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David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Kobo e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Headphones, Bluetooth speakers, mobile accessories, Apple, Sony, Bose, e-readers, Amazon, glasses, ski gear, iPhone cases, gaming accessories, sports tech, portable audio, interviews, audiophile gear, PC speakers Credentials
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
iPhones have pretty good battery life, but if you use yours a lot, travel frequently or want to be prepared in case of an emergency, a power bank can come in handy. Most power banks are sleek, slim and lightweight enough to slip in your pocket alongside your phone, but there are also heavy duty options if you need to stayed powered up over many days. Plus, in this age of Power Delivery, so long as a power bank has a high enough wattage, it can charge your tablet or trusty laptop just as easily as your phone. The power banks on this list are fairly easy to take along with you and are a great backup plan, whether you're in a emergency or not.
Read more: 31 Great Tech Gifts Under $100
While iPhone owners are still in the switchover from Lightning to USB-C, all iPhones from the iPhone 8 onward support the USB-IF's Power Delivery fast-charging standard. Every power bank here -- except the two Anker Nanos with built-in USB-C connectors/cables, which only work for the iPhone 15/16 series -- will work with any current iPhone as long as you use the proper cable. This also means that every wired power bank here will work with Android phones, too, so you won't have to worry about replacing it if you switch platforms down the line.
You also have wireless charging options, with companies like Anker now offering Qi2 power banks. Although more expensive, Qi2-certified wireless chargers offer 15-watt fast-charging capabilities and full MagSafe compatibility. That means you'll get twice the speed of standard 7.5-watt wireless chargers for MagSafe-enabled iPhones and Android smartphones that support 15-watt wireless charging.
What's the best power bank for the iPhone overall?
If we had to pick the single best iPhone power bank right now, it would probably be the Anker MagGo 622 or the new Qi2-certified Anker MagGo Power Bank 6.6K, which has an adjustable and foldable stand. Anker also released the higher capacity Qi2-certified MagGo Power Bank 10K with an integrated kickstand.
Again, nearly all of the models below will work with any recent iPhone so long as you have your proper Lightning-to-USB-C (iPhone 14 and older) or USB-C-to-USB-C (iPhone 15/16) cable. Starting with the iPhone 12, MagSafe took wireless portable charging from a touchy disaster to an absolute godsend, and I highly recommend them except for two subsets of iPhone users. Wireless charging doesn't play nice with thick heavy-duty cases, and the heat generated by MagSafe charging can be uncomfortable for those of us living in hotter climates. (It makes for a nice pocket-warmer in the winter, though.)
At first MagSafe power banks were limited to 7.5W, but 15W MagSafe banks have become widely available in the last two years. The iPhone 16 series now supports 25W MagSafe charging, but no power banks on the market today do, and that doesn't appear to be changing in the foreseeable future.
While we wait for newer models, here are our current picks. All the products reviewed below have been tested by me or other expert CNET editors. This list is geared toward iPhones, but any portable battery pack on the list with USB-C or USB-A out ports will work perfectly well for charging an Android smartphone (or any other portable gadget), so long as you provide a compatible smartphone cable. Wireless charging should also work for Android phones that are so configured.
Read more: Best iPhone Chargers
Best power banks for iPhone for 2024
What's cool about Anker's 622 magnetic battery is that it's a wireless battery that has an integrated magnetic flap that converts into a stand. You won't get fast wireless charging from this 5,000-mAh battery (it charges at up to 7.5 watts), but it's slim and easy to carry around.
It charges via USB-C, and if you use a USB-C-to-Lightning to charge your iPhone, it will charge at a faster rate of 12 watts. That's not as fast as what a 20-watt USB-C power adapter can deliver, but it's faster than 7.5 watts.
Note that Anker has updated this model to move the charging port to the side (from the bottom), so you can charge it while using it as a stand. That's a worthy upgrade worth the premium price versus the old version (which confusingly retains the same 622 model number).
The Anker MagGo Power Bank 6.6K has an 6,600-mAh battery that can fully charge most iPhones one time. It's Qi2-certified, which means it offers 15-watt fast charging capabilities and is fully MagSafe compatible, offering twice the speed of standard 7.5-watt wireless chargers for MagSafe-enabled iPhone 13, 14 and 15 models and Android smartphones that support 15-watt wireless charging.
Available in five color options, this model has a foldable design with customizable viewing angles. While it comes with a USB-C cable, you'll need a USB-C charger with more than 15-watt output to hit those 15-watt charging speeds. You can take the power bank on the go or leave it plugged in to use as a wireless charging stand when at home. It's fairly pricey at launch but will hopefully get some discounts as more competitors hit the market.
The Baseus Magnetic Mini Wireless Portable Charger is a compact wireless power bank available in sizes from 5,000mAh up to 20,000mAh that sticks to the back of MagSafe-enabled iPhones (or MagSafe-enabled iPhone cases) and charges your iPhone at 7.5 watts. If you're looking for faster charging, you can plug a USB-C-to-Lightning or USB-C to USB-C cable into the battery and get 20-watt charging speeds. It also offers pass-through charging, meaning you can charge the battery while charging your phone.
Being available in multiple capacities allows you to choose the smaller 5,000mAh or 6,000mAh sizes if you need to keep things slim or bring enough juice to keep your phone alive during your long weekend getaway. The 6,000mAh and 20,000mAh are only available in purple at this point -- which is the best color anyway -- but the 5,000mAh and 10,000mAh have more variety if you're too scared to rock such a fun hue.
If you're looking for a new power bank for your new USB-C equipped iPhone 15, Anker's Nano Power Bank with an integrated foldable USB-C connector is an appealing choice -- and it also charges Android devices (or anything with a USB-C charging port). It's available in multiple color options.
This 5,000mAh power bank weighs in at 3.5 ounces or 100 grams. It features 22.5 watts of fast charging power with the option to charge two devices at the same time if you plug a cable into the power bank's USB-C in/out charging port. (Charging two devices simultaneously divides the charging power in half, delivering 11.25 watts to each device.)
If you're looking for a beefier portable battery option, Anker's 10,000-mAh Nano Power Bank is one of the better values out there, with an integrated USB-C cable. It's not huge, but it's certainly on the larger side and can be used to charge multiple devices (along with the USB-C cable, there are also USB-C and USB-A out ports). The battery charges your devices at up to 30 watts. I also appreciated the LCD that shows precisely how much battery life is available.
Infinity Lab is the new accessories subsidiary of Harman Kardon -- a company that is, in turn, owned by Samsung. (Got that?) I like its InstantGo 5000 and InstantGo 10000 power banks, which come with an integrated Lightning cable for easy charging for iPhones (the InstantGo 5000 is currently sold out). The larger 10000 mAh costs more and is heavier. It can charge most iPhones twice. Both models are also well designed with a slightly grippy finish on the top and bottom of the battery.
The Anker MagGo Power Bank 10K has a 10,000-mAh battery that can fully charge most iPhones around 1.75 times. It's Qi2-certified, which means it offers 15-watt fast charging capabilities and is fully MagSafe compatible, offering twice the speed of standard 7.5-watt wireless chargers for MagSafe-enabled iPhone 13, 14 and 15 models and Android smartphones that support 15-watt wireless charging.
Available in five color options and not much bigger than the MagGo Power Bank 6.6K, this model has a retractable kickstand and an LCD that displays the remaining battery life. It comes with a USB-C cable, but you'll need a USB-C charger with more than 15-watt output to hit those 15-watt charging speeds. You can take the power bank on the go or leave it plugged in to use as a wireless charging stand when at home. Like the 6.6K version, it's fairly pricey at launch but will hopefully get some discounts as more competitors hit the market. For those looking for a higher-capacity battery, the MagGo Power Bank 10K is probably a better choice than the MagGo Power Bank 6.6K. But I do like the foldable stand a little better on the Power Bank 6.6K.
If you're looking for a bigger portable battery that charges your phone wirelessly, the Baseus Magnetic Wireless Power Bank is an excellent option. It houses a 10,000-mAh battery that can charge most iPhones around two times -- but it's still somewhat compact.
The magnet is strong, and I also liked that it has an integrated flip-out kickstand, so it converts into a stand. There's also an LED battery life indicator on the back of the battery that tells you exactly how much juice the battery has left (you see the actual percentage). The Baseus Magnetic Wireless Power Bank is available in three color options with the black version currently costing a few bucks less.
Thanks to gallium nitride technology, chargers have been getting more powerful while shrinking at the same time. The latest example of that trend is Anker's new line of GaNPrime chargers with next-generation GaN 3 technology, which the company says is even more energy-efficient. The Anker Power Bank 733 combines a 65-watt charger with a 10,000-mAh portable battery and is part of the new GaNPrime line. It's pretty compact for what it is and offers two fast-charging USB-C ports and one fast-charging USB-A port. You can charge up to three devices at once, but note that to get a full 65-watt charge for a laptop, you can only plug in the laptop.
You don't want your phone to go dead on the mountain so it's always good to pack a battery pack.
MyCharge calls its new line of magnetic power banks Superhero MagLock, implying that they're real saviors. I was impressed by their design. Not only do the batteries, which come in various capacities, have strong magnets and stick really well to the back of any MagSafe-enabled iPhone, but they have raised coils, which are supposed to help reduce heat levels while charging. It does seem to work.
All the MagLock batteries charge Qi-enabled iPhones at 5 watts, although you can get faster charging if you go wired and use a USB-C-to-Lightning cable. I also liked how there's a chime when the charging starts and your phone tells you how much juice is left in the battery pack (it's tied into iOS 15). You can wirelessly charge Android devices as well but the MagLock won't stick unless you have a metal ring on the back of your phone's case (stick-on rings are available).
The SuperHero MagLock is available in a few colors and has a glossy finish. It's currently the best-designed magnetic power bank -- better even than Apple's.
Mophie's Powerstation Wireless Stand with MagSafe isn't cheap but is a versatile 10,000-mAh battery with both a stand and MagSafe charger built-in and also has a threaded tripod mount at the bottom.
Since this is an official MagSafe charger, the battery does charge at 15 watts, making this among the fastest wireless external battery chargers out there and will also charge the AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro models with MagSafe. If you use a USB-C-to-Lightning cable (not included) with it, you can charge at 20-watt speeds. You can also charge two devices at the same time.
If you're looking for a compact external battery pack for your iPhone (or any smartphone), Mophie's pocketable Power Station Mini (2022) features a 5,000-mAh internal battery and 20-watt USB-C PD fast charging. (You'll need a USB-C cord to take advantage of that fast charging if you're an iPhone owner.) That battery will allow you to fully charge your iPhone.
For a little more, you can pick up the 10,000-mAh version with dual USB-C ports -- both come in black or blue colors. Also, note that Zagg, Mophie's parent company, offers a 20% discount on your first purchase if you shop there.
The Anker 523 PowerCore Slim 10K PD is impressively slim for a 10,000-mAh portable phone charger and has a fast 20-watt USB-C out charging port (it's also a USB-C input to charge its battery), plus a 12-watt USB-A out port. While the Anker 313 PowerCore Slim 10K is cheaper, this offers fast USB-C outcharging, which makes spending the extra dough a big plus if you have a USB-C-to-Lightning cable.
Nimble's updated Champ portable charger uses recycled plastic in its construction. You have to pay a bit more for going green, but it's a nice, compact 10,000-mAh charger that features 20-watt PD fast-charging with dual USB-C ports (one on either side of the power bank) that allow you to charge two devices at the same time. If you are charging two devices, your charging speeds will be limited to 10 watts per device.
Nimble also sells the Champ Lite, a smaller power bank, as well as some higher-capacity fast-charging battery packs.
Lightning vs. USB-C
Every new iPhone from the iPhone 5 in 2012 to the iPhone 14 series in 2022 used Apple's proprietary Lightning connector for charging. With the iPhone 15 series, Apple has made the jump to USB-C. The differences between these two connectors matter only if you're seeking out a power bank with an integrated cord. Otherwise, you'll want a model with USB-C or USB-A output -- that can be used to power your iPhone (or nearly any small electronic device) with the cable that came in the box.
Wireless charging: MagSafe vs. Qi
Most iPhones since the iPhone 8 and iPhone X models introduced in 2017 offer inductive wireless charging. Apple's standard for these phones is called MagSafe, and power banks that are fully MagSafe compatible -- like Apple's own MagSafe Battery Pack -- will charge iPhones at a fast 15-watt level when the power bank magnetically adheres to the rear of the iPhone. Many other more affordable models will still attach to iPhones magnetically, but charge them at half speed (7.5 watts). In all cases, you'll need to make sure the iPhone has a MagSafe-compatible case. (Apple has indicated that the iPhone 15 series is compatible with the emerging Qi2 standard, but the company has yet to specify if that includes any benefits versus the original Qi standard, such as higher capacity charging.)
Power capacity vs. weight
Most baseline power banks now start at a 5,000-mAh capacity, which should give you at least one full charge for an iPhone. Chargers with 10,000 mAh or more are available, but they weigh more. That's of particular note if you plan on traveling with the charger in a purse, backpack or pocket.
A few more things to keep in mind when shopping for an external battery pack or power bank:
- A higher power output rating (mAh, short for milliamp hours) means more charges -- but also a heavier portable charger weight.
- For the latest iPhones (everything after the iPhone 7) you should buy a battery with at least a 5,000-mAh capacity, which should give you at least one full charge for a device. All of the models featured above hit that mark.
- These best portable chargers for iPhone all use lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, and should thus always be stored in carry-on luggage when flying. Airlines and regulatory agencies are increasingly banning li-ion batteries in checked baggage.
- If you want maximum power output, opt for chargers with USB-C PD (power delivery) models, which should charge nearly every device smaller than a laptop, such as a tablet or Nintendo Switch.
- Multiple integrated charge cables or USB-out ports will allow you to charge more than one device at a time, such as an iPad or another iPhone. Just don't expect to charge a laptop unless you get a power bank with 65 watts of output power or more, which is comparatively rare.
At the current time, we do anecdotal testing on these models. Each is fully charged and used on a recent iPhone model for at least a week in real-world conditions. We verify that charging speeds and recharge times are within expected parameters and -- for models with integrated stands or cables -- confirm that the connections and build quality are sturdy and free of any notable annoyances or caveats.
Anker PowerCore Fusion Portable Charger: This Anker model is effectively an oversized wall charger with a built-in 5,000-mAh battery. It's got two standard USB charging ports for simultaneously juicing up your phone and a secondary gadget (or two phones). A little LED indicator on the side lets you check the charge level at the press of a button.
Anker PowerCore III 10K Portable Charger: The Anker PowerCore III 10K portable charger has fast USB-C out charging (18 watts) as well as a USB-A port and up to 10-watt wireless charging. It's not magnetic, so your phone won't stick to it but it will wirelessly charge any Qi-enabled devices.
Mophie Snap Plus Juice Pack Mini: Mophie's magnetic power bank is similar to Anker's but is slightly slimmer (it's suitable for a 5,000-mAh battery) and doesn't have an integrated flap that converts into a stand. It's designed to adhere to the back of MagSafe-enabled iPhone or MagSafe cases, it comes with a "snap adapter" ring to stick onto the back of Android devices so they'll be magnet-friendly.
What's the difference between MagSafe and Qi?
MagSafe for iPhone -- not to be confused with the identically named magnetic power connector for MacBooks -- is an Apple standard that allows for inductive charging with magnetically attached batteries. Qi wireless chargers don't necessarily have a magnetic component but also allow for inductive charging. Official MagSafe for iPhone accessories and Made for iPhone wireless chargers (based on the Qi standard) should charge the iPhone at up to 15 watts. Unofficial wireless and magnetic chargers may still work but will be limited to 7.5 watts and lack some of the additional power management and on-screen indicators that official MagSafe chargers do.
Can these iPhone power banks charge other devices too?
Yes, these power banks should charge any device that's USB-powered, such as phones, headphones, ebook readers and Bluetooth speakers. Some may also charge larger devices such as tablets, iPads and the Nintendo Switch, albeit at slower speeds. You'll stand a better chance of charging the larger devices if you get a charger with USB-C PD (Power Delivery) support. Don't expect to charge laptops or Chromebooks without getting larger, higher-capacity power banks that are specifically designed for that purpose (with 65 watts of power output or more).
What's the difference between USB-C, USB-A and Lightning?
Power banks for iPhones invariably have USB inputs and outputs for charging themselves and other devices, respectively. (Some power banks have single ports that double for both.) The USB-A port is the "classic" rectangular USB port that's been on computers since as early as the late 1990s. The newer, smaller USB-C port is reversible (there is no "top" or "bottom" to the plugs) and has the capacity to charge at higher speeds.
Some power banks have integrated cables that terminate with Lightning (iPhone-specific) or USB-C cables.
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