They’re the big beasts of the power bank world. But are they just what you need, or over-the-top?
Keep your devices charged when you're away from a socket, with Maxoak's superior power banks(Image credit: Maxoak)
We’ve all been away on a trip, whether for business or pleasure, and run out battery on our smartphone, tablet, laptop or camera, with not a power point in sight. This can vary from being a mild annoyance to a ruining the trip entirely.
It’s worthwhile, then, investing in the best power banks on the market, so you can top up your devices when needed. But is Maxoak the brand of power bank you should be going for? The answer to that question will largely depend on how many devices you need powered up, how quickly and how often.
The short version is that Maxoak's power banks are more powerful, and charge more devices, than rival brands. That also, however, makes them more expensive, bulkier and heavier to carry. So before you decide whether to buy a Maxoak power banks, it's first worth considering what kind of power bank you're looking for overall.
How much power do you need?
The amount of juice a power bank can contain is measured in units of mAh (milliamp hour) which measures electric power over time. To give you a rough idea, 4,000mAh should be sufficient to fully charge a typical smartphone once.
With that in mind, if you only want a power bank as an emergency backup on a day trip, to top up your smartphone once it gets low on battery, you'll probably be happy with a 2,500-3,000mAh power bank. If you were going away for the weekend and wanted to give it a full charge or two from zero, though, you'd want to go for a power bank that offered somewhere between 3,500mAH and 10,000mAH.
Looking to charge more than one smartphone? Or the same one multiple times? Then you'll need to be looking at power banks that offer more than 10,000mAH. The Anker PowerCore 20100 power bank, for example, allows you to charge an iPhone 6, 7 or 8 around six times on one trip, or a Samsung Galaxy S6, 7, 8 or 9 around four times.
Perhaps, though, you need even more power than that. Maybe you've got a lot of devices, including laptops, phones, cameras and/or tablets, that you'll need to keep topped up without being near a wall socket. Maybe you're out on a day-long photo shoot, attending a busy conference, or just on a holiday where you won't have electricity. For all these situations and more, Maxoak is the brand for you, because they pack in a serious amount of juice into their power banks.
How much power do Maxoak power banks offer?
The Maxoak AC10 power bank is a great choice for powering your MacBooks (Image credit: Maxoak)
Maxoak's most powerful device, the Maxoak 50,000mAh power bank can store 50,000mAh. That means you could use it to charge an iPhone 6-8 about 16 times, or an iPhone X/8Plus/7Plus/6 Plus or Galaxy S6 about 11 times, on a single trip. It can also charge a range of laptops and cameras, up to 90W.
The other two Maxoak power banks we'd recommend also offer an impressive amount of power. The Maxoak AC10 power bank, which is aimed at MacBook users, provides 26,756mAh, which is enough to give a MacBook 12in at least two full charges, a MacBook Air 13.3in around 1.8-2 charges, a MacBook Pro 13.3in between 1.5 and 2 charges, and a MacBook Pro 15in at least one full charge.
Finally, there's the Maxoak K3 36000mAh Power Bank, which you can use to charge Apple Macbook computers, as well as other PD-C enabled devices such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, cameras, gimbals, and lights. Able to store 36000mAh, you could use it to charge a MacBook Pro 13in or MacBook Air 13in about 1.5 times, MacBook Air 11in or MacBook 12in (Type C)about 2.5 times, iPad Mini 4 about 5 times; iPhone 6s about 15 times, Samsung S16 about 10 times and HTC M9 about 8.5 times.
How many devices can you charge at once?
The Maxoak 50000mAh power bank has an impressive six charging ports (Image credit: Maxoak)
Another way in which Maxoak power banks stand out is in how many devices you can charge at once. The Maxoak 50,000mAh power bank has an impressive six output ports for multi-port charging: a 20V/5A port for laptops, a 12V/2.5A port for cameras, and two 5V/2.1A ports and two 5V/1A ports which between them will cover most smartphones, tablets, as well and other USB-charged devices.
You can use up to five of these simultaneously, which is particularly handy if you're on the road with someone who's forgotten, lost or broken their own charger; they can piggyback on yours without affecting your own device-charging. There's also a separate port for charging the power bank itself.
Meanwhile, the Maxoak AC10 power bank and Maxoak K3 36000mAh power bank each have four ports in total, which is none too shabby. Specifically, this includes two USB ports for charging smartphones and tablets, a DC port for charging 16.8V/3.5A laptops, and a USB Type-C port for MacBooks and other USB-C devices.
Are Maxoak power banks the best?
The Maxoak 36000mAh power bank can charge a huge variety of devices, including Apple laptops (Image credit: Maxoak)
As the previous examples suggest, Maxoak power banks are generally considered the best in terms of the amount of power they carry and the number of devices they can charge at once. But does that make them the best power banks overall?
The most obvious way they compare unfavourably to rival models is portability. All that power comes at a cost when it comes to weight and size, and Maxoak power banks are generally bulkier and heavier than most.
Don't be surprised then, if a Maxoak power bank weighs more than rivals, and even the laptop you are intending it to power. For instance, the Maxoak 50,000mAh power bank weighs 1.26kg and measures 20.6cm x 13.5cm x 3.3cm, which is significantly heftier than, say, the Anker PowerCore 20100 power bank's 0.35kg weight and 16.6 x 6.2 x 2.2mm size.
Another negative against Maxoak power banks is price. At time of writing, the Maxoak 50,000mAh Power Bank costs £119.99, around four times the cost of the Anker PowerCore 20100 at £29.99. So in theory, you could get more power overall by buying multiple cheaper devices than one big one, although in practical terms, that would probably not be the most convenient option.
On the whole then, if you want a very powerful power bank that you can use to charge multiple devices, it doesn't need to be super-light, and you can afford it, then Maxoak power banks are going to be your best choice.
Which Maxoak power bank should you buy?
Maxoak's 50,000mAh power bank comes with 14 different connectors (Image credit: Maxoak)
As you may have already gathered, Maxoak's flagship power bank is the 50,000mAh power bank. It's big selling points are the 50,000mAh of power, six output ports including dedicated laptop and digital camera ports, and a short recharge time of around six to eight hours. It also features LED status lights and strong protection against power surges. The device comes with a home charger, a DC cable, a carry case, and 14 kinds of connectors to connect it to different laptops and notebooks.
In all these respects, it's Maxoak's highest end device. So why wouldn't you buy it? There are two main reasons. Firstly, because you can't use it to charge any Apple laptop, a Surface Pro 4, or certain models of Lenovo Yoga and Dell XPS laptops. And secondly, because it's so powerful, you're not allowed to take it on a flight under TSA rules.
If you do need a power bank for flying, you should instead investigate the Maxoak AC10 power bank, which you should be able to take on any passenger aircraft. By definition, that makes it less powerful than the 50,000mAH power bank, but not by much. Offering 26,756mAh, it claims to be the highest capacity TSA-approved AC outlet power bank, and can be used to charge a wide range of devices, including many MacBooks.
If you're want a power bank for your Apple laptop, but aren't bothered about flying, then you should check out the more powerful MAXOAK 36000mAh USB-C Type C power bank, which allows you to charge laptops in the MacBook Series, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro series (45W & 60W), although note that it's not compatible with the 15in/17in MacBook Pro (85W).
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Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects.
