LET’S FACE IT, battery life isn’t going to improve anytime soon. While batteries become more optimised and efficient, the number of demands placed upon them increase. And it’s something that is not going to change anytime soon.
Despite the introduction of low power modes, most people are reaching for the charger as soon as they can, but for those travelling somewhere or in a place where accessing a charger isn’t a possibility, then you’ve a problem.
One solution is to invest in a battery pack. Some can be pretty cheap, starting at around €20 but before you get the first one you see, it’s worth knowing what to look out for.
There are really two types of smartphone battery packs. Ones that are designed likes cases and the external ones that you plug your phone into.
Both have their pros and cons. Cases are more convenient as they fit around your phone, but make it that little bit bulkier, which may mean it won’t fit into your pocket, and are designed for specific phones.
External battery packs can usually plug into all types of gadgets, and can store more charge, but are bulkier and less convenient to carry around. The more power they can store, the bulkier they are.
When you’ve decided what type of pack you want, you should find out the size of your phone’s battery. A quick way is to visit GSMarena, search for your phone, and scroll down to battery. Take a note of its mAh.
Once you have this detail, you can start comparing it with battery packs which use the same measurement. So for example, the 1,715 mAh battery above is for an iPhone 6s so to charge it from empty to full, you would need a battery pack that has the same capacity or more.
After that, you should decide whether you need any extra features or not. Some of them offer multiple USB ports and features but unless you have multiple gadgets and want to charge them simultaneously, it’s better to ignore them.
If you are buying one for multiple gadgets, then you should factor in their battery size too.
Other things worth considering is the amperage (A), which determines the speed it will charge your battery. Pretty much every phone uses a 1A charger, but if you want to charge larger gadgets like an iPad Pro, then you will need a 2.1A charging port.
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