Help! I need a power bank
The battery on my phone is dying, and here's how I fixed that. Sort of.
The saloon bustles to clinking glasses and hawked phlegm. I’m nursing a glass of bourbon, kicking my boots against the creaking wood, sending up gusts of dust and sand as I shake my head at what’s to come. The batwing doors creak open. I know who it is but I don’t turn. The stool next to me squeaks as the new entrant takes a seat.
“You’re back,” I say.
A nod out the corner of my eye. I raise the glass to my lips.
“You son of a bitch,” I say, turning to face the power bank, “I’m in.”
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve needed an external battery pack. One of the benefits of being an in-house tech journalist was I got to review an huge array of phones. Every month or so I rocked something new and different. Well, as new and different as phones are these days.
As a freelancer, though, there are less opportunities to test new handsets, as publications have staff writers review. This means — and prepare your miniscule violins here — that I now have a phone that’s over two years old for the first time in almost a decade.
I know, I know, the horror, the endless abject horror. Especially due to one major thing: my iPhone’s battery life is now shit.
I can pinpoint the exact moment this new reality crashed into me. I was hosting the main stage at Rome Startup Week, but had the full day on Saturday to explore the city and meander and sight-see and eat as much tasty Italian food as I could muster. My phone was integral to this. How else was I meant to get around? With a physical map? Like a Neanderthal? I think not.
The day was going well until the early afternoon and it became abundantly clear my phone was about to die. I had no idea where I was or how to get back to the apartment. This, I thought, is how The Ancient Peoples must have lived — and I didn’t like it one bit.
Thankfully, eventually, I found a bar where they let me charge my phone and my trip was saved. Well, until all that tasty Italian food turned into horrific food poisoning which violated the Airbnb’s bathroom in ways it’ll never recover from, but that’s a story for another day.
The conclusion was clear. I couldn’t trust my phone. The days of parading around the world without a care were over. I needed a power bank.
Back in the heady days of 2014, a power bank was one of my favourite gadgets. I had a beefy boy from Anker that could charge several devices at once like a juicy Swiss Army Knife. I even rocked an evil octopus of a cable that allowed me to connect to almost any device. It looked a bit like this:
Because I am the way I am, I was actually excited to dive back into the world of external battery packs. I had a couple of questions though: had power banks changed? Were there new advances?
In summary, yes and no.
My goal was to have something that could neatly slot in my teensy-weensy day bag, and this seemed the best option. After some research, I settled on another Anker device, the slim MagGo Power Bank.
The MagGo has 10,000mAh capacity, meaning I can juice up my iPhone almost two times.
Basically, it’s the same sort of thing I had before: a cuboid with a USB-C out. But there’s one thing that’s leaps and bounds beyond what I had before. Yes, wireless charging.
The power bank magnetically attaches to the back of my phone like an alien in one of those series of movies about the aliens. You know, the ones with a number of aliens? And the aliens are parasitic? The parasitic aliens? Think it was called Venom.
It may sound like a small thing, but not having to cart around a cable is surprisingly convenient, removing friction and providing a more elegant experience overall. I also like how the magnet attaches. Very satisfying.
Of course, there are other ways around my power conundrum. The difference between each new iPhone is narrowing, and there’s no real reason why my 14 Pro Max won’t last several more years — especially if I replace the battery.
Doing so isn’t crazy expensive — around €109, compared to the Anker MagGo, which costs €70 — but it is a hassle. The power bank is more versatile and can charge other gadgets, but the real reason I picked one up is because it’s easier.
I am a lazy, lazy man, and a power bank simply arrives in the post. I don’t have to take my phone anywhere and wait for it to get fixed.
One day, one far off day, I may replace my phone’s battery. Until that time though, it’s nice to have a power bank again. It’s like an old friend returning. Maybe one you didn’t think was that cool, but when you hang again, you realise you missed them all along.
I’d have a cool glass of bourbon with a power bank any day of the week.
Yikes, Cal, your tech advice and timing, is uncanny and amazing as usual! I just returned to my home in Colorado after spending a month in Australia with Fam. What I like to do is ride the bike I keep in that country wherever I go. This time I ventured onto the remote and beautiful Thredbo Valley Track in the Kosciusko National Park. For these trips I own a magnificent iP13 mini (fully sim'd up with the best coverage money can buy at Aussie $17.50 for the month - thanks Telstra), this beautiful piece of tech affords me nav, tunes, comms and of course, endless tunes on Amazon... while I ride the 40km, deserted this time-of-year, valley trail. As I ventured further and longer I started to realize I was out lasting my 13-mini battery and found myself turning it off to ensure I could always phone-home in an emergency. Yikes! What to do. Then, bam, your piece slips silently into my morning email-read with the answer. Click, click and my friendly Amazon delivery man will have the answer to me in a few hours. Thanks mate! "avagoodweegend"