Anker Prime 27650mAh Power Bank (250W) review: Portable power for your MacBook

Macworld

At a glance

Pros

Our Verdict

There are smaller high-capacity laptop power banks available, but the Anker Prime 27650mAh is a respectable mixture of power and portability—and is particularly well suited to the 16-inch MacBook Pro that can take advantage of its 140W charging and larger battery capacity.

Price When Reviewed

$179.99

Best Prices Today: Anker Prime 27,650mAh Power Bank (250W)

Retailer Price

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The Anker Prime 27650mAh Power Bank (250W) is one of the most powerful laptop power banks that you can match with your MacBook. It has bundles of battery capacity in a portable package.

In particular it is a great fit with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which has a battery rated at around the same watt hours (99.6Wh) as this power bank (99.56Wh) and can be fast-charged at 140W.

Attach Apple’s USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable to the power back and you can utilize one of the two 140W PD 3.1 ports to fast-charge the 16-inch Pro. Although the power bank ships with a perfectly acceptable 140W-capable USB-C to USB-C cable, Apple allows fast-charging only using its proprietary charging cable.

Power bank tech specs

Performance

Anker claims that you can fast-charge that top-end MacBook Pro up to 50% in half an hour using this power bank and Apple’s charging cable.

Theoretically, you should get nearly a full charge into a 16-inch MacBook Pro, but it’s not quite as simple as that. Anker claims that the Prime 27650mAh can charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro to around 70%.

We charged a 14-inch M2 Pro MacBook Pro (69.6Wh battery capacity) to 100%, leaving 18% power remaining in the power bank, but when we came back to charge it a second time there wasn’t much juice to spare. Anker claims that this power bank can power up a 13-inch MacBook Air (58.2Wh) one and a quarter times.

See our list of MacBook battery capacities for more details on the whole range of Apple laptops.

Foundry

While it’s especially capable in terms of battery capacity for charging laptops, the Anker Prime 27650mAh Power Bank can simultaneously charge other devices, such as one or two iPhones, your AirPods, or your Apple Watch.

You might want a power bank capable of recharging an iPhone multiple times—say on a camping trip or family long-haul flight. And this power bank has plenty of battery power to share around. If you’re after a smaller iPhone power bank, check out our roundup of the best MagSafe power banks.

An iPhone 14 could be charged four and a half times over if using all the power bank’s battery capacity.

In our tests, we fully recharged an iPhone 15 Pro in about 1 hour 40 minutes, leaving 85% power left in the power bank.

There are three USB ports at the top of the power bank. Each of the two USB-C ports can be used to power at 140W. While it has a maximum total output of 250W you can’t fast-charge two 16-inch MacBook Pros at the same time—when using the two USB-C ports at the same time one runs at 140W and the other at 100W, which is still powerful enough to fast-charge one laptop and standard-charge another simultaneously.

When using all three ports at the same time, one USB-C will have 140W potential, the other USB-C can charge at up to 92W, and the USB-A port will run at 18W, which is enough to fast-charge an iPhone if you still have a USB-A charging cable, of course—although note that you can’t fast-charge an iPhone with a USB-A connection.

Eventually, of course, the power bank itself will run out of juice. You can recharge the power bank itself in under 40 minutes using the two USB-C ports at the same time.

Available separately, the $69.99 Anker 100W Charging Base allows for convenient wireless charging.

This accessory also features two USB-C ports (one at 100W, the other 30W) and a 22.5W USB-A port.

Laptop power bank portability

The Anker prime 27650mAh Power Bank is a little higher than the iPhone is long, but obviously a lot wider and deeper.

Compact as it is, from a portability point of view this power bank is too big and heavy to keep in your pocket. At 23.25oz (659g) you probably wouldn’t want it weighing down your backpack and handbag all the time either.

But if you’re going to be far from a wall power socket for a long time, it’s not overly heavy to pack on your travels.

Foundry

More than just a battery

This is a sophisticated power bank with some tricks of its own, unlike more basic battery packs.

Most obvious is the color digital display on the front of the power bank that shows the remaining battery capacity, plus power input and output information.

As well as that charging data, the power bank can be controlled by the Anker app, which gives real-time charging stats (remaining charging time and input and output power indicators) and can be optimized to help extend the battery life of the devices being charged as well as its own.

You can even use the app’s Find Device feature to activate a sound alert from the power bank when you need to locate it.

The power bank comes with a soft travel bag and short, 0.6m USB-C cable.

Safety

Anker is an accessory manufacturer that you can trust. Batteries can be volatile and you don’t want to risk your device or even home with a cheaper no-name brand.

From a safety point of view, Anker claims its ActiveShield 2.0 technology monitors the power bank’s temperature to ensure safe charging. Power Delivery 3.1 is included for efficient and secure device charging.

At 99.56Wh it is within TSA, CAA and EASA airline limits for carry-on.

Price

Available in two colors, a standard space gray and a gold-like Champagne, the Anker 250W 27650mAh Power Bank is priced at $179.99 / £179.99 / CA$249.99 / AU$299.95. Check our real-time price comparison for the best prices in your region.

Anker has cheaper laptop power banks. At $129.99, there’s a 20000mAh Anker Prime Power Bank model that offers a battery not too much smaller and the same number of USB ports, plus 200W (vs 250W) total power output, but a third cheaper and noticeably smaller and 4.5oz (130g) lighter.

That smaller model lacks the app but might suit owners of 13- and 14-inch MacBooks. For the 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 140W (PD 3.1) speedy 27650mAh power bank makes more sense.

For $20 more you could buy the Ugreen 48000mAh Portable Charger Power Bank that boasts even more power but is a bigger and much heavier accessory. It too has a digital display, and has five USB ports.

Should I buy the Anker Prime 27650mAh Power Bank?

The Anker 250W 27650mAh Power Bank is a compact yet high-capacity laptop charging power bank that will give a 16-inch MacBook Pro not too far off a full charge at high speed, a full charge for a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and over a charge and a quarter for a 13-inch Air. Alternatively, it could charge an iPhone four times over.

At its size and weight, it is not one for the pocket but could easily slip into a small bag on your travels.

There are smaller high-capacity laptop power banks available, but this one is a respectable mixture of power and portability—and is particularly well suited to owners of the 16-inch MacBook Pro that can take advantage of its 140W charging and full battery capacity.