After doing a lot of reviews on products, some of those products get stored in a bin to be used in case of emergency, and some others? Not so much. I tend to find myself using still other products on a day-to-day basis, and I wanted to highlight a few of them.
These are things that make me productive at work, or that I carry in my daily bag, or that I use I’m at home.
If you’ve ever scoured Amazon for tech products, then you may have heard of a company by the name of Aukey. They are an affordable brand that often has sales on their products, and I firmly stand by them. On top of that, each one that I’ve purchased serves a purpose, and they are great regardless of the situation. Here are a few of Aukey’s products that I use the most:
Aukey’s PowerHub Mini
Aukey’s PowerHub Mini (~$19.99) is THE USB wall charger I carry with me daily. No matter what I have in my bag, iPad Pro, or MacBook Pro, the Aukey PowerHub Mini gets the job done. With dual AC outlets and four individual USB ports, there’s not a task that the PowerHub Mini can’t handle. For example, on a recent trip I took, there were literally only four outlets in my hotel room, most of them being at the desk, clearly across the room. With the PowerHub Mini, I was able to plug my iPhone and iPad at my bedside. In the cases that I would type up articles while laying down, I could use the AC adapter in the PowerHub Mini to charge it up all together. Aukey actually promises the safest charge every time thanks to their AiPower Adaptive Charging technology that will at a maximum charge the USB-powered devices such as my iPhone and iPad up to 2.4 amps per port. This is key for me because I’ve always been concerned about charging too many things from an individual outlet.
This pretty much means instead of having a bag full of wall adapters to serve different purposes, now I can actually carry all the cables in my gadget bag, with one wall plug and it works excellent. There are other solutions I’ve used in the past like 6-port USB hubs, but that’s only good if you don’t plan on carrying your laptop or devices that need a physical AC adapter. So the PowerHub Mini is a VITAL piece of tech that I must have with me at any time. In the package, you get the hub, a user manual, and a 24-month warranty card in the event you ever need to exchange it.
Aukey 8 x 6 PowerStrip with Quick Charge
Next up is the 8 x 6 PowerStrip with Quick Charge (~$39.99) . When I’m not on the go, more specifically when I’m at my desk, the PowerStrip by Aukey gets the most use. Currently, at $39.99, it’s one of the cheaper power strips on the market but has so many components that I use daily that makes it a perfect companion for your home or desk area. At any point I’m charging 3-4 different devices, be it smartphones, tablets, or even Bluetooth headphones from my desk, and the PowerStrip’s ability to individually charge up to six USB devices individually up to 2.4 amps per port is absolutely fantastic. Before I’d find myself plugging all of my cables into smaller bricks that went into the power strip itself. But with dedicated USB ports on the strip, you can actually take full use of the AC ports for other things such as your desktop monitor, Amazon Echo, virtually anything you can imagine. Since I’m pretty much Apple everything, I did not have the opportunity to check out the Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 that is a highlight feature for the Aukey PowerStrip, however, I do appreciate that Aukey color coordinated the switches that are compatible with this feature so in the event that you do have these devices, you’ll always know if it’s in a green port, it will get Quick Charge.
There are eight individual three prong compatible outlets which is more than enough for the average everyday user. What’s more is instead of doing like most power strips where all of the outlets face the same direction, with Aukey’s PowerStrip, they all face opposing each other, and two are spaced a bit further from the other six, which is great for larger brick adapters like the MacBook Power Brick I use. The cable that comes attached with the PowerStrip is nice and think and will not fray on you by any means. This is a GREAT power strip for the home, or even if you are going on a trip, it’s portable enough to sit in your luggage without taking up much space.
Aukey’s USB Sync & Charge Cable
Plenty of lightning cables come across my desk these days that I’m able to review for the site. I’ve had the pleasure of checking out Kevlar cables, pink cables, even cables that did tricks such as lighting up to signify that the device I’m charging is indeed, charging. But sometimes, you just want a cable to be a cable, and work. More importantly for me though, I want my cable to sync to my MacBook Pro, not just while plugged into a wall for some juice.
Luckily, Aukey’s USB Sync & Charge Cable (~$9.99) does all of this. Officially certified by Apple, the Aukey cable I receive is not only made thicker than most cables on the market to withstand fraying, but Aukey went the extra mile by making it a Nylon braided cable that’s also reinforced with aluminum shielding. While I wouldn’t go wielding the cable around, I can live comfortably knowing the cable won’t get damaged in my bag, and I won’t get caught with the “Accessory Not Supported” like I have in the past purchasing cheap cables from Amazon. It’s worth mentioning that the 3.95′ cable will fit in all of the cases that a standard Apple cable would due to them having similar, if not the same specs. This cable is a MUST have in my bag.
Aukey 30,000mAh Portable Charger with Quick Charge 3.0
Finally, there’s the 30,000mAh Portable Charger with Quick Charge 3.0 (~$64.99) by Aukey. Now this product I can honestly say is not for everyone, but in some cases, it’s necessary. If you are a fan of Pokémon Go, or simply just want to make sure you’re never without juice in your daily bag. This may be the last battery pack you need to purchase. Let me explain:
For starters, if you have a device that uses Quick Charge 3.0, you’ll be happy to know that this battery pack can take on that task with no problems at all. Like all of Aukey’s Quick Charge 3.0 compatible products, they’ve individually highlighted the outlet a different color from standard USB outlets which is great. But what’s really special about this battery pack that to me personally sets it apart from the rest is that I can now charge it with my lightning cable.
Yes, I can actually charge the battery pack with my lightning cable, you heard me right. The Aukey 30000mAh battery pack features two IN inputs that allow it to be charged, one being the lightning and the other being the standard micro-USB outlet you’ll see from others on the market.
It’s a practice you might not see from other companies, but should certainly be implemented. This means now I don’t have to carry around a micro-USB cable on every trip in order to charge my devices. And since my Apple Airpods can be charged directly from the same lightning cable, it’s nice to know that I can essentially charge all of the things I carry daily from one cable, including itself.
The battery pack itself is a bit heavy, and you’re not going to want to try to fit this in your back pocket, trust me I’ve tried. However, if you have a backpack that you typically carry your laptop in with a cell phone, this is the perfect companion. For me, I use it to charge up my iPhone and MacBook Pro! 30,000mAh is a lot of juice, and even though it’s a slight trickle charge and shouldn’t be used as a device to charge your MacBook Pro from 0-100%, if you’re in the airport and need to get that email cranked out before the laptop finally dies, all you need is a USB-C to USB-A adapter and you can actually get some battery life from the portable charger for your laptop. While I would’ve also liked to see the battery pack itself feature a USB-C to USB-C option so I wouldn’t need yet another cable, the fact that I can actually use this feature is enough for me to enjoy it.
A novelty feature of the battery pack which is actually pretty nice is the flashlight functionality. Sure, most of us have this feature on our smartphones, but there was actually a case where I was out on the deck charging my phone and cooking on the grill and needed to be able to see if the meats were cooking the way I hoped. Now granted it’s nighttime and I’m grilling, that’s beside the point. The Aukey’s flashlight was bright enough for me to actually sit on the side of the grill, giving me the opportunity to look and check when things were done. This is an added bonus to an already awesome battery pack that essentially does it all, and I don’t leave home without it (except when I’m actually going out without a bag. In that case, I take a smaller battery pack).
More importantly, when sitting in my bag at the gate, I can charge up my MacBook (while not in use because it is still a slow charge) as the battery pack is compatible with the newer MacBook Pro’s USB-c functionality.
Overall, there’s a lot of love about Aukey’s products. They are not only affordable but are essential to anyone who wants to take full advantage of charging up their devices without having to use too many products. Out of these which is my favorite? The PowerHub Mini by a landslide, only second to the PowerStrip since I use it at my desk often. There are plenty of other handy accessories from Aukey, but if I were you, I would already have all four sitting in my Amazon checkout bin today.
Source: Personal Purchase
What I Like: Absolutely love the PowerHub mini but all products allow for maximum productivity
What Needs Improvement: Nothing
