A couple of weeks back Anker sent me a sample of their new PowerCore II 6700 (6700 mah) to review. This battery looks to replace their older Astro E1. Having purchased two portable batteries from Anker prior to this and in anticipation of having a smaller battery that I could send out with my teenage daughter who never seems to remember to charge her phone, I was eager to give it go.
Anker touts this new charger as ultra-compact with a new lightweight design and I will agree with that assertion. The battery is only slightly bigger than most of the "lipstick" style chargers out on the market and is very pocketable, a must for a teenager. Anker aschewed a metal body on this for a hard plastic body. And, while that does save on weight, I do wonder about durability when dropped. That said, the plastic does have a quality feel to it and a grain on it that is pretty grippy to the fingers. So, it's not easy to slip out of your hand.
This charger, unlike most of the compact chargers out there does have a "power" button with 6 LED lights to indicate the charge level, and the lights blink to indicate that is in the charging state, or a state of being charged if that is the case. While it does feature Anker's PowerIQ charging technology, it does not feature Qualcomm quick charge tech as some Anker batteries do. That may or may not matter to you depending on which smartphone or gadget you have. We roll with iPhones in our family, so the Qualcomm charging tech is not a plus for us. The PowerIQ is though, and it does charge up the phone pretty quickly since it can charge an iPhone at 2A. From about 15% to full took about 40 mins. And, we were able to charge two phones from about 15% to full with a little juice left in the battery. Anker says it will charge an iPhone 6/7/8 about 2 times and I think this would hold true. Not only will the battery charge at 2A, it can also be charged at 2A, which is also an upgrade from the older Astro E1. That means the battery will charge 2x faster as well. Of course, your mileage may vary.
The battery comes in Anker's typical minimalist packaging (works for me), and comes with a mesh drawstring bag like many Anker accessories, as well as a pigtail micro-USB cord for charging the batter itself. Some may find the pigtail cord hard to use depending your charging setup, but it works for me, and I have other longer cords around if needed.
Bottom line, it's $20 bucks normally on Amazon, and quite often you can find it on sale. And...knowing how Anker rolls it will show up in several deals throughout the holiday season. So it makes for a good stocking stuffer and is perfect for your teen, or even older parents who need a small compact charger. Lastly, as always, it will come with Anker's 18 month warranty.
Pics are below and include a comparison to my older 15,000 mah, and 10050 mah Anker chargers.
A couple of weeks back Anker sent me a sample of their new PowerCore II 6700 (6700 mah) to review. This battery looks to replace their older Astro E1. Having purchased two portable batteries from Anker prior to this and in anticipation of having a smaller battery that I could send out with my teenage daughter who never seems to remember to charge her phone, I was eager to give it go.
