(Last Updated On: July 2, 2018)

Anker. It’s a brand that has grown exponentially over the past few years, is now a brand that is known very well if you’re someone that purchases their charging electronics from the internet. Anker specializes in all sorts of charging electronics such as, wall chargers, car chargers and perhaps the part that they do absolutely the best would have to be portable chargers. Anker’s portable chargers are some of the best because of their build quality and the charging tech that they offer.

In this review, we’re going to be covering Anker’s PowerCore+ 26,800mAh power bank. It’s one of their highest capacity portable chargers and it’s also one of their most useful and high-quality ones, too. So let’s take a look if you should be purchasing one of the most powerful portable chargers that the best brand charging tech brand has to offer.

Power

Power Capacity:

The power capacity of this portable charger is 26,800mAh, as you could have probably known by the name. Now, that’s a lot of power capacity even though it’s simply the capacity that the charger starts out with and not the capacity that you’re actually able to use. So let’s see how much of the power you’re actually able to use.

3.7 x 26800 = 99,160 / 5 = 19,832

For the most part, you’re really able to use 20,000mAh of the capacity on this charger and even though that’s quite a bit lower than what it starts out with, you’re able to still able to do a lot with that much output capacity. For example, if you’re charging a smartphone, and since most smartphones now have a 3,000mAh battery or at least close to it, you can very well charge a Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, or iPhone X to their full power about 6 times. So if you’re only using this power bank to charge a single smartphone then it can very well last you for a whole week without needing to be recharged

Of course, charging multiple smartphones at the same times is going to lessen the power capacity fast as this charger makes use of three USB charging ports.

Also, the capacity is perfect for charging tablets, tool. A tablet such as the iPad Air 2 has a battery capacity of 7,340mAh, can be charged to its full power 2 times with this PowerCore+ 26800. Even then the power bank will have enough power capacity to charge a smartphone to its full power one more time.

With all that said, just remember that these full charge estimates are based on the device that you’re charging not being used, as using a device and charging it at the same time will result in more power capacity being used to charge it.

Output Charging:

There are three output ports on this power bank and each of them is quite powerful.

Two of the ports are standard ones that each have a 5V/3.0A charging speed, and that’s faster than a 5V/2.4A charging speed that most standard ports have on high capacity power banks. As a result, you’re able to charge certain devices at a faster charging speed with the standard ports on this power bank.

The Quick Charge port is the main reason to get this portable charger, as there are two models of the PowerCore 26800. With one using all three standard ports and this one, the PowerCore+ model, that has a Quick Charge port. So you’re able to fast charge Quick Charge compatible smartphones with this port.

If you don’t own a Quick Charge compatible smartphone then we recommend just going for the standard PowerCore 26800 as it has a lower price.

Input Charging:

Quick Charge is not only used with the USB output port, it’s also used with the Micro-USB input port to recharge this power bank. We highly recommend using a Quick Charge wall charger to recharge this power, as you’re able to recharge it at its max charging speed. Well, you won’t have to worry about that really, because the power bank actually comes with a 1-port Quick Charge wall charger and therefore you can recharge it to its full power within just 11 hours. That’s still quite a bit of time, but still, fast to refill a 26,800mAh power capacity.

You can use a lower powered wall charger such as a 2 Amp wall charger, but the lower the power on the wall charger the slower the recharging speed, and so it can take a lot longer to recharge the power bank.

Design

Size and Weight:

With a great high power capacity comes a large size and a heavyweight. This is basically true for all high capacity power banks as there are more batteries being used. This PowerCore 26800 charger has a length of 7 inches, a width of 3.1 inches, and a thickness of 0.9 inches. The weight of the power bank is 1.2 pounds. So it’s not the type of power that you’re going to fit into your pocket or at least be comfortable with it in your pocket. Holding the power bank can be done but at the same time, you do not want to hold it for a long duration because it’s large and 1.2-pound weight can weight you down.

When it does come time to use this power bank, you’re likely just going to set it down. You’re most definitely going to set the charger down if you’re charging multiple devices with it.

Functional Components:

It’s a very minimal power bank and you won’t find any flashlight on any of Anker’s power banks and we kind of like that approach as it’s simplistic and shows that it has a sole purpose, which is charging.

On a single side is where you’ll find all the ports, and that includes the three USB output ports and the Micro-USB input port. The one other functional part on this power bank is the power button at the top. The power button has 10 White LED power capacity indicators at the top and so they each count as 10% of the power capacity that’s remaining, and this is a lot more useful than just having four LED lights that many power banks tend to have, including Anker portable chargers.

Also, the power button can be used to check the remaining capacity by turning on the lights once you press the button. To start charging you don’t have to worry about pressing the power button as charging automatically starts once you plug a device in any of the USB ports.

Build

Structure and Material:

The build quality of this PowerCore+ 26800 portable charger is very good because it comes from Anker’s PowerCore+ line which generally has a better build. The better build means that this entire power bank is made of Aluminum, while regular Anker power banks (Not PowerCore+ ones) are simply made of plastic.

Tech:

If you’re charging three devices at once with this power bank then you can expect it to get a little warm, and that’s likely going to be the case if you’re charging a Quick Charge compatible smartphone as there’s more charging power being released.

Reliability

With its high power capacity, use of there charging ports, featuring Quick Charge with a output and its input port, and its premium build quality that uses Aluminum, this power banks is a reliable beast. As there’s simply so much power to use. That said, because of its use of Quick Charge, this power bank is most useful if you own a Quick Charge compatible smartphone and can actually take advantage of the charging tech.

Summary:

Power:

There’s plenty of power capacity that’s available to use with this charger, and you can charge small and large devices multiple times. The use of Quick Charge with its output port is quite helpful if you have a compatible device, what’s even more helpful is that you can recharge the power bank at Quick Charge speeds with a Quick Charge wall charger.

Design:

The size of this power bank is quite large and heavy, too. Not something that you would hold for very long, but it’s at least easy to use as you don’t have to press the power button to begin charging.

Build:

The build quality of this power bank is great as it’s all made of Aluminum and this is to be expected as it’s from Anker’s PowerCore+ lineup.

Reliability:

This charger is powerful and even with all of its power, it’s going to be most reliable if you have a Quick Charge compatible smartphone that you can use the Quick Charge port with.

Specs of the Anker PowerCore+ 26,800mAh Power Bank with Quick Charge 3.0:

• Power Capacity: 26,800mAh | Output Capacity: 20,000mAh
• Output:

Each Standard Port: 5V/3.0A

Quick Charge Port: 5-7V/2.1A | 7-9V/1.6A | 9-12V/1.25A

• Input: 5-7V/2.1A | 7-9V/1.6A | 9-12V/1.25A
• LED Power Indicator: Ten LED Power Capacity Indicators
• Size: 7 x 3.1 x 0.9 inches
• Weight: 1.2 Pound

Conclusion:

Anker does really make some of the best portable chargers on the market, and this Anker PowerCore+ 26800 portable charger is proof of that with its use of a high power capacity and three ports that actually have very powerful charging power. Nothing held back with this power bank.

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