Xiaomi Power Bank: Royal flush of external batteries
Welcome to the iCover Blog Pages ! Today we will talk about the "power bank", it is also the "bank" or an external battery - these devices have many names. In the world of powerful smartphones and gadgets living less than a daylight hours they have to get to know more and more. There is a category of people who encounter them more often than others:
In addition to the obvious options (for example, travelers, people spending a lot of time on business trips, tourism lovers), I can safely call fans of geolocation games (such as Ingress ). Judge for yourself - if in the navigator mode (even with 3D effects) the device uses GPS, a screen, a compass and, in some cases, data transfer, then in case of an active game in Ingress, the following are active:
- GPS and compass (constantly involved);
- data transmission over a mobile network or Wi-Fi (downloading maps + game information);
- sound and / or vibration (experienced players turn off both)
- screen (in the vast majority of cases, the game takes place on the street, which means the screen brightness is higher than indoors + 3D animation of game objects is constantly displayed);
- touch panel (active clicks and swipe on the screen);
- frequent alerts about game events even when the screen is off;
In my subjective opinion, this is the most energy-consuming application among all that I have used over the past two years, and in numerous reviews of gadgets I immediately look for the indicator "working time under high load (3D games)." Almost always, the real time under the load of Ingress is even less. The battery discharge statistics in Android agree with me - “Screen” and “Ingress” are constantly fighting for supremacy in the line of the most consuming things.
In two years, I “outlived” three powerbanks and used to charge my gadgets with about a dozen different models of all shapes and sizes (thanks to other players who never spared the bank for friends). I eventually stopped on an external Xiaomi battery, which are popular among players I know (and just among friends, too).
Often, when choosing a bank, everyone looks only at the battery capacity, not paying much attention to conditionally secondary factors - case materials, output current, assembly reliability, and an indication of the remaining charge.
I will explain by the example of indication of the remaining charge by LEDs. In all Xiaomi models, four white LEDs are responsible for this, displaying accordingly a quarter of the remaining charge - from 25% (one LED) to 100% (four LEDs). White LEDs are clearly visible, they look like white dots - contrasting and noticeable. I came across such "alternative solutions": four bright blue LEDs,
The second factor is body materials. Xiaomi's battery case is made of anodized aluminum resistant to stress. Why is it important? An external battery is a separate item connected to the gadget through a cable. And if a smartphone or tablet is usually closely monitored, protecting them from accidental falling, then external batteries “fly” with enviable regularity. I managed to break two verbanks - one was injured only cosmetically, the second fell into two halves. Against this background, Xiaomi looks advantageous: how it serves anodized aluminum is easy to understand by the appearance of the MacBook and MacBook Pro 2012-2015 release. Coatings do not look just alike - they are visually identical. For fun, I stuck an original white apple from Apple on my Xiaomi battery. At the expense of people asking, “Is this Apple Powerbank ?!
But do not assume that this is a panacea - the metal coating has its own significant drawback: in winter it is very difficult to hold it in hands. Silicone cases come to the rescue (also of different colors). In fairness, in winter and in cold weather, holding a plastic bank is also uncomfortable.
The third - the presence of a mechanical power button \ reset and all kinds of protection methods - surge protection at the input and output, short circuit protection, protection against improper installation, protection against overcharging and complete discharge. I was faced with the inability to “reboot” the “frozen” powerbank of another manufacturer. To disassemble a brand new external battery, in order to disconnect physically rechargeable batteries from the controller can not be called a pleasant experience of use.
In search of the
When choosing, everyone usually focuses on the capacitance, and different capacitance values for different voltages introduce confusion into the “readings” - for example, the entire Xiaomi battery capacity is indicated for 3.6V. On the batteries themselves, an approximate capacity for consuming 1A at a voltage of 5.1V is also indicated - so, for a 10400mAh battery, it is 6650mAh. The efficiency of the batteries themselves is declared up to 93%, but taking into account all the losses (on the conversion of 3.7V to 5V, 5V of the input voltage to the charging voltage in the rechargeable device and losses in the rechargeable battery), the real value of the efficiency when charging is close to 60-70%. The battery voltage itself decreases towards the end of the charge and the actual efficiency also depends on consumption.
Laboratory calculations and the approximate number of times the battery charges the XXX gadget will often differ from actual use. In an absolutely overwhelming number of cases, I (and virtually all users of the banks I watched) charged their gadgets not only not in the off state, but also actively used them during the charge. Of course, this affects the predicted charging time and operation of both the batteries and the gadgets themselves.
On sale you can find five Xiaomi models, which I arbitrarily called a “royal flash” by analogy with playing cards: ace T ♥, king K ♥, queen D ♥, jack B ♥, ten 10 ♥:
T ♥: Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 16000mAh
The largest available Xiaomi Power Bank, at 16,000mAh . Five elements are hidden inside the elongated body - three in the bottom row, two in the top. There are two USB 2.0 outputs, they are located one above the other. This, of course, is convenient if you need to charge two gadgets at once, but the location of the connectors themselves cannot be called ideal - if you have an unsuccessful design of the charging cable with a too wide tip at the USB port, two cables can interfere with each other. This is also true when trying to directly power a wide gadget without a USB extension cable (for example, a modem), in which case it will be difficult to connect a second device.
In addition, the weight of this model is 350 grams, and for a full charge you need to wait from 5.5 hours (with a charger 5V / 2A) or 12 hours (with a charger 5V / 1A).
- Case Material: Aluminum
- USB1 output: 2.1 A
- USB2 output: 1.5 A
- Dimensions: 145 x 60.4 x 22 mm
- Number of Charging Outputs: 2
- Weight: 350g
K ♥: Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10400mAh
One of the most popular models of Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10400mAh (serves me now), deservedly occupies a "royal" position, despite the updated models of similar capacity. This is a good and balanced solution - four internal elements, output current up to 2A, one USB connector. Like the rest, it is equipped with only a short charging cable (white). The cable is exactly such a length (about 20 cm) so that the battery can stand near the outlet or fit in your hand under the smartphone (even enough for 6 "models). But for charging in really marching conditions, I will recommend the cable longer - this is more convenient and the hand will not tired of excess weight. The weight of this model is a quarter kilo - 254 grams.
- Connectors and Interfaces - MicroUSB, USB 2.0
- The number of outputs for charging - 1
- Height, mm - 90
- Width, mm - 77
- Depth, mm - 21
- Weight, g - 254
D ♥: Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 5000mAh
The thinnest Xiaomi battery claims to be the “lady” - its thickness is less than a centimeter (9.9mm), with a capacity of 5000mAh. The power button here is in the form of a rectangle with rounded edges, and the arrangement of the elements is standard: the power button, LED charge indicators, USB 2.0 port:
Weight is only 155 grams, and the charge current is the same as in the "older" models, up to 2A. The official site offers a simple way to measure the capabilities of this model with “iPhones”: for example, iPhone 6 will charge such a battery 1.8 times, and iPhone 5S - 2.2 times. There are no different colors here, this model is available only in silver color.
- Connectors and Interfaces - MicroUSB, USB 2.0
- Number of Charging Outputs 1
- Height, mm - 125
- Width, mm - 69
- Depth, mm - 9.9
- Weight, g - 155
♥: Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10000mAh
The updated model on the Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10000mAh , sold with the model at 10400mAh, is equipped with three battery cells instead of four, and therefore received a slightly different arrangement of connectors. Now the microUSB connector is located above the USB output, the width and weight are reduced.
On their website, Xiaomi indicates that the new cells are 10% more efficient (in laboratory conditions, at 5V / 1A and a temperature of 25 ℃), which made it possible to reduce their number. This model is available in different colors, and there are branded silicone cases for sale. The cost of models at 10.000mAh and 10.400mAh is at the same level, but despite the reduced dimensions of the first, I would rather prefer the second - for exclusively subjective factors. Perhaps the positive experience from the operation of the Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10400mAh model affects.
- Connectors and Interfaces - MicroUSB, USB 2.0
- Battery capacity - 10,000 mAh
- The number of outputs for charging - 1
- Case Material - Aluminum
- Height, mm - 90
- Width, mm - 60.4
- Depth, mm - 22
- Weight, g - 207
10 ♥: Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 5200mAh
And finally, the role of the “top ten” is given to the Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 5200mAh model with two battery cells and the same connector layout as the 10.000mAh model. If size is crucial for you, take a closer look at Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 5000 mAh. With the same weight and comparable capacity, it looks more interesting and more compact.
- Connectors and Interfaces - USB 2.0, MicroUSB
- Case Material - Metal
- Height, mm - 90
- Width, mm - 55
- Depth, mm - 20
- Weight, g - 155
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