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My army of portable chargers is eight soldiers strong. It\u2019s a little ridiculous, but the variety gives me flexibility to pick the perfect charger for the day\u2019s needs, whether it\u2019s my sleek MagSafe charger<\/a> to keep my iPhone going on longer days or a bigger brick for my iPad, camera, and other devices when I anticipate heavier usage. My collection ballooned as charging tech improved over the years, but it\u2019s way more than any one person needs. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019m hoping to consolidate my kit with the Anker Prime 27,650mAh Power Bank (250W)<\/strong> I\u2019ve been eyeing, and now seems a decent time to buy since it\u2019s matching its all-time low of $124.99 ($55 off) at Amazon<\/a> and directly from Anker<\/a> with code WS7DV2MTYMJV<\/strong>. It\u2019s compatible with an optional $69.99 magnetic charging base<\/a>, but you can also use the included 140W charging cable to top up the power bank or charge your USB-C devices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For most techies, a $125 power bank is absolutely overkill. If all you\u2019re worried about charging is a phone and perhaps a Nintendo Switch<\/a> or a pair of earbuds on the occasional extended outing, you could easily get by with something half the price. But it\u2019s easier to justify expanding your budget for something like this when you regularly tote laptops, tablets, cameras, and other gear that you can\u2019t wait around forever to charge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s a little chunkier and heavier than the average power bank \u2014 it\u2019s just small enough to be \u201cportable\u201d but definitely not meant for pockets \u2014 however, the 27,650mAh capacity may be worth the heft. Starting from 100 percent, it should fully charge smaller laptops like a MacBook Air<\/a> with room to spare, and devices with smaller batteries can get several extra cycles. Cheaper power banks can, too, but you\u2019re really paying for the charging bandwidth here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 250W maximum throughput (the fastest available from Anker\u2019s smaller options) splits across two USB-C ports that can charge devices at up to 140W each (if used alone) and a USB-A port that can go up to 65W. If you\u2019re charging two devices, you can simultaneously pull up to 140W and 100W from each USB-C port or 140W and 65W from USB-C and USB-A.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With three devices, the USB-C ports still offer plenty of headroom at 140W and 92W, but the USB-A port takes a steep drop to 18W \u2014 still suitable for charging a phone or smaller accessories at decent speeds. One caveat in all of this: a built-in mechanism periodically throttles charging speeds when the power bank is below 55 percent capacity, which Anker deems necessary for preserving long-term battery health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I also like the built-in display that shows the power bank\u2019s total capacity and how much time remains before it\u2019s fully charged (Anker claims it can go from empty to full in as little as 37 minutes), plus the current power being delivered to each port. There\u2019s also a companion app that\u2019ll show all of this, plus a feature that makes the power bank emit a sound to help you locate it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n