Xiaomi Mi Power Banks Review
They were promised and here they are, the latest offering from the ferocious Chinese brand Xiaomi. The company has brought out their two Mi power banks in India which will make other power bank manufacturers really restless. With massive capacity and modest pricing, the devices, might indeed sell like hot cakes in the world of juice thirsty smartphone batteries.
Now these devices look sure look impressive. This is what you get when you take inspiration from Apple products. The soap bar sized Mi power banks are quite the convenience to have. We tested out the 10400mAh version for you, and it is available in a 5200 mAh variant. The Mi power bank has a textured anodized aluminum casing that covers the entire battery and has a smooth metallic finish and fits in your hand. It is claimed to be water and corrosion resistant. The surface is a bit slippery but that can be easily addressed by using the rubber case provided with it.
Though it’s a slight bit heavy, about 250 grams, but with its massive capacity, the owners won’t mind lugging around some extra weight. The LED indicators for battery level especially stand out against the unadorned surface.
The company claims that the Mi power bank is capable of charging the MI3 for about 2.5 times, an iPhone for 4.5 times and an iPad 1.5 times to full capacity which is quite impressive. With these power banks, you can worry free throughout your weekend trip.
The Mi power banks have been designed by the famous Texas instruments. Xiaomi claims that their technology was developed with safety and efficiency in mind. The power banks use chipsets to stabilizes the discharge voltage and make the device safer, durable and efficient. The devices are said to be 93% charging conversion rate for each device, which lets it charge different devices at their output levels.
Xiaomi has done extensive testing before bringing the portable chargers to the consumers. The USB port on the Mi power banks have been tested for 1500 removal cycles, and the MicroUSB port have faced 5000 removal cycles. Apart from these tests, the Mi power banks were tested for extreme temperature conditions; 70 degrees, 96 hours for high temperatures, -40 degrees, 96 hours for lower temperatures. These might make them for comfortable use all around India. Though we will not advocate you testing these parameters without proper scientific guidance, this is to prevent you from blowing your face off.
Coming to the issue of the moolah. How much does a chipset based Mi power banks cost? Here’s for your eyebrows to do some work- the 10400 mAh comes at a price of Rs. 999/- and the 5200 mAh comes at 799/-. Yes, that’s how it is, and No we did not miss an extra figure or a zero in the middle. At this price, the whole Xiaomi Mi3 disappearing act will be reenacted with these power banks.
Overall we charged a couple of our devices to full charge, and we had two LED’s still asking for more devices to juice up. The only concern with these is the absence of a second USB port which would have let us use its massive capacity to charge two devices at once. We will keep a vigilant eye on the device for now and keep you updated if the power bank fails to perform as it is advised. For now, go ahead and get in line for the Xiaomi Mi power banks.
Tech Specs:
Model | NDY-02-AD |
Battery Type | Lithium-ion rechargeable cell |
Power Source | DC 5V |
Input Voltage | DC 5.1V |
Input Current | 2.0A (TYP) |
Output Current | 2.1A(TYP) |
Rated capacity | 3.6V/10400mAh(TYP) |
Charging time | 5.5 hrs with 5V/2A plug and standard cable12 hrs with 5V/1A plug and standard cable |
Size | 90.5*77*21.6mm |
Load detection | Auto-detect the plug-in and plug-out of devices |
Safety | Input OVP, OCP, Output OCP OVP, short protectioncell protection including OVP OCP, thermal protection during charge and discharge stage |
Out of power protection | Awake once plugged to the charger |
Charging temperature | 0°C-45°C (TYP) |
Discharging temperature | Initial – 10°C~+50°C(TYP)Continous -20°C~+60°C(TYP) |
Weight | 250g |