In front of me I have one of the world’s most powerful power banks.
With a full-fledged USB-C charger that can charge up a laptop.
I’ve never torn down a power bank on camera before.
I figured this Anker power bank would be a good place to start.
I’m curious to see what this thing looks like on the inside.
[Intro]
Anker sent me this 26,800 milliamp power bank.
At 96 watt hours, it just barely sneaks under the legal 100 watt hour maximum capacity for
traveling on airplanes.
But what makes this particular power bank special is the way the power bank charges.
Inside the box are two cables: a normal micro USB charger, and the more important USB-C
charger.
All phone manufacturers are slowly, over the past few years, switching over to USB-C style
ports for multiple reasons.
One of the main reasons is because it allows for stronger power delivery.
USB-C effectively charges your larger electronics like laptops, or Nintendo gaming Switch systems,
much faster than typical USB ports could do.
A standard USB port would never have the guts to charge an entire laptop, but USB-C does.
One of the few ports on Apple’s new Mac Book Pro is the USB-C. So this power bank
with its USB-C power delivery system can charge the Mac Book Pro in just under 3 hours.
A Nintendo Switch can charge in about 2 and a half hours, which is pretty much the same
as the Nintendo dock itself and this one’s portable.
And even better, the whole power bank has that premium feel of metal that we all know
and love.
One big deal breaker for me in the past was if a power bank could not charge more than
one device at a time.
There are 3 ports on this thing, so let’s see if they can all be utilized at once.
Power banks that can only charge one thing at a time are pretty annoying.
So right now I have my clear-backed Galaxy S8 charging from the USB-C slot, getting that
full power delivery system that we talked about earlier.
I have my clear LG G6 getting charged from one of the normal USB slots – so it is charging
normally – just without that power delivery system.
And for the third object I have a pair of Beats headphones plugged into that second
normal USB port.
And all three objects are charging at the exact same time.
So that’s pretty efficient and productive if you’re sitting at an airport with a bunch
of dead electronics and not enough outlets to go around.
Remember though, for large electronics like the Nintendo Switch or laptops that charge
with USB-C, you have to use the actual USB-C port on the power bank because that’s the
only form capable of that PD or power delivery system required to charge those things.
So keep in mind that there is literally no reason for anyone to ever take apart a power
bank.
There is nothing really to repair inside.
But I’ve never opened one on my channel before and my curiosity usually wins when
it comes to tearing down technology.
It was pretty difficult popping off the end caps – the adhesive is pretty strong.
There are 4 normal Philips head screws under each of those end caps holding the guts in
place.
Same thing on the other side.
And finally we can slide the chassis, full of purple batteries, out of the frame.
It’s kind of fun seeing something that most people never get to see.
The interesting part is that these lithium ion cylinder batteries are the same style
of batteries that we’ve seen on electronic bikes and electronic skateboards…even in
Tesla cars.
It’s just a ton of these cylinder batteries wired up together and here we can see those
internal rails that the innards slide along.
I think that a clear power bank would be pretty awesome, but that might just be me.
I got the button back in place and slide the batteries back inside of the metal housing,
screwed in all of the Phillips head screws, and then got the plastic face plates over
the top of the ports.
Having a power bank that can charge multiple things at once, including laptops and the
Nintendo Switch is very convenient.
Plus with that 26,800 milliamp hour battery, I can get around 6 or 7 charges to my Galaxy
S8 before needing to find a real outlet.
I’ll leave a link in the video description for this power bank if you want to check out
the current pricing or get one of your own.
What other electronics would you like to see me tear down on my channel?
Let me know down in the comments.
Thanks a ton for watching.
I’ll see you around.