‘Tinkering Review’ — Combining a Charger and a Power Bank: The Anker PowerCore Fusion Experience
Translated from the Chinese original.
I’ve been following Anker’s PowerCore Fusion for a long time. In the charger and power-bank markets, products get annual fast-charging updates, but not many people seem to care about how they are used.
Seeing a power bank and a charger combined into one product, I thought it was pretty interesting and immediately picked one up to try.
Zaaap! Rating: 9/10
About Anker
Anker has consistently held the top position in the USB charging category across online markets in North America, Japan, Europe, and many other countries, and is known worldwide for its high-quality products and service. Its products have won the Red Dot Award, one of the world’s three major industrial design awards, several times.
How I Chose It
The essentials for a business trip or vacation are a charger, a power bank, and various cables, and carrying all of them has always been a headache. Anker’s product takes something away to simplify the setup, combining the power adapter and power bank into one.
At a reasonable price of RMB 148, it is available from all the major e-commerce platforms!
Unboxing:
▼ Recent Anker products all seem to use this style of box. The blue-and-white contrast looks a little better than the one I bought before.
▼ The first thing you see is some English text, quietly promoting Anker’s position as North America’s power-bank leader and its industry-leading fast-charging technology.
▼ The box on the right contains the included cable and storage pouch.
▼ The storage pouch is very practical. It can sit in your bag and prevent the devices from knocking against each other.
▼ The cable uses a Micro USB connector and a PVC jacket.
▼ Next, the product itself. Like Apple’s products, it has a clean industrial design and an all-white exterior.
▼ Soft-touch matte finish; the front has only a logo, one button, and a power indicator.
▼ The button has a moderate amount of tactile feedback.
▼ A blue LED indicates the battery level and status.
▼ There are two USB outputs, with a Micro USB input below. We’ll talk about what it does later.
There is a band of glossy plastic around the edges, which breaks up the monotony of the all-white body and resembles glossy CNC machining.
The IQ marking below indicates support for PowerIQ smart identification.
▼ The plug has a foldable design, although the raised section sticks out slightly farther than it does on a regular charger.
▼ The specifications are printed on the bottom. Judging by the finish, it should not have the same problem as older power banks, whose markings wore away over time.
The specifications for the two operating modes are as follows
Charger: 5V/2.1A MAX
Power bank: 5V/3A MAX
USB input: 5V/2.1A
I am not very good at throwing around dazzling numbers from various current testers and other dry measurements, but I believe I can give you the most authentic experience from my own perspective. The PowerCore Fusion does not support fast charging for Android devices, but in my tests it still supported Apple devices very well.
Real-World Test Results
- Power-bank mode
iPhone 7 Plus: 5.15V/1.81A, 9.3W
Successfully recognized the 2A mode and charged the iPhone 7 Plus at full speed.
- Charger mode
iPhone 7 Plus: 5.17V/1.83A, 9.5W
Full-speed charging.
▼ About as thick as three iPhone 5S phones.
I used the PowerCore Fusion for a while and took it out with me several times.
My conclusion is that it is very suitable for business travelers who do not use fast charging.
Combining a power bank and charger solves a real pain point when you are out and about.
The two outputs can charge a phone while also connecting an Apple Watch, Bluetooth earbuds, or other devices that need power.
When charging a phone and small-current devices such as Bluetooth earbuds at the same time, both outputs run at full speed.
Once the devices are fully charged, the PowerCore Fusion automatically switches to charging itself.
When your laptop is plugged in and working, but there is no spare outlet and you want to recharge the PowerCore Fusion,
the Micro USB port can come in handy.
The purpose of this Micro USB port has finally become clear. Before this, I always thought it was more or less unnecessary.
In Summary:
The good:
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Two USB output ports and one Micro USB charging port
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A built-in smart chip identifies devices and provides up to 3A of output current
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A foldable plug and the combination of a power bank and charger—the essence of Anker’s PowerCore Fusion
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No need to charge the power bank separately: plug it into an outlet and both the phone and power bank can reach full charge
The bad:
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No fast charging—“the biggest pain point”
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It is weak when you urgently need to recharge through its 5V/2A input
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The output power is slightly low when both ports are used at once
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The Micro USB interface is outdated; USB-C would be better
In summary, the PowerCore Fusion uses PowerIQ smart-speed charging to intelligently match the charging current and maintain charging speed. But the PowerCore Fusion’s performance is not especially satisfying. A 5,000mAh battery taking 2.5 hours to fully charge also needs improvement. Still, charging speed may not have been the first priority in the design of the PowerCore Fusion. Instead, it is meant to let you leave home without carrying both a charging brick and a power bank. For business people who travel frequently, or office workers who need to take a charger and power source to work, the PowerCore Fusion is a good fit because it removes the hassle of carrying two devices.