There are countless portable battery packs on the market today, but one issue that plagues the majority is that you have to bring your own cable with you when you intend on using them. This results in having to wrap the cable around the charger when not in use, making the whole point of a portable charger rather useless.
Then there’s the Kanex GoPower Plus Battery Pack.
Complete with a built-in Micro-USB cable, the Kanex GoPower Plus Battery Pack also comes with an integrated MFi-certified lightning cable so not only can you charge up your Android and Bluetooth devices, but if you are an Apple user you can now charge your favorite devices up as well.
Kanex sent over the Space Gray version for me to try out and it goes perfectly with all of my accessories (although it’s available in Gold as well). It has a capacity of 8,000mAh, which is more than enough to get my larger iPhone 7 Plus to a full charge, and could get a standard sized phone close to two full charges without needing to be charged itself.
There are indicator lights at the top of the GoPower Plus that signify how much battery are left. I’ve always had a hate/love relationship with indicator lights because although they give you an estimate as to how much battery is left, 25% increments are not truly enough to know exactly how much battery you may or may not have left on your battery pack. I wouldn’t mind something similar to the Anker battery packs that have ten indicators which signify 10% increments, however, if you could care less as long as it charges your phone when it does, it won’t be much of a concern for you at all.
The GoPower Plus Battery Pack also comes with an additional USB port if you’d like to charge another device with which is nice, especially if you need a quick charge for something else. Both the USB port and the GoPower Plus cable that come supplied give you up to 3A of charging power which is nice, but there’s no significant “quick charge” if that’s what you’re looking for.
Instead, Kanex opted for a more optimized type of charge that they call ‘Smart Priority charging” that allows pass through charging while connected to an outlet. Essentially, if you have your device plugged up to the GoPower Plus while it’s connected to an outlet, the device would charge first, then the GoPower Plus will charge after the fact. I can truthfully say I love the ability to charge both my iPad Pro and iPhone simultaneously while connected to this. This means one less cable that I need to use to charge, and the job gets done efficiently.
Is the Kanex GoPower Plus Battery pack worth purchasing? The short answer is yes. It has everything any Android or Apple user might want out of a battery pack, and it’s so slim that it can easily fit in your front or back pocket with ease (when it’s not in your bag of course).
At $54.99, the Kanex GoPower Plus Battery pack certainly not the cheapest, but it’s functional, it works, and no longer will you have to worry about lugging your own cord to charge up on the go.
For more information on the Kanex GoPower Plus Battery pack, head over to their site today.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit
What I Like: Super slim, fits in pocket or bag. Integrated lightning cable
What Needs Improvement: personally I’d like to see more indicator lights