New on Amazon: Unwell
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

Anker PowerCore+ Mini, 3350mAh Lipstick-Sized Portable Charger (Premium Aluminum Power Bank), One of The Most Compact External Batteries, Compatible with iPhone Xs/XR, Android Smartphones and More

4.3 out of 5 stars 30,297 ratings

Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Connector Type Lightning, Micro USB
Brand Anker
Battery Capacity 3350 Milliampere Hour (mAh)
Color Black
Special Feature Portable Charger,Travel

About this item

  • The Anker Advantage: Join the 50 million+ powered by our leading technology.
  • High-Speed Charging: PowerIQ detects your device to deliver its fastest possible charge speed up to 1 amp. (Press the power button before charging your device.)
  • Ultra-Compact: Our original lipstick-shaped aluminum design (3.7 × 0.9 × 0.9in, 3oz). Recharges in 3-4 hours with a 1 amp adapter (not included) and the included Micro USB cable. 2 amp Input.
  • Backup Battery Life: Adds over one charge to an iPhone 6s or at least 80% to the Galaxy S6 and other high-power smartphones.
  • What You Get: Anker PowerCore+ mini portable charger, Micro USB cable, travel pouch, welcome guide, our fan-favorite 18-month warranty, and friendly customer service. Lightning cable for iPhone / iPad sold separately.
Unwell Hydration from Alex Cooper
Hydrate & focus with every sip Shop now

Top Brand: Anker

Highly Rated
100K+ customers rate items from this brand highly
Trending
100K+ orders for this brand in past 3 months
Low Returns
Customers usually keep items from this brand

What's in the box

  • Battery
  • Compare with similar items

    This Item
    Anker PowerCore+ Mini, 3350mAh Lipstick-Sized Portable Charger (Premium Aluminum Power Bank), One of The Most Compact External Batteries, Compatible with iPhone Xs/XR, Android Smartphones and More
    Anker PowerCore+ Mini, 3350mAh Lipstick-Sized Portable Charger (Premium Aluminum Power Bank), One of The Most Compact External Batteries, Compatible with iPhone Xs/XR, Android Smartphones and More
    Recommendations
    Anker Power Bank(PowerCore 10K),Compact Travel-Ready 10,000mAh Battery Pack with PowerIQ Charging Technology,5V/3A High-Speed Charging for iPhone,iPad,and More (USB-C Input and Output(Black),1pack)
     
    EnergyQC Fast Charging Portable Charger 5000mAh,External Battery Power Bank with 5V/2.4A Output and USB-C Input(Recharge Only), Battery Pack Compatible with iPhone,Samsung Galaxy and More-Black
     
    SIXTHGU Portable Charger, Power Bank, S03 2-Pack 5,000mAh Battery Pack with Fast Charging USB-C (in&Out) Compatible with iPhone 15/15 Plus/15 Pro/15 Pro Max, iPhone 14/13 Series and Android Phone
     
    Anker Nano Power Bank with Built-in USB-C Connector, 5,000mAh Portable Charger 22.5W, for iPhone 16/15 Series, Samsung, iPad Pro/Air, and More
     
    Portable Charger 33800mAh USB C Power Bank with Built-in Cables & AC Wall Plug,25W Fast Charging+QC 4.0 Phone Charger,4 Output LCD Display Battery Pack Compatible with iPhone16/15,Samsung,Android etc
    Details
    Added to Cart
    spCSRF_Treatment
    Details
    Added to Cart
    spCSRF_Treatment
    Details
    Added to Cart
    spCSRF_Treatment
    Details
    Added to Cart
    spCSRF_Treatment
    Details
    Added to Cart
    spCSRF_Treatment
    PriceCurrently unavailable.$25.99$12.99$16.99$29.99-11% $32.67
    Typical:$36.85
    Delivery
    Get it as soon as Saturday, May 17
    Get it as soon as Saturday, May 17
    Get it as soon as Saturday, May 17
    Get it as soon as Saturday, May 17
    Get it as soon as Saturday, May 17
    Customer Ratings
    Sold By
    capacity
    connector type
    number of ports
    compatible devices
    voltage

    Product information

    Product Dimensions 3.74 x 0.91 x 0.91 inches
    Item Weight 3 ounces
    ASIN B005X1Y7I2
    Item model number A1104
    Batteries 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included)
    Customer Reviews
    4.3 out of 5 stars 30,297 ratings

    4.3 out of 5 stars
    Best Sellers Rank #73,288 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)
    #1,527 in Cell Phone Portable Power Banks
    Is Discontinued By Manufacturer No
    OS Any
    Special features Portable Charger,Travel
    Other display features Wireless
    Color Black
    Whats in the box Battery
    Manufacturer Anker
    Date First Available February 26, 2013

    Feedback

    Anker PowerCore+ Mini, 3350mAh Lipstick-Sized Portable Charger (Premium Aluminum Power Bank), One of The Most Compact External Batteries, Compatible with iPhone Xs/XR, Android Smartphones and More


    Found a lower price? Let us know. Although we can't match every price reported, we'll use your feedback to ensure that our prices remain competitive.

    Where did you see a lower price?

    Price Availability
    /
    /
    /
    /
    Please sign in to provide feedback.

    From the manufacturer

    BANNER
    ZHUTU

    LOGO
    PowerCore

    Probably our most popular charging series—ever. And the evolution of one of Amazon’s best-selling portable chargers of all time. With faster charging, more advanced technology and even better portability.

    This is the world’s benchmark portable charging series.

    PowerCore+ mini

    Emergency backup power for your phone, in an astoundingly compact size. No larger than a tube of lipstick, this portable charger packs enough juice to charge a flagship smartphone from empty to 80%.

    • Ultra-Compact
    • Premium Components
    • Exclusive Charging Technology
    • MultiProtect Safety System

    Product Highlights

    1

    Backup Battery

    Contains enough power to charge flagship phones from empty to 80%.

    2

    Ultra-Compact

    Lipstick-sized to fit perfectly in any purse, palm, pack, or pocket.

    3

    PowerIQ

    Detect and deliver an optimized charge to all your devices with Anker’s world-famous PowerIQ technology.

    Product Highlights

    4

    LED Power Button

    A friendly glowing LED shows your charging status. Press to begin charging your connected device.

    5

    MultiProtect

    A exclusive suite of advanced safety features keep you and your devices protected.

    6

    The Anker Advantage

    High-speed charging. Advanced technology. Join our family of over 50 million happy users, and change the way you charge.

    PowerCore+ mini 3350
    PowerCore Slim 5000
    PowerCore 5000
    PowerCore 10000
    PowerCore 20100
    PowerCore 26800
    Customer Reviews
    4.3 out of 5 stars 30,297
    4.1 out of 5 stars 662
    4.4 out of 5 stars 30,747
    4.6 out of 5 stars 47,380
    4.6 out of 5 stars 38,661
    Price no data no data $25.99 no data no data $64.99
    Charging Technology PowerIQ PowerIQ PowerIQ PowerIQ PowerIQ PowerIQ
    # of iPhone 6s charges 1.2 2 2 4.4 7.3 9.7
    # of iPad mini 4 charges 0.3 0.6 0.6 1.3 2.5 3
    # of Samsung S6 charges 0.8 1.5 1.3 2.2 5.2 6.9
    # of USB Charging Ports 1 1 1 1 2 3
    Output 5V=1A 5V=2A 5V=2A 5V=2.4A 5V=4.8A (2.4A max per port) 5V=6A (3A max per port)
    Max Input 1A 2A 2A 2A 2A 4A (dual input)
    Color Black, Blue, Pink, Gold Black, Blue, Red Black, White Black, White Black, White Black
    Size 3.7 x 0.9 x 0.9in 4.9 x 2.5 x 0.4in 4.2 x 1.3 x 1.3in 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.9in 6.5 x 2.3 x 0.9in 7 x 3.1 x 0.9in
    Weight 80g/2.8oz 126g/4.27oz 136g/4.8oz 180g/6.35oz 356g/12.56oz 490g/17.28oz

    From the brand

    Product guides and documents

    Product Description


    Anker PowerCore+ mini
    The often copied but never equalled lipstick-shaped portable charger is now better than ever.


    From Anker, America's Leading Charging Brand

    Faster and safer charging with our leading technology
    30 million+ happy users and counting


    Same Size, Better Performance
    The original lipstick tube design. Now upgraded with premium quality battery cells to ensure superior performance and safety.


    PowerIQ
    Intelligent high-speed charging for all your devices.


    Convenient LED Indicator
    Light lets you know how much juice is left.


    MultiProtect Safety System
    Surge protection, short circuit protection and premium LG battery cells keep you and your devices safe.


    World Famous Warranty
    At Anker, we believe in our products. That's why we back them all with an 18-month warranty and provide friendly, easy-to-reach support.


    Notes:

    Use the included Micro-USB cable, your original cable or a third-party certified one (such as MFi); AC adapter not included.

    Please use your original Apple charging cable (not included) to charge Apple products.

    Compatible with most USB-charged devices, including iPhone 8 / X / XS / XS Max / XR (Lightning cable required), Android

    smartphones and tablets (including the Nexus 7).

    Not compatible with the iPod nano, iPod Classic; Not for devices with an input below 50mA (e.g. some Bluetooth headsets and GPS devices).

    To enable USB-A output, press the button below the output before connecting your device.
    The rated capacity (minimum output) is 2010mAh.


    What's in the Box

    1 Anker PowerCore+ mini portable charger

    1 Micro USB cable

    1 travel pouch
    1 welcome guide

    Customer reviews

    4.3 out of 5 stars
    30,297 global ratings

    Review this product

    Share your thoughts with other customers

    Customers say

    Customers find the power bank works well, with a charge rate of about 1% per minute, and appreciate its compact size that fits in pockets with phones. The battery provides at least one full charge, and customers value its portability, with one mentioning it's particularly useful for day trips and sightseeing. Customers praise its build quality, with one noting the anodized aluminum casing is lightweight, and consider it good value for the cost.

    AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

    9,817 customers mention "Works well"8,598 positive1,219 negative

    Customers find that the power bank works well and is very useful for its intended purpose, with one customer noting it provides daily charge to their phone.

    "...I've only used it a few times, and so far it's working well. I fully charged it using the included 2-ft...." Read more

    "...[Update 8/2014]: My charger is still working fine...." Read more

    "...Overall great price for a superb product! Did I mention how friendly and receptive they are to their customers?..." Read more

    "...back and spent about 10 minutes looking for it, found it in fully functional condition with only a few deep scratches on the paint...." Read more

    7,861 customers mention "Charges quickly"5,792 positive2,069 negative

    Customers find that the power bank charges phones quickly, with a rate of about 1% per minute.

    "...Therefore, I think it should easily charge most any cell phone on the go...." Read more

    "...Though it's always a good habit to charge your phone before bed...but on the rare occasions that you forget to or need to have battery consuming..." Read more

    "...in just about every way except size, it can charge more, it can charge faster, it even has 3 charge indicators to tell you how much charger is left...." Read more

    "...In fact, the only published difference that I found was a small difference in charge rate; whereas the Astro Mini has a charge spec of 5V @ .8A,..." Read more

    5,625 customers mention "Compactness"5,281 positive344 negative

    Customers appreciate the power bank's compact size, noting that it fits in their pocket with their phone and doesn't require a large bag.

    "...The compact size really helps in that regard...." Read more

    "...This charger is pretty much the perfect size and weight for my situation, or any for that matter...." Read more

    "...The Mini is small, lipstick case sized, and will provide a smart phone with more than a full charge...." Read more

    "...priced (slightly higher price, but in the same range) and similarly sized (slightly larger, but in the same range) and offers more charge..." Read more

    3,889 customers mention "Battery life"2,879 positive1,010 negative

    Customers are satisfied with the power bank's capacity, as it provides at least one full charge and holds about 1.3 charges, with one customer noting it provides twice the power of their phone battery.

    "...I'm impressed that the Anker held enough charge after almost a week to fully charge the Kindle Paperwhite and partially (maybe 30%) charge the Fire..." Read more

    "...Product is put together well, feels very solid, and keeps the phone charged, at least 1 to 1.5 times..." Read more

    "...side, coil cables tend to be more durable and generally lasts longer than retractable ones. Again, no big deal...." Read more

    "...Second rule, batteries age. They age just by sitting there, doing nothing. They age even faster when you actually make them DO stuff...." Read more

    3,200 customers mention "Travelability"3,193 positive7 negative

    Customers find the power bank convenient to carry around, with one mentioning it's particularly useful for day trips and sightseeing.

    "...This is one gadget that's actually very useful and easy to carry...." Read more

    "...convenience of putting it in your pocket, but it would be nice for keeping in my car for that extra charge on the go...." Read more

    "...This is a very convenient product for phones...." Read more

    "...It's great to throw in a bookbag or my wife's purse when I'm with her, but for everyday use when I don't carry a bag with me it just isn't feasible...." Read more

    2,356 customers mention "Value for money"2,159 positive197 negative

    Customers find the power bank offers good value for money, with one customer noting it provides sufficient power for an entire day.

    "...It's not too expensive and makes a really good gift...." Read more

    "...Overall great price for a superb product! Did I mention how friendly and receptive they are to their customers?..." Read more

    "...It is similarly priced (slightly higher price, but in the same range) and similarly sized (slightly larger, but in the same range) and offers more..." Read more

    "...put a great deal of work into creating a fantastic product at a fantastic price...." Read more

    2,284 customers mention "Weight"1,977 positive307 negative

    Customers appreciate the power bank's weight, finding it light enough to carry around and portable, with one customer noting that the anodized aluminum casing makes it particularly easy to handle.

    "...This is one gadget that's actually very useful and easy to carry...." Read more

    "...It's very easy to carry, light enough (could be lighter, but that will probably sacrifice capacity)...." Read more

    "...This charger is pretty much the perfect size and weight for my situation, or any for that matter...." Read more

    "...It's light, easy to use and appear fairly rugged...." Read more

    2,252 customers mention "Build quality"1,997 positive255 negative

    Customers praise the power bank's build quality, noting its high-quality battery cells and substantial feel, with one customer mentioning the durable coil cables.

    "...LOL. Product is put together well, feels very solid, and keeps the phone charged, at least 1 to 1.5 times..." Read more

    "...On the plus side, coil cables tend to be more durable and generally lasts longer than retractable ones. Again, no big deal...." Read more

    "...They both have a quality, sturdy feeling build. The PowerCore 3350 has a more white-ish top which for most people isn’t a big problem." Read more

    "...A beautifully crafted product that looks just as good as anything Apple might produce...." Read more

    Full Teardown! Not All Batteries Are Created Equal!
    4 out of 5 stars
    Full Teardown! Not All Batteries Are Created Equal!
    Power Teardown! Not All Batteries Are Created Equal ***NOTE*** This review contains technical observations which I have reported to Anker. Although they have responded to some of them, they have not yet addressed all of my questions. This review will be updated as answers to these questions come in. [Quick Summary] Curious about the build quality and what's inside? Me too, and I destroyed a battery so you don't have to, and at full price! Overall, Anker's build quality these days is pretty gosh darn good. Machined aluminum with an anodized finish, and tasteful silk-screening that complements the look and feel of the product. The battery I opened was verified to contain a high quality Panasonic-Sanyo NCR18650BF Lithium Ion cell, which is one of the finest cells available on the market today. Anker has clearly put a great deal of work into creating a fantastic product at a fantastic price. Unfortunately, I observed a number of inconsistencies in both order fulfillment and product performance, which I believe Anker will work to resolve ASAP, at which time I will update this review accordingly. It is important to note that the battery industry is chock-full of snake oil, shams, and scams. Even with the difficulties that I observed, I am convinced that Anker provides products of better quality and consistency than most (if not all) of the competition as any "problems" that Anker may have are generally much worse with other vendors I've worked with in the past. Yay: - Solid, Handsome Industrial Design - Extremely Compact, No Wasted Space Observed During Teardown - Premium Panasonic-Sanyo NCR18650BF Cells Inside - Finest in the Industry - Elegant and Intuitive Usage - Super-fast, Super-friendly Support with 18 Month Warranty - One of the Longest in the Industry - A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Price! - 9.99USD at Time of Review for PowerCore+ Mini in Black Nay: - Inconsistent Fulfillment, Frequent Product Updates/Changes May Result in Order Errors and Old Product - Inconsistent Performance of Internal DC Boost Converter Between Batteries, Affects Output Current and Capacity, Actual Available Capacity Varies Between 8.5Wh and 9.5Wh. - Possible Inconsistent Quality Control - Based on my numbers Anker deemed 2 out of 4 batteries to be possibly defective and shipped replacements (not arrived at time of this writing). - Some Revisions May Be Prone to Overheating and Loss of Efficiency IMPORTANT!!! DO NOT USE CHEAP, THIN, OR LONG USB CABLES WITH EXTERNAL BATTERIES. YOU WILL WASTE UP TO 40% OF YOUR POWER! Would you like to know more? [Prequel] I'm a bit of a voltnut. I care about the stuff that most people don't. When it comes to batteries, I want every watt-second I can squeeze out of a cell. Unfortunately, the battery industry is full of lies, treachery, and deceit. Manufacturers are incentivized to fib here and there because now everyone shops by the numbers. People expect the numbers to be highly accurate, and don't realize how complicated modern batteries can be, how often vendors lie about specifications, and how often cells are counterfeit. I've become so jaded over the years that I now expect most vendors to lie until proven otherwise. That's why when I saw Anker advertise a 3350mAh USB battery for 9.99USD including shipping, I assumed it was too good to be true. It wasn't until I saw Anker advertise its "Premium Panasonic Cells" that I became truly curious and decided to not only buy some batteries, but resigned to tearing one of them apart in the name of science! For load-testing the batteries I am using a Maynuo M9712C Programmable DC Electronic Load. When I needed a power source I used a Rigol DP832A Programmable DC Power Supply, and verification of voltage readings was done using a Rigol DM3068 6.5 Digit Digital Multimeter. In order to minimize power loss in the USB cable during whole product testing I custom-built an extra-short USB cable using 22AWG conductors, meaning that all of my numbers will be best-case scenarios for each of the batteries I tested. Real-world numbers will vary wildly depending on the type, length, and quality of cable used (more on that later). So without further ado, let's get to it! [Ordering] Anker generally uses Amazon's fulfillment for almost all of their products, which is smart as it offloads a great deal of logistics and gives hundreds of thousands of customers access to their entire product line using Amazon Prime shipping. Unfortunately, it also means that when there are production changes or revision updates, inventory management gets a bit hairy. Sometimes product ASIN's get mis-coded, sometimes inventory gets mixed up, and other times there may be listing errors that result in the wrong product revision being dispatched from the warehouse. This was the case for me when I ordered two PowerCore+ Mini's in Black last week, and two Astro Mini's in Black showed up, although they were so close to the PowerCore+ in appearance (in fact, they are identical in appearance) that I didn't even notice the error until a couple of days later when during testing I noticed that the tail cap of the battery had "Astro Mini" written on it. At time of this writing both the Astro Mini and the PowerCore+ Mini are listed as separate products on Anker's website, and share the same capacity ratings, but have some minor published differences. Both are rated at 3350mAh/12.06Wh, and both claim 5V @ 1A output. In fact, the only published difference that I found was a small difference in charge rate; whereas the Astro Mini has a charge spec of 5V @ .8A, the PowerCore+ Mini can be charged approximately 20% faster with 5V @ 1A. I reached out to Anker's support on Friday to speak with them about the discrepancies, and later that evening, I saw that Anker had split and moved around a number of their listings for the PowerCore+ Mini (and increased their prices for most of their colors by 4USD). A follow-up call on Monday confirmed that there was likely an error in the listing with fulfillment as while Amazon's system showed that I had ordered two PowerCore+ Mini's, Anker's reported that I had ordered two Astro Mini's. During testing of the Astro Mini's I observed some troubling discrepancies that prompted me to order additional batteries. I ordered an additional PowerCore+ Mini in Silver, after the Amazon listing shuffle stopped a couple days later, another in Black. Both the Silver and Black units that I ordered in those ordered arrived correctly marked as PowerCore+ Mini's. [Packaging] I've ordered a number of Anker products in the past, usually USB hubs. Anker's packaging has always been efficient, easy-to open, and well-thought, and these batteries were no exception. I would consider to the box to be perfectly "stocking stuffer" sized. Each battery came with a short Anker USB Micro cable, a tasteful carrying case, and a short and sweet support pamphlet that tells you how to get questions answered or stuff fixed. Each battery's USB port is also covered with a sticker to remind you that the battery automatically cuts power to the port to conserve energy when not in use, and that a quick tap of the small button in the corner is all you need to get the juice flowing. Simple. Elegant. Functional. [External Materials and Construction] "Wow." This was my initial reaction. As I mentioned before, the phone accessory market is often a race to the bottom in terms of quality, and batteries are no exception. Fierce competition on price in markets such as Amazon drive manufacturers to cut corners whenever they can. A few nickels here and there can add up quickly when you think about the volume of product moved. If Anker did cut any corners with the casing of the battery, it doesn't show. The body is a beautifully anodized, slim, aluminum shell that wraps around the interior cell and electronics. This thing is *rock* solid, and shames all of those cheap-feeling plastic models out there. Why does it matter? Well, just do a quick search for "Lithium Ion Fire" on YouTube sometime and you'll see quickly why the FAA restricts how much lithium you can carry on an aircraft in the form of batteries, and why most major couriers won't allow you to ship Lithium batteries via Air Mail unless you have a hazmat contract with them. Lithium Ion cells can be downright dangerous if mishandled, and you want the hardest, crunchiest shell you can find to safeguard those cells, especially when the battery is this small. Anker got this 100% right, and for a stellar price. Anker's logo is silkscreened tastefully on the side in a way that doesn't look gaudy, and the aluminum tail cap has detailed specifications silkscreened onto it, including capacity in both mAh and Wh (yay!) and a serial number, which Anker uses in the event of a problem to determine which manufacturing batch it came from. Serial numbers on devices this cheap are the hallmark of a manufacturer that cares because while you are unlikely to file a police report for a stolen ten dollar battery, Anker certainly wants to know which manufacturing batches are having problems, if any. The only visible plastic on the unit is on top, and is done tastefully. The plastic doesn't have that cheap looking "sheen" that so many products today have, and as silly as it sounds, the button feels nice. In fact, everything on the battery looks and feels, nice. [Internal Construction and Quality] ***WARNING*** What I did here is totally and completely dangerous (see above dire warning about exploding lithium cells), and I would not have done so if it wasn't for my safety equipment and experience with lithium cells. Please, please, please, do not try to disassemble your battery! ***WARNING*** I don't pull punches with batteries or battery vendors, and I didn't intend to judge this battery by its casing alone. I wanted to see what was inside, but neither the tail cap or the head cap were budging. That's why I broke out my jewelry saw and with the utmost care, cut the casing apart! So what did my ten dollars, hour of nerve-wracking slow sawing, and wanton disregard for my own health and safety reveal? A pretty great design! Anker's PowerCore+ casings are threaded at both top and the bottom instead of press-fit, which means simply dropping this will not crack any part of it open, regardless of drop height. They've also sealed the threads with what appears to be cyanoacrylate glue (fancy way of saying super glue) which means you won't even be able to wrench it apart with vise grips if you tried (I did). Being well-versed in the 18650 cells that Anker uses, I knew there would be little to no "dead space" inside, but I was able to confirm how tightly everything was designed once I got the tail cap off. Eventually I was able to saw off the rest of the casing without putting a scratch on the battery cell itself, and was able to reveal a Panasonic-Sanyo NCR18650BF cell soldered to a small DC boost converter PCB and USB ports. The NCR18650BF cell is a beauty of a battery cell, and represents one of the highest capacity and quality cells available on the market today. It has a nominal capacity of 3350mAh / 12.06Wh at time of manufacture, with a maximum continuous discharge rating of 3.63A, which is more than enough for this particular application. It's older brother, the NCR18650B, has a similar capacity but sports a 10A max continuous discharge, which is overkill for this application. Technically Sanyo also now makes the NCR18650GA cell, which boasts an industry-leading 3500mAh, but this is a negligible bump in capacity that would result in a not-so negligible bump in cost. This is also the reason why I have mentioned the cost so many times in this review. I had to know what cell was inside. Most reputable outlets will sell just the NCR18650BF *alone* for 9.99USD. That Anker uses this cell and still manages to manufacture and ship everything else with enough room left in the margin to sell it at 9.99 and not lose money, is nothing short of a miracle, and it is what prompted this review. I did also have a look at the DC circuitry, and was impressed as well. Most phone accessories that I've repaired or inspected have had laughably poor design and manufacturing quality. Anker's DC board appeared to be well thought-out and laid out, and had solder welds of excellent quality, which is embarrassingly enough the thing that most vendors manage to screw up. The DC electronics appeared to be split into two boards. One for the battery protection and charge circuit, and the USB Boost Converter on another circuit, mounted perpendicular to the first. This was a smart design choice as it allows Anker to make revisions to each board independently of the other, and provides them with more flexibility in the long run. Not that it matters to most Amazon buyers, but my battery protection circuit had a marking of "7913P-2-V1.1 14.12.04", implying that it was revised December 4th, 2014, while the USB PCB was marked "13.11.29 7913P-1-V1.1" which implies that it was designed over a year prior to the former. Anker claims to use "high quality US-made IC's" in their products and I don't have an easy way of refuting this. None of the IC's bore any logos or enough information for me to identify the part without dissolving the chip in nitric acid and putting it under a microscope, but based on the rest of the build quality, I have no reason to doubt them on this point, although I would argue that it should probably read "US-designed", as very, very, very, very few chips are actually still manufactured in the US, with the exception of those intended for military or government applications. [Lab Performance and Capacity] This is the most important part, eh? Alright, let's dive in. First rule, everybody lies. Some people lie just a wee bit, some quite a bit more, but everybody lies. When the whole industry lies, it's called a "standard". :-) Second rule, batteries age. They age just by sitting there, doing nothing. They age even faster when you actually make them DO stuff. Third rule, most specifications are useless. mAh by itself is not an actual measurement of energy, although everyone and their dog treats it like it is. If your battery was a tank of water, the mAh rating would be akin to saying how many hours you can spray water for, but not telling you how big the tank is. You would have an extremely vague idea of of how much water you can hold, but not a real figure. It's a poor analogy for it, but the detailed explanation would add even more text to an already ridiculously long review, so if you want to read up more, please do so at your favorite search engine but in the meantime, let's just say that we only care about Wh, or Watt-hours. Every battery cell has two capacities. The "Nominal" capacity, and slightly lower "Minimum" capacity. Everyone only uses the first number in marketing. Everyone. What this means is that "12.06Wh" capacity that you see on the product is only true for a couple of weeks right after Panasonic made the battery cells. By the time those cells are stored, sold to Anker, then stored again, used in manufacturing, stored again, shipped to Amazon, stored again, and then eventually shipped to you, these cells have a usable capacity of around 11.52Wh to 11.70Wh, which is actually what is reflected in the official datasheet for the NCR18650BF. 12.06Wh is just the NOMINAL capacity and in real-life you never see that. So why does everyone use the nominal capacity? Because it sounds better, and technically speaking, it was true for at least a couple days, long long ago. So I started at the bare metal, the lithium. I ran the NCR18650BF cell just by itself against a load of .2C or .67A and a cut-off voltage of 2.50V, the same test that Panasonic uses to get their original rating, and got a capacity of 11.4834Wh, which is just slightly under the "Minimum" rating for the cell, but it's close enough that I can't fault Anker for it. This is the real-world, best-case, available capacity of the cell before it goes through any other losses, such as those introduced by the DC/DC conversion up to 5V, before the voltage drop in your USB cable, and before the conversion losses in your device as it charges the internal battery. We're already starting the race a with a handicap, but everyone has a similar handicap. However, capacity is more than just age, it's also directly related to current draw. The harder you run the battery, the lower the available capacity of the cell is. Furthermore, generally speaking DC boost converters like the type used in consumer hardware also lose efficiency as the input voltage drops. To determine how hard the USB circuit runs the battery and look for efficiency losses, I removed the battery and connected the circuit to the monitored output on the lab power supply. Using the electronic load I applied a 5V 1A load to the USB port and monitored current draw from the power supply: USB Load Battery Load DC Boost Efficiency 5.000V @ 1A = 5.00W 1.349A @ 4.2V = 5.67W 88.2% 4.991V @ 1A = 4.99W 1.637A @ 3.6V = 5.89W 84.7% 4.988V @ 1A = 4.99W 1.825A @ 3.2V = 6.06W 82.3% Anker claims 90% efficiency with their DC converters, but since they do not publish their testing process or procedure it is impossible to know under what ideal conditions they performed their tests. What is clear however, is that however great their design is, it fails to meet 90% efficiency in the specific battery that I took apart. Based on conversations with Anker, they are constantly updating and making changes to their designs, which is great, but because these changes aren't publicly tracked and because the batteries are sealed, there is no simple way to know what the characteristics of your battery are. It may sound like I am being harsh with Anker, but I am not. These are simply the facts, and the truth is that in my experience most of Anker's competitors are far worse. The point of this breakdown is to provide some real-world data on a product. Something else that I observed on the Astro Mini that I took apart (we'll call it "Unit A") is that the USB circuit was prone to overheating. While it didn't prevent the unit from working, it did reduce the power output and decrease efficiency as it heated up. I verified this by using Freeze Spray, and found that a short blast of freeze spray dropped the temperature instantly and restored efficiency back to the numbers above. It bears noting that so far all of the tests that we have discussed were performed on a battery that was labeled as "Astro Mini" and it is possible that my battery was manufactured during the early stages of the production shift. The rest of the batteries, units B through D, all exhibited different qualities that as I will discuss later, but I did not cut any of those open since I wanted to limit how much I was spending out of pocket. Remember the first capacity test I did? It was only run at .67A because that's the rate that Panasonic-Sanyo used for measuring the published capacity of the cell. That capacity will be lower when drained faster and as you can see above, in order to charge your device at 5V @ 1A, the drain on the battery cell is more than twice that. Since modern lithium cells have a stated nominal voltage of 3.6V, I used the current draw of 1.637A and cut-off voltage of 2.50V to re-assess the capacity of the bare NCR18650BF cell to determine the actual available capacity at the higher drain rate. Result? 11.08Wh. So as you can see, using the cell as intended we've already lost about .40 Wh of energy capacity before we even touch the losses in the boost circuit, and that's assuming a cut-off voltage of 2.50V! In my testing I found that when drawing 5V @ 1A the boost circuit cut-off and shut down when the cell voltage dropped to approximately 3.20V, which means we're still leaving some Watt-minutes on the table. How many? Start Voltage End Voltage Current Draw Capacity 4.20V 3.20V 1.67A 9.54Wh 3.20V 2.50V 1.67A 1.54Wh Anker is still leaving over 1.5Wh on the table! That's akin to a car manufactuer giving you a 11.08 gallon tank, but not designing the car in a way that it can access the last 1.54 gallons, almost 14% of your tank's capacity. Ever. They could have had great reasons for this, ranging from increased cycle life to thermal management and safety, and I am not in a position to refute them, but it's an interesting observation nonetheless. Furthermore, these are all tests on individual components. At the end of the day, what really matters is how the customer will use the battery, so let's get to... [Real-World Capacity and Performance] These tests were all performed with the batteries fully sealed, assembled, and as they came directly from Amazon. In total, I tested four batteries, two of which were marked as "Astro Mini", and two of which were marked "PowerCore+ Mini", all of which were marked 3350mAh/12.06Wh. All of them were ordered as "PowerCore+ Mini" from Amazon. They were all designated Units A through D. For the testing procedure, I charged each battery through the USB Micro port per the instructions from Anker until they were full. I then connected each battery to the electronic load and programmed the load for a constant current draw of 1.000A, and measured the output voltage ten times per second until the battery died. Each test was performed three times and the results were averaged. The results were beyond interesting to say the least, as no two batteries performed alike. Item Received Item Model Available Capacity Astro Mini (Black) (Unit A) A1105 8.769Wh Astro Mini (Black) (Unit B) A1105 9.345Wh PowerCore+ Mini (Silver) (Unit C) A1104 8.607Wh PowerCore+ Mini (Black) (Unit D) A1104 9.578Wh The difference in capacity between the best-performing battery and the worst-performing battery was over 11%!!! I've attached the discharge curves for each battery to this review. My notes regarding each unit tested are as follows: Astro Mini (Black) (Unit A): Discharge remained flat and stable until the battery was approximately 75% depleted, at which point the voltage became unstable and dropped significantly. Based on the erratic behavior of the drop I believe the boost circuit began to overheat as it tried to cope with the lower input voltage of the battery cell. Astro Mini (Black) (Unit B): Discharge failed to remain flat after approximately 10% capacity used and declined consistently and rapidly through the complete discharge cycle. The relatively smooth discharge curves indicates a failure of the boost circuit's design to maintain 5V @ 1A. Based on observations with Unit A it is possible that overheating contributed to this, but since I did not cut open the exterior casing this is just an educated guess. PowerCore+ Mini (Silver) (Unit C): Discharge remained extremely flat through the cycle and output voltage increased slightly as charge was slowly drained. Based on conversations with Anker this is likely due to Anker's "Voltage Boost" feature which provides a slightly higher output voltage in order to compensate for the loss in the USB cable. While this does provide a slightly faster charge, it also results in a slightly lower available battery capacity, although this small discrepancy alone does not account for the near 1Wh difference between Units C and D. PowerCore+ Mini (Black) (Unit D): Out of all four batteries, Unit D exhibited the best performance. The output was not only super-flat through the discharge cycle, the available capacity tipped the scales at 9.578Wh @ 1A draw, which was better than any other of the batteries that I tested. Interestingly enough, the "Voltage Boost" feature appeared to be absent from this particular unit, as well as units A and B. So what does all this mean? First, it is important to note that I was using a programmable load for testing, and not a device. In actual usage, your device is always going to try to draw 5V, and if the battery can't maintain it, the current output will drop, resulting in a slower charge rate. I would also like to make clear that charge rate and battery capacity are completely independent of each other. While charging a device as fast as possible might be the most important thing when connected to a wall outlet, that may shift when one starts to think about how a portable battery is used. Personally, I would much rather have my phone take a few more minutes to charge to a higher percentage, than to charge much faster to a lower one. All that said, I am somewhat unhappy with how inconsistent the results were. I ordered four of the same battery, and ended up with four batteries that performed completely differently, which brings me to... [Anker's Response] On 11/23/2015 I forwarded my results to Anker Support along with relevant purchase dates, serial numbers, and other information they requested. Anker followed up with me later that day, and explained that not only were the Astro Mini units possibly shipped out to me because of a fulfillment error in the system, but that at least one of them, possibly both of them, may be "defective". I'm putting defective in quotes here because this is an issue with a lot of grey area. Batteries in the real world are not an exact science, and there is a "range" that is considered normal. Even though the results may look bad when the data is presented the way I have presented it, without knowing the design intent it is difficult to know if the problem is really a defect in manufacturing, poor quality control, over-eager marketing, or some combination of these issues. The Anker representative advised that they would replace Units A and B with new PowerCore+ Mini's from Amazon's inventory because of the order-mix-up and possible defects. When I pressed for more information about why there would be a nearly 1Wh difference between the other two batteries I had, Units C and D, and why one of them appeared to have Voltage Boost but not the other, I was advised that they would send a message to the Product Management team and get back to me. This review will be updated with that response when if and when it is received, along with additional capacity measurements for the replacement batteries I receive. [A Note About Cables] Not all USB cables are created equal, and I'm not just talking about how they look or feel. When it comes to charging, the two most important factors that will affect your charge rate and efficiency are cable length, and conductor size. The longer the cable, the higher the resistance, the lower the efficiency. Thinner wires also result in a lower current carrying capacity, a higher resistance, and lower efficiency. So while that extra-long or extra-cheap cable might be really convenient while traveling or easy on the wallet, if you use it with an external battery you're throwing away capacity. In my preliminary tests of several cables I saw some of the worst cables reduce efficiency by up to 40%!!! This is a ridiculous number, and it doesn't just mean slower charging. It means you're potentially throwing away vast amounts of battery capacity in your external battery pack by using an inadequate cable. My recommendation, when using an external battery use the shortest cable you can get away with using comfortably. If that means you have to carry around two different lengths of cable, so be it. Don't waste your precious battery power! [Final Thoughts] So far my impression is that Anker is a high quality vendor with a high quality product that is possibly a victim of their own success right now. I don't know how many batteries they're producing right now, but as one of the top vendors on Amazon, it's got to be astronomical. What I would like to find out is if the issues that I observed in my technical analysis were short-term incidents or long-term problems, and only time will tell. Certainly Anker's customer service is beyond reproach, and based on my experiences so far I am confident that Anker will fully stand behind their 18-month warranty if anyone reports any problems. It is unfortunate that most customers wouldn't know necessarily if their battery is not performing ideally or not, but then again, most customers probably wouldn't care at this price point. If you were to ask me which brand I would buy following the conclusion of this review, for the moment I would still say Anker. :-) Finally, I've put a ridiculous amount of effort into writing up this review. If you found it useful, please mark it as helpful! If you think something could make it better, leave a comment!
    Thank you for your feedback
    Sorry, there was an error
    Sorry we couldn't load the review

    Top reviews from the United States

    • Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2014
      Edit to add: The little LED light on the end is also the power button. You have to press it to begin charging your phone or other device.

      While most all of these portable "lipstick" chargers have very mixed reviews here, I finally decided on this one, in pink, to carry in my purse and recharge my phone if needed. I've only used it a few times, and so far it's working well. I fully charged it using the included 2-ft. USB cord and an AC wall charger (which is not included), then topped off my iPhone 5s, fully charged a Droid 3 phone which was at zero battery two days later, and then added a little bit of charge to my Kindle Fire a day after that. It fully charged the Droid phone in under three hours. (I forgot to check to see the actual time.) Therefore, I think it should easily charge most any cell phone on the go. I haven't had it long enough to know how long this will hold its charge longer than several days. I couldn't find a lightning adapter, so I ordered the Amazon Basics 4" lightning cord for use with my iPhone 5s. Of course, you could use the cord that came with your iPhone, but I wanted an additional, shorter one to keep in my purse.

      I guess it was silly to not order the identical one that comes with an extra lightning cord (which was the same price as this one), but it is sold by a brand new seller, and this one (that only comes with the regular cord) is sold directly by amazon. With such mixed reviews, I went with the one sold directly by amazon. And, I wanted a very short lightning cord to carry in my purse, not the 3 ft. lightning cord that the other one includes. (SEE EDIT BELOW--it wasn't silly after all.)

      At first, I thought the device didn't work, but I had failed to press the on/off button, which is just the tiny LED light on the end and doesn't look like a button. Duh! As I do for all new electronics, I fully charged it using a wall charger before I used it the first time.

      The little drawstring bag that is included is handy for keeping the charger and both of my cords together in my purse. The pink color is not a baby pink or a bubble gum pink; it's an elegant soft shade of metallic pink. So far, I like this charger so well that I've ordered another one in blue for a Christmas gift. I've also ordered a similar, less expensive Powerbot for a child's gift. This is one gadget that's actually very useful and easy to carry. It's a little larger than a lipstick, but still small enough for a pocket or small purse.

      Update: After fully recharging this external battery (using an AC wall charger) and then letting it sit for almost a week, today I fully charged my Kindle Paperwhite, which had given me the warning that its battery was almost dead, and then partially charged my Kindle Fire, which is really a tablet computer. I'm impressed that the Anker held enough charge after almost a week to fully charge the Kindle Paperwhite and partially (maybe 30%) charge the Fire tablet. No complaints so far!

      Another edit on Nov. 7 regarding other sellers: (Device is still working great!) This edit is a warning to be careful about ordering the one with the lightning cord that was sold by "manesell." I liked my device (sold and shipped by amazon, pink color, without a lightning cord) so well that I ordered another one in blue that included a lightning cord, for a gift, that was sold by manesell. It was supposed to be delivered no later than Nov. 2, but it still has not arrived. I checked on manesell's rating today and see that it's now horrible. Don't order the one sold by manesell! Order the one sold by amazon. (When I ordered from manesell, they were a new seller and had not been rated yet. Apparently I had been wise to not order from a brand new seller originally, the first time when I ordered the pink one. Live and learn.)
      5 people found this helpful
      Report
    • Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2013
      No kidding. When my female friends saw it for the first time, they immediately responded with "is that a v_brator???"

      LOL.

      Product is put together well, feels very solid, and keeps the phone charged, at least 1 to 1.5 times (though that really depends on the capacity of the battery in your phone). It's very easy to carry, light enough (could be lighter, but that will probably sacrifice capacity). Charging is done via a micro-usb port, which is great b/c I carry devices that already use micro USB. No special wires to carry, no proprietary wires to carry (you hear that apple??). Charging the phone may take longer than when charging from AC; it's best if you just plug it in and then shove it back into your pocket/purse and just forget about it. The compact size really helps in that regard.

      A short, coiled, charging cable is included. One side is full-sized USB male, and the other side has a detachable end where you can swap out the tip with plugs for micro-usb, mini-usb, apple (pre-ip5), and a couple of other weird-looking plugs. This same cable to charge your device can also be used to charge Anker itself, though in my use, I've found it easier to just carry a 3ft micro-usb cable rather than to carry the coiled one that comes with Anker. Iphone users - It does NOT include a plug for the iphone lightning cable so if you have an iphone 5 or later, you'll need to carry a separate lighting cable, meaning, you'll need to carry a micro-USB cable for charging this device AND a lightning cable for charging your iphone. Poop but you can blame Apple for creating a proprietary connector instead of using the industry-standard micro-USB (I have an Android device so not an issue for me :)

      The full-sized USB port for charging devices and the micro-USB port for charging Anker itself are very closely placed, so you can't do both... it might sound pointless, but if they were placed farther apart, you wouldn't necessarily have to pull one out for the other.

      As with Anker products, it's fantastically packaged and Anker really cares about customer satisfaction. You will receive a polite email asking you to leave a review. And as you can see from countless other reviews, they usually respond immediately to any negative customer experiences and really try to resolve the issues right away. I like their approach a lot - sure, they might lose a few bucks with some customers but that contributes to their overall success. B/c of their excellent customer service record, I also purchased Anker-branded spare batteries for my phone even though the Anker cost a few bucks more (why get this charger then? LOL).

      I bought the 2600mah version but I see that the product now says 3000mah. Not sure whether it's just updated specs on paper or the actual capacity has changed. Also this product looks a lot like many other "lipstick" chargers out there, especially those on Facebook ads - the 2 for $18 deals. I'm not sure if they are comparable in quality and longevity but I can say if something goes wrong with Anker, they will take care of it.

      The only thing that I find really annoying is that once you plug the charger to the phone, you need press the little button to begin charge. It's not that big a deal, however, when I'm out and about, I typically have the charger in my pocket. When I use the phone, I will disconnect the cable sometimes and when I reconnect it, then I need to take the charger out of my pocket and press that little button again and I have to do this every time I disconnect. It would be better if the unit can begin charging as soon as you plug the cable to a phone.

      Side note: I paid $20 for my 2600mah charger.

      [Update]: The 3000mah version says "Apple Adapters- 30 pin and Lightning, NOT Included" so I guess no Apple connectors are included, even the old, pre-iphone 5 adapters.

      [Update 12/2013]: I've purchased 4 more of this charger to give as Christmas gifts. It's not too expensive and makes a really good gift. As long as Anker continues to stand by their products with excellent customer service, I will continue to be their customer.

      [Update 8/2014]: My charger is still working fine. Lately though, I've been feeling that this Anker was getting long in the tooth for not having a built-in flash light (LED) feature that you see in many other competing lipstick chargers these days. So I was about to knock off a star from the Anker model BUT found that these flashlight versions are almost an inch taller. So your pick - shorter and more compact version with no flashlight (Anker) or taller ones with flashlight.
      2 people found this helpful
      Report

    Top reviews from other countries

    • dwong
      5.0 out of 5 stars Anker Astro Mini
      Reviewed in Canada on April 14, 2013
      I had recently purchased a new Blackberry Z10 after years of having an older Blackberry. I loved the features, big screen and apps. However, with the big bright screen, tonnes of apps, Bluetooth, Wifi etc... I found my phone battery almost depleted by mid afternoon. Then I came across the Anker Astro Mini and it was the solution to my problems.

      The Astro Mini is a portable power source which can be used to charge a wide variety of different devices. The best thing about it, is the size. It truly is the size of my wife's lipstick. So that makes it extremely portable. The device feels solid, not flimsy like other external power sources. It has an all metal design and feels like it could take a beating. To charge the device is simple - just plug it into any micro USB travel adapter (which is not included, but for $25 who cares). It takes 4-5 hours to fully charge and keeps its charge. It contains 2600 mAh which is enough for one full charge (while the phone is still on) of my smart phone. It comes with a cable that has a variety of adapters which can plug into either an iPhone (sorry no iphone 5 adapter with this model), Blackberry or Android phone. While it is charging the device (which is the same time as a travel charger - for me 5 hours from a completely depleted battery), you can still use your phone. It is very simple to use. After getting this product, I bought a few more for family and friends.

      Overall this is a great product. Well made, reliable, and best of all... reasonably priced. I must say, someone at Anker was thinking when they came up with this product. Highly recommend this product to all individuals with smartphones and are heavy users!

      Excellent, excellent, excellent.
    • Choyon
      5.0 out of 5 stars Reliable, convenient, Useful, and Compact
      Reviewed in Canada on June 4, 2020
      When buying a portable charger I look at price, usefulness, functionality, and compaction. The charger is small and great to fit in your pocket and it also comes with a mesh case. There are instructions on how to use it and how much charge it has. The manual is detailed yet simple. It can charge both Apple products and Android products and anything with similar charging end that attach to the adaptor. It has a decent battery life and can charge my phone from 5% to 100%. 10/10 great buy if you want something small but useful.
    • Arin
      4.0 out of 5 stars Perfet on-the-go charger
      Reviewed in Canada on March 19, 2014
      The product is really well made and arrived right on time.

      This has been a real need for me as my iPhone 5S has steadily arrived to a 1 day charge cycles.

      I like this product because it functions as advertised, and seems to hold a 1.5 5S charge. However, the product, in my opinion could be improved in a manner that I wouldn't need its own cable to charge it. If it could use the lighting adapter port instead of a mini USB port this will help greatly; I will then only need to carry iPhone's charger and cable and be done with that. If this could be arranged, this will be the perfect product.

      Also, I like the pouch that comes with the product. However, it is not big enough to hold the iPhone charger and cable, so my bag continues to get messy a little to hold all this stuff.
    • Dennis_L
      5.0 out of 5 stars Great Product Excellent Price
      Reviewed in Canada on March 27, 2013
      I absolutely love this product. Several days ago when I was in the mall, my phone battery was about to dead, I wish I have this with me. Then I searched one sells at Roger called Power Bank which is priced at 50 dollar. Then I found out this Anker one sell for only 25 dollar.
      It comes with several adapters for Iphone 4& Iphone 5, blackberry and charging port. After several uses, I did realize the charging current have to be above 0.8~1A, otherwise the battery pack will not fully charged. The blackberry charger is only 0.5A which cannot fully charge this battery. It did not come with a iphone 5 cable, use your own cable from apple.
      After a month of experience, I really like this product and suggest several times to my friend. The black metal finish is also fantastic. It is definitely a conversation piece. I give a 5 out of 5 on this product.
      Plus, this product is also not bad for winter. I leave this in my glove box all time. It has been minus 10 lately and never show any negative effect on the charging capacity. I hope the battery can last over two year.
    • Jaromir Vanek
      3.0 out of 5 stars 80% efficiency
      Reviewed in Canada on August 15, 2021
      Meassured power output is 9.57 Wh (equals to 2600 mAh), 20% less then advertised. Obviosuly it cannot charge any phone fully, but it's portable and lightweight.