After quite some time comes a lazy review on a lazy Sunday. If you have read my previous reviews, you could say that I don’t shy away from long form reviews. But we are in the age of TikTok and YouTube Shorts, and time is far too precious to not while away on senseless entertainment, so I shall indulge your interests.
I had picked it up the Anker 1383 Power Bank for the equivalent of around $50 in a recent sale to primarily use with the ROG Ally after deciding to not go ahead with a battery upgrade kit (which mostly consists of products from dicey companies at best) and its added weight. At 72 Wh, it is in the same ballpark as the replacement batteries which also require some space adjustment. So, let’s see how it does.
As a power source, it is able to output at 65W using the inbuilt cable as well as the USB-C port, so the Ally can work in 30W Turbo mode. 👍
It supports pass-through with not much loss, but the power difference is enough to drop the Ally to the 25W Turbo mode. Don’t really have a use for this mode, as I would either use it from the power supply directly or the power bank, not bother with having both connected, but it is an option nonetheless.
It starts charging low power devices when connected, but shuts off after about a minute. So the power button has to be double-pressed, which activates the low power mode, which then works fine for things like charging a fitness tracker.
Didn’t specifically record the full charging time yet, but it pulls in 65W when charging even to a high percentage, before levelling off to a lower wattage later on.
If you consider the weight alone, it is substantial, but then the Anker products are much better built when compared to something coming from the likes of Xiaomi.
However, it fits fine within a generic case Ally along with a USB-C charger, so carrying it around is not an issue, except for the weight of course.
On the whole, I would recommend this as a good option considering its competitive pricing, and its versatility in terms of supporting a good range of mobile devices considering the range of PD specs supported.
