Review: iWALK Mini Portable Charger 4500mAh Ultra

How great would it be to charge your mobile phone without using a cable? Wireless charging is an option, but the charging stops once you lift the phone off the charger. On the other hand, if you want to go wireless, you can just plug the iWALK Mini Portable Charger 4500mAh Ultra into your phone and start pumping life-giving energy into it. Did I mention that the iWalk is the size of two fingers and weighs as much as a tube of lipstick? Read on to learn more.

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Pros & Cons:

Pros:

• Small and stylish

• No cords!

• Pass-Through technology

• Bulk battery case friendly

• USB C In, USB C Out

• Good recharging time

Cons:

• Small battery capacity for larger smartphones

• Average charging time

Rating

Power & Performance (1 to 5 stars)

Design & Build (1 to 5 stars)

Technology (1 to 5 stars)

Overall Rating (average of above)

Key Specifications of a Product

Key Specs:

• Capacity

4,500 mAh / 16.2 Wh

• Dimensions (LxWxH)

3 x 1.8 x 1 in / 7.6 x 4.6 x 2.5 cm

• Weight

3.3 oz / 95 g

Output & Input Charging:

• Average Charging Time of a Mobile Phone (average battery capacity 3000mAh)

1 hour and 25 minutes

• Average Recharging Time (from 0% to 100%)

2 hours and 9 minutes

Ports

• USB-C Input: 5V/1.5A

• USB-C Output: 5V/1.5A

• The version for the iPhone is also available.

Charging Technology

• Pass-Through Charging

• Built-in Plug

Flight Status

• Under 100 Wh

• Safe to take on board.

Other Features

• 12-Month Warranty

Ideal For?

• Minimalists

• Traveler

• Businessman

What Inside?

• iWALK Mini Portable Charger 4500mAh Ultra

• USB-A to USB-C Cable

• Welcome Guide & Manual

• Customer Service Info

• Quality Pass Certificate Label

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Power & Performance

Battery Capacity

Battery capacity in mAh, and Watts power.

The iWalk Mini Portable Charger has a battery capacity of 4,500 mAh / 16.2 Wh. It’s not the biggest power bank on the market and won’t charge most phones more than once. Considering its size, it’s great. If your phone has a medium-size battery, this power bank will be enough to keep it alive or can serve as an addition to your main power bank.

Capacity test - discharge the fully charged power bank

If you follow Charging Kick, you might have already noticed, we test here battery capacity by discharging the fully charged power bank. Simply, plug the power bank into USB mini adjustable load and the USB tester shows the current, voltage and time during discharging. This process allows obtaining accurate data.

However, due to the unique construction of the tested power bank, this is impossible.

Based on my observation, experience and comparison with other power banks, this device meets the manufacturer’s promises, but it also has an average battery efficiency.

How many times to charge the most sold mobile phones in 2020?

To put the battery capacity into perspective, I will use a formula for Real Battery Capacity and calculate how many times iWalk Mini Portable Charger can charge 10 topmost sold mobile phones in 2020. Perhaps you own one of the enlisted phones or at least you know your mobile phone’s battery capacity. I couldn’t obtain the battery capacity in the previous test, hence I will use the average efficiency of 85%.

Real Battery Capacity = 3.7V x Advertised capacity x efficiency (in decimal) / 5V = 2,830 mAh

Once we know the real battery capacity, simply divide it by the enlisted mobile phones’ battery capacity to find out how many times it can be charged.

It seems this unit won’t fully charge most mobile phones even once. For many potential users, this will be a deal-breaker. However, if you don’t keep using your phone until it dies – which is recommended – then it should charge most phones to 80% or 90%. Still, a great score, considering the size of the device. And if you have a small phone like the iPhone SE 2, the power bank might be almost enough for two full charges. If you own a phone with a battery of over 4,000 mAh, this power bank may not be sufficient.

Output Charging

Charging Time & Power Usage

The main purpose of power banks is charging your devices, hence this review cannot be done without testing output charging. The knowledge of the charging time of devices is crucial. Frequently is one of the most important factors while purchasing a power bank.

For these tests, I used two mobile phones:

• Huawei P10 with a battery of 3200 mAh (Huawei SuperCharge)

• Samsung S8 with a battery of 3000mAh (Adaptive Fast Charging)

Both phones support fast-charging technology.

To record data (current, voltage, mAh, time) I used a USB tester.

Normally, I use a USB tester that shows precisely how much energy a tested phone receives and the charging time. However, in a capacity test, the unusual construction of this power bank prevents me from using a USB tester. Still, output charging is the crucial test that shows real-life performance. I used a stopwatch to record my charging times. From my previous tests on different power banks, I know that, on average, a Huawei P10 receives 2,300 mAh and a Samsung 2,200 mAh.

Test Charge (Huawei)

The test started at 2% of the phone battery and finished charging at 92%. It took an hour and 35 minutes to charge the Huawei P10, a standard time. After the charging, one LED on the power bank was still flashing, so there was a bit of energy left in the bank.

Test Charge (Samsung)

The Samsung S8 needed only an hour and 20 minutes to reach over 90% battery. A pretty good time. There was still a bit of energy left.

Round-up of output charging

Overall, the iWalk Mini Portable Charger meets expectations. The output port is rated at 5V/1.5A, so I didn’t expect fast charging. The Huawei P10 charged in over an hour and a half; Samsung in an hour and 20 minutes. Both results are fine.

Input Charging

The USB-C input port is rated at 5V/1.5A. It’s a standard port that will need over 2 hours to fully recharge the power bank. I charged it twice.

The first test, via a standard charger rated at 5V/2A charging speed; a charger most of us have. For the second charge, I used the charger rated 65W, the fastest type of charger, able to charge compatible laptops.

Recharging via Standard Charger

It took 2 hours and 13 minutes to reach full charge. It’s an amazing time considering the battery capacity. The power bank received 3,568 mAh / 17.7 Wh of energy.

Recharging via Fast Charger

The RAVPower charger was a bit faster and charged the iWALK Mini Portable Charger in 2 hours and 6 minutes. The power bank received 3415 mAh / 17.6 Wh of energy.

Round-up of output charging

The recharging time of this device is remarkable. Most portable chargers need around 3 hours to get fully charged, and this device can do it in ⅔ of this time!

Score

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Design & Build

Size & Weight

Weight in ounces and grams

• 3.3 oz / 95 g

Measurement in inches and centimeters

• 3 x 1.8 x 1 in / 7.6 x 4.6 x 2.5 cm

It’s the smallest power bank I’ve ever used, period. It weighs only 3.3 ounces (95 grams) and is the size of two average adult fingers. To put it into perspective, the Anker PowerCore 5000 weighs 4.7 ounces (134 g) and is noticeably bigger. Once the iWALK Mini is plugged into a mobile phone, the extra weight is barely noticeable.

Design & Material

The tested power bank was black. It’s also available in white, red and pink. The surface close to the port is glossy, whereas the rest is dull. The front part, in the middle, shows the iWalk logo. On the right edge is the power button. Once it’s pressed, three LEDs light up above the logo to indicate the power level. On the left edge is a USB-C port for input charging.

On the top is the USB-C port (an iPhone version is also available). This is a unique feature of this power bank: there’s no cable. You just plug straight into your phone. The port is protected by a rubber cover. However, the port is slightly longer than the standard one. Even if you use a protective case for your phone, it should be long enough to safely plug into your phone.

One of my main questions, when I started using this unit was, would it stay in place? It plugged into the bottom of the phone, and whenever I had it plugged in I was afraid it might come off. But I kept using it while I used my phone, and it stayed in. Then I decided to move it swiftly and shake it. It stayed in. It requires a bit of strength to unplug it. As long as you don’t do anything crazy, the power bank will remain safely in place.

The bonus is that when plugged into a phone and left in a vertical position, the device keeps the phone upright. This is useful if you want to watch something while the power bank is plugged in.

Score

Technology

Ports

The iWALK Mini Portable Charger is equipped with one USB-C port used to charge a mobile phone and a USB-C port for recharging. Its unique construction, with the USB-C port built-in, sets it apart from other power banks. However, the input and output rates are only average.

Ports:

• USB-C Input: 5V/1.5A

• USB-C Output: 5V/1.5A

The version for the iPhone is also available.

Tech

The iWALK Mini Portable Charger can brag about its unique look and design, but technology-wise it’s an ordinary power bank. It doesn’t have fast-charging technology or the equivalent of PowerIQ Technology. The only feature worth mentioning is its Pass-Through Charging, which allows you to charge a mobile phone while the power bank is being charged. However, for a battery this size, I don’t find this a very useful technology.

Score

Conclusion

Overall Opinion

The iWALK Mini Portable Charger 4500mAh Ultra is an exceptional power bank. Its unique construction, size, and weight are incredibly handy. It stays firmly plugged in. Charging and recharging speeds aren’t exceptional but meet the average. Most people who need some extra juice for a day will love this device.

Final Score

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