Iniu 5,000mAh power bank
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Iniu’s SnapGo mini portable charger is on sale for $22.
- It’s a compact power bank with an Apple Watch charging pad and two USB-C ports.
- The power bank is palm-sized and can clip onto a bag or a keychain.
$22.47 at Amazon
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Power banks are now a vital part of many people’s EDC (everyday carry) and a great way to keep their gadgets running when they’re away from home or the office. But while there are no shortage of power banks for smartphones, both wired and wireless, power banks for another popular gadget are rare. I’m talking about the Apple Watch.
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Well, if you’ve ever wished you could wirelessly charge your Apple Watch while traveling, trekking, or camping, read on, because I’ve found the perfect power bank — the Iniu 5,000mAh power bank designed specifically for the Apple Watch.
Previously, if you wanted to charge your Apple Watch while away, you needed a spare charging cable, a multi-ended cable, or a charging puck. Those all work, but it’s yet another cable to carry. The handy thing about this power bank is that it has a built-in charging puck, allowing wireless charging.
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The 5,000mAh/18Wh capacity isn’t much, but it is enough for about 50-90% of a modern iPhone’s top-up and six recharges of an Apple Watch. Given that you need to recharge these pretty much daily, this should keep you going for at least a week. And that from a power bank measuring 3.2 x 1.5 x 1.1 inches and weighing 4.1 ounces.
Oh, and it can also wirelessly charge AirPods or AirPods Pro with the appropriate wireless charging case. That’s an added bonus.
It can also charge AirPods.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
But it doesn’t end there. There’s a built-in cable that’s about 3.5 inches long, along with a separate USB-C port on the bottom of the unit. Both can be used to charge devices and to charge the power bank, with a maximum input of 20W and a maximum output of 15W.
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You can use the wireless pad and the two USB-C outlets simultaneously to charge three devices to a maximum total output of 15W. It also supports pass-through charging, so you can simultaneously charge the power bank while you’re using it to charge other devices.
There’s a nice, clear monochrome LED display on the front showing the charge state and whether the power bank is charging or discharging.
On top of the power bank is a nylon webbing loop with a split ring, allowing you to attach it to your bag or keychain, which I see as a nice touch.
ZDNET’s buying advice
There’s no doubt you can live without the Iniu 5,000mAh power bank, but for those who want to keep their Apple Watch charged when away from their usual charging setup, this is a good option. I find it quite useful when I’m hiking because it’s one less cable I have to carry (and one less to lose). And for the price — around $22, at the time of writing — it’s not something that’s going to break the bank.
