With so many devices in collections nowadays, it’s hard to ensure everything is fully charged, and that’s where it’s imperative to know what options are best, in terms of battery life, portability, and reliability. Benks has just released its Qi2 Magnetic Wireless 10,000mAh Fast Charging Power Bank, and Cubed3’s Adam goes hands-on to find out if it’s a must-have purchase.
Cubed3 has had the pleasure of checking out many charging options over the years, including numerous ones from the Anker range, especially the company’s ‘Anker Power’ releases. Here, though, Benks has delivered a rival in the form of its new magnetic wireless power bank. It’s a lightweight alternative, with a 10,000 milliampere per hour capacity; a fast-charging battery pack that really packs a punch. It’s magnetic, as mentioned, and it’s also strong and durable with a reinforced aluminium casing, so if it ever drops, it won’t get damaged, yet at the same time it’s light and smooth to the touch, as well as being very easy to carry. It does advertise itself as being low temperature so it doesn’t overheat like some batteries do, yet in fact it does become quite warm to the touch, and on the iPhone 14 Pro this was tested with, the Apple handset sometimes threw up a warning that charging was on hold until the temperature decreased, so that’s something to look out for. Some of it could come down to use alongside certain cases, so trialling different options would be wise.
The Benks Qi2 Magnetic Wireless 10,000mAh Fast Charging Power Bank doesn’t merely have to be limited to using with a phone, though, as it can help charge tablets and earphones via wireless charging, or even laptops and your Nintendo Switch 2 via the cable included. You can have it simply attached to your phone, or rest earphones on top, or even pressed against the back of a clear case. In terms of use with phone cases, it’s definitely viable with a case because the CLCKR that Cubed3 uses, which is quite thick, didn’t have any issue in the testing process, with it working very nicely indeed. Obviously, it doesn’t stick magnetically because that case is particularly chunky but it would clearly stick on if removed, but it’s great that it works well enough when sitting your phone atop the battery pack. The company does state that this isn’t compatible with Samsung series cases, though, which is something to keep in mind when making a purchasing decision.
This ArmorGo is upgraded with Qi2 magnetic wireless charging that isn’t just fast, it’s smarter and more precise than other power banks on the market. It’s also made with aluminium alloy and looks very delightful indeed. Upon opening the box, straight away you see the power bank in all its glory behind a clear plastic screen, and its visual impact is impressive, showing off a list of its key features on the inner sleeve, as well: magnetic charging, premium aramid fibre texture, and rapid charging. Aramid fibre? Yes, this is a high-tech synthetic fibre renowned for its exceptional strength, durability, and heat resistance. It is lightweight and provides excellent insulation, making it a perfect solution for composites, bulletproof products, and electronics like this. High strength, low density, toughness, and heat resistance. This flexible polymer is five times stronger than steel wire, two times higher in modulus, and twice as tough, but only one-fifth of the weight. Its breaking strength exceeds that of polyester, cotton, and nylon. With a soft feel, it offers excellent insulation and ageing resistance and does not decompose or melt at 560°C. How amazing is that? Thankfully, even though the phone used for charging during testing did indeed get a bit warmer than anticipated, it certainly wasn’t 560°C hot! On the whole, this is the ideal balance of strength and style in one compact design.
Sliding the battery pack out is easy, ever so gently holding the top of the pack and pulling downwards, and then this delightful magnetic wireless power bank is in your hands quickly enough. Also inside the box is a USB-A to USB-C cable. It’s only a short cable, but it does the job sufficiently if you want to plug into the device and charge that way, as well as recharge the ArmorGo. It really is a beautiful piece of kit with the Benks logo along the side, the Qi2 model name within the circular MagSafe marking, and the patterning on the other main flip-side. The ring marker is very useful as it indicates where users need to place their devices, whether it’s matching up to the ring on iPhones for magnetic wireless charging or placing other wireless charging products on there, since you can charge any wireless device with the greatest of ease. Anything that has wireless charging capabilities will work perfectly well here.
There’s a subtly protruding power button along the side (opposite to the edge where the brand’s logo is featured) and if you press it, you will see there are various dots on the main body of the battery that light up. There are four white dots and a green one, with the whites to indicate how much charge is left in the battery and the green to highlight when it’s switched on. Hold down the power button and you can see how much charge is remaining based on how many of the four white dots light up. Everything is so intuitive, just as you would hope from such an item that is likely to be used on a daily basis. It’s so light in the hand, very easy on the eyes, and snugly attaches to MagSafe handsets with its N52 magnets that lock it onto devices swiftly. The size, in terms of the thickness, is slightly larger than iPhone 14 Pro, as seen in the video included in this article, so you can simply hold it in your hand while you’re watching a movie or just making a phone call, or simply leave it charging on one side until either fully topped up or when needed.
