Best Companion for On-the-Go Tech: Anker’s PowerCore + 26800 Reviewed

4.8

Anker PowerCore+ 26800 Battery Pack

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Lifewire / Gannon Burgett

What We Like

• Sleek design
• Powerful connections
• Included accessories
• Great value

What We Don’t Like

• No AC plugin
• One USB Type-C port

The Anker PowerCore+ 26800 Battery Pack Bundle is a simple solution to making sure your gadgets are charged on the go thanks to its 30W USB Type-C power delivery and two additional USB ports.

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4.8

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Anker PowerCore+ 26800 Battery Pack

Lifewire / Gannon Burgett

View On Amazon $100

in this article

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• Design
• Setup Process
• Charging Speed and Battery
• Price
• Competition
• Final Verdict
• Specs

The product reviewed here is largely out of stock or has been discontinued, which is reflected in the links to product pages. However, we’ve kept the review live for informational purposes.

We purchased the Anker PowerCore+ 26800 Battery Pack Bundle so our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and assess it. Keep reading for our full product review.

Anker has made a name for itself as one of the most reliable gadgets and accessories manufacturers in the game. Despite their reasonable prices, the quality continues to impress and its Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD with 30W Power Delivery Charger is no exception. We’ve spent some time with this laptop battery charger and put it to the test to see just how well Anker’s compact battery pack holds up against a variety of gadgets.

Design: Plush and light for travelers

If you’ve owned any Anker products, you’ll immediately recognize the PowerCore+ 26800. It features a minimal rectangular design made of extruded aluminum with rounded edges for a very smooth look and feel. It weighs roughly 1.3 pounds, which gives it a premium feel without feeling too heavy.

Lifewire / Gannon Burgett

The PowerCore+ 26800 features a single button on the top of the device to show remaining battery life and three ports on one of the two flat sides: two 5V/3A PowerIQ USB ports (Power IQ is Anker’s proprietary smart-charging standard) and a power deliveryUSB Type-C port. It’s a no-frills design that gets to the point without any unnecessary details or frills and it looks great when paired with any clean, modern device if you care about form as much as function.

Setup Process: Simple to start, but there’s yet another adapter to carry around

As with most battery chargers, there’s not much to the Anker PowerCore+ 26800. Inside the box is the battery pack, a 30W USB Type-C wall charger, and two cables: a USB Type-C to USB Type-C and a micro USB to USB Type-C.

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Lifewire / Gannon Burgett

Our device came approximately 50% charged based on the battery life indicator lights on the top. We immediately burned through what battery life it had so we could start fresh with testing to see how quickly the 30W wall charger could fill the 26800mAh capacity.

It’s a no-frills design that looks great when paired with any clean, modern device if you care about form as much as function.

Charging Speed and Battery: Slow and steady wins this race

From zero percent battery life, the PowerCore+ 26800 charged to 100% in four hours flat, both in our initial test and our eight additional battery cycles, with only ten or fifteen-minute variances. This time lines up perfectly with Anker’s given timeframe, which states it will charge in four hours when using the included 30WUSB wall charger and USB Type-C cable.

The Anker PowerCore+ 26800 retails for $129.99. That alone is a deal in terms of power output, but add in the accessories and it’s an absolute steal.

We tested the PowerCore+ 26800’s charging abilities using three different devices: two smartphones and a laptop. The smartphones we used were an iPhone XS and a Samsung Galaxy S8 Active and the laptop we had on hand was a 2016 MacBook Pro 15-inch.

For the smartphones, we made sure the PowerCore+ 26800 was charged up entirely and ran both the iPhone XS and Samsung Galaxy S8 Active through complete battery cycles until the battery pack was out of juice. The iPhone XS was charged six and a half times with an average time of an hour and a half using the PowerIQ USB port with a Lightning cable. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, on the other hand, managed seven and a half charges with an average charge time of an hour and fifteen minutes using the included USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable.

Lifewire / Gannon Burgett

We tested the PowerCore+ 26800 on our 2016 MacBook Pro 15-inch four different times to get a solid average. With the laptop completely dead, the battery pack managed to charge it to 100% in just three and a half hours with a little battery life to spare.

Price: Perfectly priced for its power

The Anker PowerCore+ 26800 retails for $129.99. That alone is a deal in terms of power output, but add in the 30W USB wall charger and the two cables and it’s an absolute steal. The USB wall charger alone goes for $25.99 and the cables easily add up to $10 together, meaning you’re effectively paying $100 for the charger.

Anker PowerCore+ 26800 vs. RAVPower 26800

Anker PowerCore+ 26800 has an almost identical competitor, the RAVPower 26800. The two battery packs feature the exact same capacity and both are capable of outputting 30W charging via their respective USB Type-C ports.

The RAVPower 26800 retails for $79.99, a full $50 less than the Anker PowerCore+ 26800, but it doesn’t include the USB wall charger. It also recharges using Micro USB, meaning it’s going to be a fair bit slower than the Anker PowerCore+ 26800, which uses USB Type-C. RAVPower claims its battery pack can recharge fully in 4-5 hours.

Want to take a look at some other options? See our guide to thebest portable laptop battery chargers .

Final Verdict

The perfect little power pack.

Yes, it’s a little more expensive than its RAVPower contemporary, but considering the included accessories and more thoughtful design, it makes it worth it to spring the extra cash, especially when you take into account the 18-month warranty Anker offers.

Similar Products We’ve Reviewed

• MaxOak 185Wh/50000mAh Battery Pack
• Jackery PowerBar Battery Pack
• ChargeTech 27000mAh Battery Pack

Specs

• Product Name PowerCore+ 26800 Battery Pack
• Product Brand Anker
• Price $119.00
• Release Date April 2017
• Weight 1.27 lbs.
• Product Dimensions 6.54 x 3.15 x 0.91 in.
• Color Gunmetal
• Removable Cables Yes, included
• Controls Battery indicator button
• Inputs/Outputs One 30W USB Type-C port, Two QuickCharge 3.0 USB ports
• Warranty 18 months
• Compatibility Android, iOS