UGREEN Power Bank review

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REVIEW – Some days it’s easy to keep our phones charged:  We’re at home, at the office, or in the car.  Other days, however, are more difficult:  We’re out and about, shopping or hiking, or at a conference or in an airport. If we’re constantly using our phone, or if it’s older and can’t hold a charge as well, we can easily find ourselves with a nearly drained battery.  For days like these, UGREEN’s Power Bank is a great gadget to have on hand.

What is it?

The UGREEN 10000mAh PD 18W Power Bank is a charger for your phone that also works with any device that can be charged from a USB cable, such as a tablet, a Nintendo Switch, or a GoPro camera.

What’s in the box?

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  • The Power Bank
  • A USB-A to USB-C cable
  • A manual (with 2 pages of English instructions)
  • A thank you card with UGREEN’s support email

Hardware specs

  • USB C input and output
  • USB A output
  • 10000mAh capacity
  • 18 watt output
  • Smart LED indicator
  • 3.75 x 2.5 x 1 inches

Design and features

The Power Bank is a compact black gadget with clean lines and rounded edges.  It’s specifications are printed on one end and its ports are located on the other end.

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A difficult-to-see button on the left side can be pressed to reveal what percentage of charge remains.

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The total volume of the Power Bank is about the same as my iPhone 8; the difference is that my phone is longer and skinnier.

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Installation and setup

The only setup required is to charge it up.  UGREEN’s Amazon page says that the Power Bank can be fully charged in 3 hours via its USB C port.  I connected the supplied cable to our trusty Anker USB charger and found that it took 4 hours.

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I suspect the reason for the extra hour is that my Anker charger is older; it doesn’t support the latest charging standards.  If I upgraded to a newer charger, like this one, I think that the charging time would probably drop down to 3 hours.

Performance

The Power Bank uses its USB C port to be charged, but it can use either its USB C or its USB A port to charge other gadgets.  It can even use both to charge two gadgets at once, though it does so more slowly, as using fast charging techniques creates a lot of heat.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the right cables to test charging with the USB C port, so all of my testing was conducted with the USB A port.

First, I tested the charger on my iPhone 8.  I ran it down to the red-zone, which is 20%.  Using a USB A-to-Lightning cable, the UGREEN charged it back to:

  • 74% in 47 min
  • 95% in 105 min

When it had charged my phone to 95%, the power bank still had 85% of its battery left, more than enough to charge my phone twice more.  These are really good numbers!

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Second, I tested it on my iPad (5thgen).  I ran it down to its red-zone, which is 10%.  The UGREEN charged it back to:

  • 55% in 81 min
  • 99% in 207 min

When it had charged my table to 99%, it only had 3% left.  The tablet, of course, has a much bigger battery than the phone, thus it takes longer to recharge and consumes more power.

Third, I tested it on my GoPro.  I ran it until I drained the battery.  Using the GoPro’s charging cable, the UGREEN charged it back to:

  • 75% in 120 min
  • 85% in 240 min

At this point, it seemed to exponentially slow down.  Leaving it charging for another hour only increased it 1%.  I guess this is as far as the Power Bank can charge it; the good news is that it’s ready to go!

Extra Features

UGREEN’s Power Bank supports a number of standards that allows gadgets to be charged quickly via its USB C port:

  • Power Delivery (PD) 3.0/2.0 – a universal standard for USB
  • Quick Charge (QC) 3.0/2.0 – A Qualcomm technology
  • Fast Charger Protocol (FCP) – A Huawei technology
  • Adaptive Fast Charging (AFC) – A Samsung technology

What I like

  • Clean design
  • Large battery
  • Fast charging time

What I’d change

  • Nothing

Final thoughts

This is a great gadget. It’s small and light, perfect for dropping into a purse or a backpack.  Being able to charge your phone multiple times a day gives you the freedom to travel wherever you want without worrying about a drained battery. If you find your phone to frequently be in the red-zone, I suggest giving the UGREEN 10000mAh PD 18W Power Bank a try!

UPDATE (25 August 2020) – I would tend to think that power banks aren’t a very important item during the midst of a global pandemic.  Last year I gave the UGREEN to my son.  He used for a some trips, but once COVID hit it pretty much sat on his shelf, especially since he’s working from his home.  Until last night!  A local storm knocked out power, and suddenly this power bank was handy, helping him to keep his phone charged.  You never know when you might need one.

Price: $21.99
Where to buyUGREEN and Amazon (Coupon Code: UGUS18W2 to save 20% – Expires 9/30/19)
Source: The sample for this review was provided by UGREEN.

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