TYLT Portable Battery 4x with Power Dock REVIEW

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Pinterest

As is the case with most technology products, power banks have begun to evolve. I use a portable battery of some kind nearly every day. I don’t like being tethered to a wall outlet and really despise extra cables. So, I avoid those things when I can. Power banks and short charging cables tend to solve a lot of my clutter issues, but one thing I always forget to do is recharge my battery. It should be easy enough — just plug it in when you charge your phone at night, right? While I have the best of intentions of actually doing that, I always find myself leaving my batteries in my laptop bag or even my purse. So, I started thinking, “What would make this process easier and more efficient?” As it turns out, the answer is a charging dock for a battery and TYLT has one.

TYLT’s Portable Battery 4x with Power Dock is the ideal solution for someone who uses a battery pack daily and always forgets to charge it. The battery itself is a compact power bank with a capacity of 7,800 mAh. That’s enough to charge a mobile phone a few times. If you have an Android device, you can enjoy the QuickCharge 3.0 technology that’s built into the Portable Battery and with the SmartDetect technology, you are sure to rapidly charge Apple products, too. Now, when I found out that the battery capacity was 7,800 mAh, I wondered why the battery was called “Portable Battery 4x”. As it turns out the reason for the name is that the battery will allow you to charge a phone up to 4 times before it needs a charge itself and because the Portable Battery 4x is equipped with QuickCharge, users can charge 4 times faster with devices equipped with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.

The packaging is fairly standard for TYLT products. It’s a quality box with TYLT branding and some explanation of the product on it. I was able to get into the package with very little hassle. On the inside, you find the battery along with its charging dock and power adapter encased within form fitting plastic. The piece pops out pretty easily and there are a few pieces of paperwork located underneath the plastic mold. Included with this paperwork is a quick user guide. I like that this was included, but honestly, it’s a battery and doesn’t need a whole lot of explanation. This power bank is a little heavier that some — weighing in at almost 431 grams — but it’s still easy to slip into a pocket and go.

To really put the Portable Battery 4x to the test, I decided to charge my iPad Air 2. Starting with a battery that was nearly dead (3%), the TYLT battery had a lot of work to do. One thing I noticed when I first plugged it in was that the LED power indicator light lit up. I rather liked this feature as it quickly showed me how much power was available to charge my device. After I had my iPad plugged up to the battery, it took almost 20 minutes for it to reach 10%. I let my iPad continue to charge and after it reached 15%, 25% of the Portable Battery 4x had been used. So, I plugged in my iPhone 7 to see how long it would take to gain 5%. The answer was 6.5 minutes. This is much faster than the iPad obviously, but another observation I made was that the charging cable got warm on both connectors when it was charging the iPad, but that same effect did not happen when I charged the iPhone. I’m not sure what caused that, but it’s something to be aware of.

Charging the Portable Battery 4x on the dock is as easy as you would expect it to be. The dock and battery come with a power adapter for the wall and a Micro USB cable to connect the dock and the wall outlet. This cable can also be used to charge devices from the power bank. The cable is a good length. When I tested the dock, I plugged it into a standard power strip in my bedroom and set the dock on my bedside table. Before I fell asleep, I slid the battery into the dock and saw the LED power light come on. After a little over 4 hours, the battery was fully charged. One thing I really like about this dock is that the battery sits at an angle. This means that gravity helps the contacts on the battery connect easier with the contacts on the dock. The battery fits very securely in the dock and I’m not concerned that it would slide out on its own.

TYLT has really upped the game with portable charging by adding in this charging option for the Portable Battery 4x. It makes me want a dock for all my power banks.
BUY FROM AMAZON

For more information, visit tylt.com/portable-battery-4x-dock.
Find TYLT on Facebook and Twitter.

Originally published at macsources.com on April 20, 2017.