Review: Ugreen USB-C Power Bank with 18 Watts tested

The Ugreen USB-C power bank has a practical feature: it can take and give off 18 watts of power. This makes it a good companion on the road.

High performance means fast charging speed. Thus the power bank, which weighs only 175 grams, can be quickly charged via USB-C port. 18 watts are possible, that is 9 volts and 2 amperes. The power bank can also be charged with 5 volts and draws 3 amperes when the power supply is strong enough. This brings you up to 15 watts, which is a bit less than the 9 volt version, but it is still pretty fast. This is especially useful if you want to charge a device at the USB-A port at the same time (so-called pass-through charging): the power bank then charges itself with 5 volts and also outputs 5 volts to the connected device. The power is split approximately ⅔ to ⅓ – a very handy feature if you only have a USB-C charger with you, but want to charge the battery pack and the smartphone at the same time.

USB ports with modern standards

Also the output of the two USB ports is up to date. Both ports output the following power:

• 5 Volt and 3 Ampere
• 9 Volt and 2 Ampere
• 12 Volt and 1.5 Ampere

So the maximum is 18 watts. The USB-C port adheres to the Power Delivery 3.0 standard, the USB-A is Quick Charge 3.0, which doesn’t help us with Apple devices. But 2.4 amps are still output cleanly.

The advantage of the USB-C port with 18 watts is that you can also quickly charge current Apple devices with a USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to Lightning cable, just as if you had a small 18 watt charger with you. The capacity of the power bank is so big that we could let an iPad Pro 10,5″ charge up to 89% – then the power bank was empty. So the size is enough to charge the iPhone a few times, give a smaller iPad about 80% of charge or even deliver some backup power for the MacBook. Here it is of course an advantage if the MacBook itself is very economical. So a 12″ MacBook or a MacBook Air should be happy about the one or two hours of extra work time that you urgently need. For longer periods of time, you will of course have to use a power bank with a larger capacity.

Ideal capacity for everyday use

The capacity: The model is advertised as 10,000 mAh power bank. To be fair, Ugreen also states a “Rated Capacity”, which is 6000 mAh. These are so to speak the gross and net data, a discrepancy is always experienced with power banks. But it is nice to see that a manufacturer indicates this discrepancy from the beginning and does not hide it.

However the indication in mAh does not help if one does not know which value the voltage has to calculate Watt hourse – with this value it is then only possible to compare different devices. Since the Ugreen cells have a current of 3.85 V and the gross capacity is 10.000 mAh the energy content of the power bank should result in 38.5 Watt hours. But only in an ideal world, because after all you don’t get out all the energy you put into it.

The 6000 mAh seem to be measured at 5 Volts, which would result in an energy content of 30 Wh – and that seems to be correct: we measured 31 watt hours. That is almost exactly 80% of the net value and even a little more than the honestly additionally printed value.

[amazon box=”B086Y8P3MT” description_items=”3″]

The case itself makes a good impression, although the color of the lid differs from the product photos and is not as bright. Nevertheless the structure is quite pleasant. The bottom side also feels good. A nice detail are the slightly recessed LEDs: if you look at it directly from above, the charging status is clearly visible. If you look a little bit from the side, the LEDs are not visible anymore. That’s great: you can charge the power bank at night without any light flashing in your face. The power switch is recessed and you have to hit it exactly – but when you plug in a cable the power bank switches itself on.

Besides the power bank there is a small manual in the package and a USB-A to USB-C cable that supports 3 amps. Since the power bank with its 18 Watt USB-C support is less than $20, it is our power bank of choice. It is small enough not to be a nuisance but big enough to hold a few charges for the iPhone over the weekend and in an emergency even gives your MacBook a few extra hours.