Anker PowerCore 5K Magnetic Battery Review

We tested the MagSafe compatible external battery, Anker PowerCore 5K, an excellent alternative to Apple's MagSafe battery, with greater capacity than this and also for a third of its price.

Despite the improvements in the battery of the iPhone, the use of external batteries is still necessary on many occasions. Almost essential for the iPhone Mini, recommended for the normal and Pro, and sometimes useful for the Pro Max, having a device that guarantees that your iPhone's battery will last until the end of the day even with very intensive use can save you « life 'often. And with the advent of the MagSafe system small batteries that magnetically attach to your iPhone are one of the best resources. Apple has its own MagSafe battery, which we review in this link, but its price is off the market for many. Today we tested the Anker PowerCore 5K battery, which for a third of its price offers us greater capacity and very similar performance.

Compact design

Its design is what you would expect for an external battery, nothing out of the ordinary. Made of plastic with a non-slip surface, it is currently only available in black, although there will be others in the catalog soon. Its size is very similar to that of Apple's MagSafe battery, although slightly thicker. Its weight is 133 grams, you will not have the slightest problem to carry it in any pocket, bag or backpack daily to use it whenever you need it.

It has a USB-C connection, which is used to recharge (about two and a half hours to fully charge) and to charge other devices via cable. If you use this option, the charging power is 10W. Obviously, being compatible with MagSafe, it is also a wireless charger, but in this case with a power of 5W (the same as Apple's MagSafe battery). That means that the reloading it does is slow, quite slow. These limitations are imposed as a safety measure to avoid damaging the iPhone battery by overheating. It is not a battery to quickly charge your iPhone, it is for you to leave it as long as you need it so that the battery recharges little by little.

The grip is strong with the MagSafe system, although as with all the accessories I have tried, much better when wearing a cover than without it. Without a cover the battery rotates, and by means of a lateral touch it can be detached. When you wear a case (MagSafe compatible) the grip is much strongerEverything feels safer and you can take the iPhone out of your pocket with the case without fear of it coming off (as long as you don't wear tight jeans, of course). Handling the iPhone with the battery on is relatively comfortable, it is not a major problem, especially if we take into account that the objective is not to run out of battery.

Differences with Apple

The battery capacity, as the name suggests, is 5.000mAh. It is more than enough capacity to fully recharge the iPhone 12 mini and you will have something left over, you can almost fully recharge the 12 and 12 mini, and you will stay at 70% more or less with the iPhone 12 Pro Max. It is undoubtedly more capable than the original Apple battery, although we repeat, slightly larger.

It has several LEDs that indicate the remaining battery level, something that I miss a lot in Apple's battery. You press the power button and check how much charge the battery has left, something that with Apple's you can only do if you connect the battery to the iPhone. In addition, that power button serves to control the recharge of the iPhone. It is not a "place and recharge" battery, you can put it in your iPhone and not recharge if you wish. This small detail is for many something fundamental, concerned that their iPhone recharges without them being able to do anything ... well yes, they could always remove the battery and voila.

Editor's opinion

The Anker PowerCore Magnetic 5K battery offers us full recharge capacity for most iPhone models with a very compact size. Although the recharging speed is slow (5W), the possibility of using a cable to recharge other devices, the charging LEDs and the power button are elements that differentiate it from the official Apple battery, and if we add to this that its price is only € 39 on Amazon (link), is an excellent alternative for those who want a backup for their iPhone on those demanding days when the battery is squeezed to the fullest.