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To help you find the best compact portable charger for your iPhone, Android smartphone or related device, we have tested out a wide variety of top models, preferring products with supremely light and compact form factors and offering true portability. We also liked items that still managed to charge our devices quickly, despite their pocket-friendly sizes, and those that included batteries large enough to give a lifeless phone at minimum one full charge.
The best product we tried was easily the Anker PowerCore+ Mini Compact Portable Charger, which delivers quick charging speeds, with a truly light (2.8 oz) and compact form factor that closely resembles a small tube of lipstick. The 3350mAh battery s decent, and is enough for about one full charge to modern smartphones. We also liked the 18 month warranty, should anything happen down the line. Keep reading to learn more about the Anker PowerCore+ Mini Compact Portable Charger and the other products on this list.
Award: Top Pick
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Anker Powercore+ Mini is extremely light and compact, weighing just 2.8 oz and resembles a tube of lipstick, that comes with a fuss-free 18 month warranty.
The Anker PowerCore+ Mini Compact Portable Charger is the lightest item on this list, weighing just 2.8 ounces, which makes it not only portable, but barely noticeable in a bag or a pocket. It is well made, with an intuitive design that starts charging at the press of a button, and is available in four unique and gorgeous color choices. We also liked that it ships with an 18 month warranty, which is on the higher end.
Related: Also check the best battery box in the market.
The low weight and extreme portability do come at a slight cost, however, as this is one of the smaller capacity batteries on this list, at 3350mAh, with enough charge to juice up a modern smartphone just once. We found, though, that it charges up iPhones extremely quickly, despite not shipping with a Lightning cable. It is at the top of the list for the best portable chargers.
Award: Honorable Mention
WHY WE LIKE IT: Features an extremely large 10000mAh battery, which is tied for the largest battery on this list and is enough to charge a modern smartphone nearly 3 times, and ships with the same 18 month warranty as our top pick.
The Anker PowerCore 10000 Compact Portable Charger is extremely small for a battery of this size, resembling a credit card with the thickness of an iPhone. The 10000mAh battery is tied for the highest metric on this list and can charge a modern smartphone, such as an Android, up to three times before needing to seek out a power socket. Additionally, the durable components on offer have been impact tested and the unit comes with the same 18 month warranty as our top pick.
While this product is on the lighter side, especially if you take into account just how large the portable battery itself is, it still weighs nearly seven ounces, which is much more than our top pick. Also, it does not support Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology for fast charging. No worries though, it’s still one of the best portable chargers with a customer rating of 4.5 on Amazon, and it will still work great with the best Android phone.
Award: Best Warranty
WHY WE LIKE IT: 10000mAh battery tied for largest option on this list, with enough juice to charge a modern smartphone around 3 times, with dual charging ports and a best-in-class 3 year warranty.
This INIU Power Bank Ultra-Slim Compact Portable Charger ships with a three year warranty, which is the longest warranty to be found on this list. The product also features an extremely large 10,000mAh battery, which is in line with our number two pick, that can juice up a modern iPhone or Android smartphone around three times before needing to find a power outlet. This compact portable charger also boasts dual USB ports, so you can charge two items simultaneously, and a handy external flashlight.
As for weight, it clocks in at seven ounces, which is decent for a 10000mAh battery, but still heavier than our top pick. Additionally, it is somewhat bulky, with a form factor that resembles an actual smartphone, which can be difficult to squeeze in some smaller pockets. You can compare it to the best wireless charger to see which is right for you.
Award: Fastest Charge
WHY WE LIKE IT: Features a good battery size to weight ratio, coming with a decently-sized5000mAh battery while still remaining below 5 ounces, with the same 18 month warranty as our top pick and the ability to charge up phones quickly thanks to its 2 amp output.
The Anker PowerCore 5000 Compact Portable Charger comes with a decent 5000mAh battery, which is enough to juice up a modern smartphone around one and a half times, while still weighing just below five ounces. We also enjoyed how speedily it managed to charge devices, thanks to the company’s exclusive PowerIQ technology (2 amp output), and that it shipped with the same 18 month warranty as our top pick.
Though the weight is on point, it is somewhat larger and bulkier than our top pick, which also features the same lipstick tube design. Also, though it does support PowerIQ technology, it does not support Qualcomm Quick Charge. Use it to charge the best Bluetooth headsets and your phones.
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Award: Best Budget
WHY WE LIKE IT: Extremely budget-friendly charger that offers up plenty of high end features, including support for two amp charging, a decent 5000mAh battery and a 2 year warranty, while remaining relatively light at 4.4 oz.
This Poweradd Slim 2 Compact Portable Charger is an extremely good choice for budget-conscious consumers, thanks to shipping with several features that are equatable to higher priced competitors. The weight to battery size ratio is great, clocking in at just 4.4 ounces while still offering a relatively large 5000mAh battery, which is enough to charge a modern smartphone 1.5 times. We also liked the two year warranty, which is on the higher end, and the fact that it comes in five color options.
Though the battery size is decent, this product does offer one of the slower charges on this list, though it is by no means a deal breaker. Additionally, this is not the most durable-seeming item on this list, so we’d be careful to not drop it. You could also choose to use the best iPhone battery cases instead.
Award: Highest Quality
WHY WE LIKE IT: Black matte design that fits the iPhone aesthetically, with an extremely large 10,000mAh battery while still weighing just 6 ounces, which is just a fantastic battery/weight ratio.
The Poweradd EnergyCell 10000 Compact Portable Charger is the lightest 10,000mAh charger on the market, offering enough juice to charge a standard iPhone or Android smartphone around three times and clocking in at just six ounces. The attractive black matte finish makes this the best portable charger for iPhones, aesthetically, and the charge speed is on the higher end, fully charging a smartphone in around ninety minutes.
Though the form factor is somewhat compact, it may be slightly too thick for some pockets, despite being the perfect size for bags and purses. Additionally, we found the standby time to be slightly lower than some models on this list, lasting around a month, while similar products offer several months of standby. The best rechargeable aas should have the best charger.
Award: Best LED Display
WHY WE LIKE IT: Features an incredibly useful LED display, which shows a variety of metrics, while offering a large 10,000mAh battery and a light (7 oz) form factor, which is a fantastic ratio.
The Ainope Compact Portable Charger is the only item on this list that ships with a useful LED screen, which can display a variety of metrics, including how much charge has been applied to your smartphone. The product is relatively light, seven ounces, while offering a large 10,000mAh battery, which is tied for the highest metric on this list and can charge a standard smartphone nearly three times. We also liked the two year warranty, which is on the higher end, and the inclusion of dual USB ports for charging two devices simultaneously.
This item does not ship with a Lightning cable and, during our testing, we found that it really needed one to make the most of the iPhone’s charging capabilities. Also, like our number six pick, this item is extremely light but somewhat thick, which may not suit all pockets.
Note: Other best portable chargers and power banks not reviewed here that provide wireless charging include the Aukey 8000mAh Sprint Wireless Charging Portable Power Bank, one of the best power banks that offer wireless charging using the Qi standard and has two ports, a USB-A port with a power delivery (PD) 4.0 and USB-C port with PD 2.0. There’s also the iMuto Portable Charger X6 that boasts a 30,000 mAh capacity and supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 with two USB output ports to charge your phone fast.
To help narrow down to the above list, we tested the above models, primarily, for charging speed, with a minimum threshold of 2.5 hours to deliver a full charge to a modern smartphone, such as the iPhone 11. To that end, we preferred models with some kind of speed-enhancing technology on deck, such as Anker’s PowerIQ technology, to help quicken the charging process.
We also wanted to make sure there was a nice mix of different sized batteries on the above list. Smaller batteries, in the 3350mAh to 5000mAh range, may only be able to charge a modern smartphone one to one and a half times before needing to seek out a power outlet but they are often much lighter and more compact than 10000mAh batteries, which can offer three charges in one go-around. Technology has been rapidly advancing and today’s batteries, even the larger ones on the above list, are still portable and small enough to go in most pockets.
We preferred products that offered some manner of additional functionality, including dual USB ports, which allows for simultaneous charging of two gadgets at once, and bright LED screens, for reading a variety of useful metrics. We also liked models that included flashlights and the option to be purchased in a variety of aesthetically pleasing colors. Finally, we liked models with lengthy warranties, with a minimum threshold of 18 months and a maximum of three years.
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