It’s 2022 and we are still needing powerbanks?
Yes you read that right, we are closer to 2023 than we are 2021 and, try as we may, we usually can’t make it through an entire day without plugging in our phones or earbuds for more juice. What happened? When I think back to being a kid and watching The Jetsons, they said in 20 years there will be flying cars and robo maids. But we are getting very close to those time frames and I still can’t make it through a day without freaking out if my phone will last to let me watch Netflix on the Subway back home.
Benefits of having a power bank
Don’t get me wrong, I love my power bank. As you have probably read we got to play with the Anker 737 power bank in all of its glory. The graphene packed, fast charging new kid on the block. And to say that we were impressed would be an understatement. I have live through the inception and evolution of power banks and can recall ordering some off deal extremer that were just going to hold a couple triple a batteries for me. Thinking back , I am really surprised that they didn’t blow up or catch on fire. We aren’t that far removed from a Samsung phone catching on fire during a flight, so it isn’t hard to believe that those OG power banks probably packed some pretty high chances of melting down.
But here we are, still clinging to the continual need to have power on the go for our phones, laptops, or whatever you can connect via a USB cable. ( and that list is ever growing to say the least) So let’s take a look at the Pros of an external power bank:
Pros of external power banks
- Portable
- Provides extra power
- Can be used with a variety of devices
Sure you might be thinking wow, that is a great list. An external power bank… is portable… provides power… and can be used with things that connect to it. Sadly, it is really that basic. We have not really got to a place where the power that we require can sustain our habits and needs. It might be too much Netflix, or too much League of Legends on the phone, but for many people a full charge just won’t last through the day. As our tech expectations continue to rise so does the electrical and computing requirements. The draw back is that the ability to store and use power isn’t increasing at the same rate as our expectations. So this is why we are continuing to rely on power banks to keep our devices chugging along through the day.
Drawbacks of Power Banks
Sure , it sounds great ” the ability to have extra power wherever you are” but the truth is that we are all somewhat over the greatness of power banks. They aren’t that fun to lug around as they just add extra weight. Even today while we are using new parts inside of them, they still are extra weight and extra things to back. That is sadly the truth, in that no matter how small or light we make them they will always be another thing to pack; and another thing to lose. They cost more money than we want to spend, which is anything over $1, because the reality is that we should have phones and tables that last a day no matter how we use them.
The second reason is that they’re often very slow to charge. It can take hours to charge our phones with a power bank and by that time, our phones are already dead. Many of the newer generation of power banks can charge both internally, and external devices a lot faster than the older models. But I remember having a large power bank that wasn’t didn’t even get a full charge while it was plugged in over night. Then when I went to use it , the charge rate was slower than I was using on my phone so it would die anyways. On top of that it was just another cable that I had to have connected.
I know these sounds like first world problems, oh I don’t want another thing to carry , or I don’t want a cable to annoy me while I play games on my phone. But it is a petty rant… as that is what I sometimes have to do. And if you really want know the basis of this post, it comes down to my issue today. I dropped my powerbank, not the Anker one thankfully, and it won’t charge or accept a charge. So I just threw a pity party and thought to type it up on the blog… to hopefully get over it :\
Cons of Power Banks
- Can be expensive
- Can be heavy or bulky
- Require an additional cord to be plugged in when using your device
- Might not keep the same amount of storage capacity when used over and over
Final feelings on Power banks
As I said above, this whole post comes out of my issue of dropping my power bank today. I don’t know if I am just sad that the companion I have had on my trips for the past years won’t be making another one with me. Or if it is just the irritation of admitting I am using my phone too much. It could be a combination, but when I do think back to the original power banks it does surprise me in how far we have come. Which puts me in the final thought and that is now that the old one has moved on to whatever type of limbo there is for out dated tech, I can now use my Anker power bank all the time. If you haven’t read our Anker 737 review, make sure you do as it is pretty impressive. It does cost a lot , but I guess that is the trade of with getting the newest versions of tech you can get. But if you have read this far, thank you for listening to my baby like sniveling about my own stupidity and breaking my power bank.
