People use their phones all day, which can lead to a dwindling battery on a particularly busy one. Android phones have great battery life, but even they need a little help from time to time. If you rely on something like a battery case just to keep your phone running, you’re not alone. Battery cases are convenient, but they do have some drawbacks, including being bulky and heavy as well as negatively affecting wireless reception at times. That’s why nothing beats a dedicated portable charger or power bank that you can store easily and only take out when you absolutely need it. From wired options to models that can charge your phone wirelessly, there is a slew of options when it comes to keeping your Android device going.
To that end, I’ve rounded up top picks for the best portable charger for Android devices. Though they cost more, I personally like batteries that have an integrated USB-C output built into them so I don’t have to worry about carrying around a charging cable for enough power for my devices. (The models with built-in USB-C cables should also work for iPad Pro devices.) But I’ve also included some budget picks for those who don’t want to shell out as much for portable power and their charging needs. And, while we have a separate power bank roundup for iPhones, anything here without an integrated USB-C cable will work perfectly well with an iPhone (and non-Pro iPad models), so long as you provide the Lightning cable.
Read more: Best Wireless Car Chargers and Mounts for 2022
Best battery packs with built-in Lightning cables and foldout wall plugs
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The affordable $15 Ventev Powercell 6010 Plus portable charger and battery pack has integrated folding prongs and an integrated USB-C cable. It houses a 6,000-mAh battery, and there’s also a standard USB port so you can charge and recharge multiple devices with an extra cable.
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MyCharge’s HubPlus portable charger and power bank ($70) has an integrated foldable wall plug, an integrated micro USB cable and USB-C cable and USB-out port. It’s a little bulky, but with a 6,700-mAh battery, it can recharge the battery on most phones twice (and some three times). This charger also has 18 watts of output power and Qulacomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 feature, which allows for faster charging of devices with USB-C.
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Best high-capacity power banks with PD quick charge
Amazon
The Anker PowerCore 10000 PD Redux portable battery charger retails for about $40. Though this battery charger is thicker in size than some of the charger options in this roundup, it’s one of the smaller 10,000-mAh portable charger models and has an 18-watt USB-C PD port that provides fast charging. The required USB cable for fast charging (USB-C to USB-C) is included.
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Mophie’s Powerstation PD portable battery is available in 6,000-mAh and 10,050-mAh versions. The 6,000-mAh model (pictured here) delivers 18 watts of power from its USB-C port for quick charging purposes to extend battery life. You can also charge and recharge a second device from the USB-A port for multiple device charging.
Read more: Meet Mophie’s first external battery to feature AC power
Best Battery Packs With Foldout Wall Plug (no cable)
Anker
This Anker model is basically an oversized wall charger with a built-in 5,000-mAh battery. It’s got two standard USB charging ports for simultaneously juicing up your phone and a secondary gadget (or two phones). And a little LED indicator on the side lets you check the charge level at the press of a button. It’s currently on sale for $25 at Amazon, which is $11 less than the list price.
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The MyCharge Home & Go Portable Charger has built-in foldable prongs so you can plug it right into a wall outlet for charging. The small and slim 4,000-mAh version costs around $24 and has a single USB-out (no USB-C cable included).
Best portable wireless Qi chargers
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At around $85 Moshi’s Porto Q 5K (5,000-mAh) isn’t cheap, but like the MyCharge Unplugged, it’s a portable battery that doubles as a wireless portable charger. It’s swankier and more stylish than the MyCharge Unplugged and charges via USB-C instead of Micro USB. There’s a USB-out port for wired charging, and you can charge and recharge two devices simultaneously.
Bonus pick: Power bank with built-in speaker
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If you’re looking for a portable battery that can also play music, the Esquire Mini 2 ($80) is a slick Bluetooth travel speaker that has a USB-out port for charging devices (no Lightning cable included). It sounds surprisingly good for its slim size, and it comes with a travel pouch.
Read full review.
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Portable battery packs compared
We used all the models above in anecdotal testing during recent weeks and months. Each battery pack highlighted above are ones we recommend over the dozens if not hundreds of others currently on sale at Amazon and elsewhere, which is why we zeroed in on a handful of favorite brands: Mophie, MyCharge and Anker, with some notable one-offs from Aukey, Ventev, Moshi and Harman Kardon thrown in for good measure.
What to look for in a battery pack
Here’s a few things to keep in mind when shopping for a battery pack:
- A higher power rating (mAh, short for milliamp hours) for a battery pack means more charges — but also a heavier weight.
- For the latest Android phones, you should buy a battery with at least a 3,000-mAh capacity, which should give you at least one full charge. With the exception of the Harman Kardon, all the models featured above hit that mark.
- Multiple USB-out ports will let you charge and recharge more than one phone or device at a time.
- These products all use lithium-ion (li-ion) rechargeable batteries, and should thus always be stored in carry-on luggage when flying. Airlines and regulatory agencies are increasingly banning li-ion batteries in checked baggage.
- A few of the battery pack options above are USB-PD (power delivery) models, which provide faster charging of phones with varying battery capacity and other USB-C products that support fast charging. These PD chargers will charge larger USB-C devices (laptops, Nintendo Switch ($298 at Amazon) and the like), as well as USB-C enabled iPad Pros, but sometimes at slower rates than larger-wattage wall chargers.
