Huawei 13,000mAh Power Bank review

Huawei’s  power bank stands out for its sleek design, portability and high capacity. Not too dissimilar in design to the Xiaomi Power Bank, this Huawei looks like a premium product and yet it isn’t priced as such at £20 from Amazon. Also see: Best power banks 2015.

Our review sample actually came from Geekbuying, from which you’ll save 20p at 19.80 for the Huawei Power Bank. If you are going to ship this power bank from China, make sure you first read our advice on buying grey-market tech.

Another power bank this Huawei looks very much like is the Honor 13,000mAh Power Bank, also made by Huawei. Save for the different labelling on the bottom and the Huawei- rather than Honor logo on the device’s front, we can’t find a difference between the two in design or specification.

Both power banks are wrapped in a matt pearl-grey metal casing, which feels smooth to the touch and reassuringly solid. The top and bottom are white plastic, and it’s here that you find the twin USB outputs (both rated at 10W for fast charging of a  phone or  tablet), 10W Micro-USB input, power button and four status LEDs. Also see:  How to improve smartphone battery life.

The power button lies flush with the power bank, but since the Huawei supports auto-on it’s used only to see how much power remains in the device via the four LEDs. The Huawei will switch off automatically once you unplug your phone or tablet, and a flat white Micro-USB cable is supplied in the box. Also see:  Best desktop chargers 2015.

The Huawei Power Bank is particularly suited to being carried around. It’s compact and fairly small when compared to other power banks with the same or even lower battery capacity. With its dimensions of 116x78x22mm and weight of 345g, the Huawei Power Bank will easily fit inside your bag. No carry case is supplied, but it’s tough enough not to need one.

Huawei’s Power Bank boosts a battery capacity of 13,000mAh, but with an industry-average efficiency rate of about 65- to 70 percent (due to voltage conversion and heat generated), not all this power will be available. The Huawei Power Bank will likely fill an iPhone 6 five times and a  Samsung Galaxy S6 just under four times.

The Huawei Power Bank is nicely designed and affordable at under £20, but there’s little here other than the metal design that makes it stand out among similarly priced rivals. There’s no support for passthrough charging (the ability to charge both power bank and a connected device at once), no LCD screen, no auto-off once your phone has finished charging, no Quick Charge support; there’s not even an LED flashlight, which is a common feature in power banks. Nevertheless, it’s a handy device to carry in a bag to keep your phone- or tablet battery topped up wherever you go. Also see:  How to charge your phone or tablet faster.