Thanks
It stays in a “charging” mode. Not sure how you could determine if it was charging via wireless and wired.
 
It stays in a “charging” mode. Not sure how you could determine if it was charging via wireless and wired.

Probably only the speed it charges? I imagine the USB-C is PD so you should see it charge much faster than the wireless connection?
 
Probably only the speed it charges? I imagine the USB-C is PD so you should see it charge much faster than the wireless connection?
Well.. I'll say that hardwired, it was pretty fast. I also use a fast charge cable that can charge up to 100W speed
 
Well.. I'll say that hardwired, it was pretty fast. I also use a fast charge cable that can charge up to 100W speed

Not sure the cable speed will make a difference, it’s the actual output of the battery and capability of the iPhone, eg if is Power Delivery capable, that will determine.

So with the battery attached magnetically, and the cable attached, it charges fast? Wonder if the iPhone detects both and priorities cable charging and disables wireless charging for safety?
 
Had email back from Anker support on my questions.

You can physically attach the battery using the magnet but charge with the cable attached. In this situation, only the cable charging (via USC-C to lightning cable )works, the wireless charging will stop (the wireless charging and cable charging do not work at the same time for the same phone )

You can have the powercore charging from a wall plug, and also have iPhone on it wirelessly and so it will charge both the iPhone wirelessly and the powercore itself, so in the morning you can have both charged up. ——Means it can act as a normal wireless QI charger overnight and charge both battery and iPhone.

You can charge an iPhone wirelessly and also use the USB-C to charge something else at the same time; But the portable battery is only wiith 5000mAh battery capacity, it may not charge your devices fully when you wirelessly charge your iPhone and cable charging other things. ——so can use the wireless and USB-C out to charge something else. Battery is only 5000mAh so not ideal to do 2 devices but good it xsn
 
  • Like
Reactions: digger10
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.