If you’ve been looking for a portable charger for your Apple Watch that is truly portable, look no further than Kanex GoPower Watch. The company sent us over a unit to check out and it’s already become our favorite accessory for Apple’s popular smartwatch.
Announced back at CES 2016, the Kanex GoPower Watch, a Portable Charger for the Apple Watch, is everything you could want in your back pocket when your Apple Watch sends you that annoying 10% Battery life notification. Truly the first of its kind, there have been other brands that have tried their own methods of making a portable charger for the Apple Watch, however Kanex is not only Apple MFi certified which means that not only is it backed by the fruit-labeled company, but it’s one of the few on the market that comes with its own integrated docking hub for the Apple Watch. Prior to this, I used others that required to bring my Apple Watch cable with me, which could always end up being clunky, causing me to just not even bother. But with the Kanex GoPower Watch, I can easily slip the portable charger into my back pocket and be on my merry way.
The battery pack features a 4000mAh battery capacity which is pretty modest and can charge up your Apple Watch a total of six times before needing to be charged again. What’s more, Kanex even included a USB slot for pass-through charging so if you need to simultaneously charge your iPhone and your Apple Watch you can do that as well. This came in handy recently on a trip where I forgot my power brick, and the Kanex GoPower just so happened to be in my backpack, I not only charged my Watch and iPhone at the same time, but I plugged the GoPower into the wall, and it actually charged itself as well. The special part, however, is that the GoPower prioritizes so it charged up the devices first before charging itself, which I thought was nice. And thanks to the integrated LED indicator, you can look at the signifying color to see your battery levels and charge status.
When charging your watch, I do have to mention that unlike most docks, with the GoPower Watch charger is raised a little bit, which can tend to slip off if you move it around a bit, so be sure it’s on a flat surface when charging. You can always opt to wrap your wrist strap about the Kanex charger and toss it in your pocket, which I have done a few times. While this won’t help you get that step counter up, it’s a nifty way of charging on the go.
My only gripe about the Kanex GoPower is that while it will charge a device that’s not the Apple watch, the USB port’s output is only 1 amp, which means your standalone device is going to slow charge and will take even more of that 4000 battery. If you can get over these little quirks, the Kanex GoPower is the best solution for travel charging your watch on the go, and its small footprint means you can toss if in your pocket and forget it when it’s not in use.
A great accessory to have you can pick it up directly from Kanex’s website for $99.95. Click here for more information.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit
What I Like: Small footprint, allows for tossing in a bag or pocket; integrated dock means no wires!
What Needs Improvement: 1 amp USB port is abysmal