We went a good few years not caring for, nor needing the use of, power banks. But as the world has opened up more than anyone could care to imagine, they’ve slowly and surely wormed their way into our lives.
A key reason for that – at least for us – is the move to mobile gaming and mobile working. What was once a desk-confined operation, is now available on the go, whether that be through Game Pass Cloud gaming on our phones, PC use on Steam Deck, or a coffee shop trip to break up the monotony of the office. Whatever, the requirement of power on the go is one that has come right to the surface, and we’ve found UGREEN to be a key player in that regard.
We’ve used multiple UGREEN power banks over the years, with the UGREEN 145W 25000mAh Power Bank a backpack-able option. Joining that in UGREEN’s range are some new offerings – the UGREEN Nexode Power Bank 20000mAh 130W and – extremely similar – UGREEN Nexode Power Bank 12000mAh 100W. No matter which of these you buy, you’ll probably come away impressed. Actually, there’s no probably about it, you WILL come away impressed.
That said, don’t expect too many bells and whistles from these UGREEN juice givers. Solid offerings, they do the job required of them brilliantly. There isn’t much more to say than that.
We’re lumping the 20000mAh and 12000mAh Power Banks into one article, as aside from size and power delivery, these are very much the same product – grey and black slabs of energy, ready and willing to provide the power you need to keep any device topped up and sitting pretty.
Visually, they are really good looking too – for a power bank. Hardly the slimmest power bank you’re ever going to see, these are rectangular columns in shape and feel, running a cool space grey colour all over. That is only broken up by a couple of rubber feet on the bottom, the UGREEN logo emblazoned across the face, and a square display which provides the necessary info you will need during your power consumption gains.
As you may expect, the 20000mAh version comes in bigger, both in size and stature, than that of the 12000mAh edition, but that does mean the smaller one is probably a better fit for anyone looking to stow it away on their travels. For us? Well, we’ve been using each of these over the course of the last month or so, picking and choosing between them on a near daily basis. They’ve been chucked in bags as we’ve travelled the country, and have joined us on the odd coffee shop trip as we’ve looked to continue ‘working’ on our MacBook Pro. We’ve also used them to power our Steam Deck, our mobile as Game Pass play has come to the fore with the GameSir G8+ in use. Whatever the occasion, these power banks have done the job, each and every time.
In terms of the power delivery, these are perfect for simple plug and play charging. The 12000mAh version is complete with a USB-A port that will sort out a slower charge, whilst a 100W USB-C port drops everything you need at a quick rate. If you’re anything like us, this is the one you’ll use 99% of the time. It does mean that if you need it, charging a couple of devices at once is more than possible. And with the sheer size of the battery included in the power bank itself, there’s enough here to keep you going between charges.
The 20000mAh option ups that. Not only in what it can hold, but in terms of port-age, throwing in a secondary USB-C port. This means you can, in effect, charge a couple of USB-C devices at once. That’s pretty decent in itself, but chuck in the USB-A too and you’ve got a triple treat going on, maxing out at 130W in power. Will you ever really find use for that? Perhaps if power is needed in a laptop, phone and headphones, all at once.
No matter which unit you use, the screen on these ensures you will always be kept in the loop as to what is going on. Admittedly better and more in-depth on the larger device, the amount of power left in the bank is front and centre, but a tap of a side-mounted button on the 20000mAh version cycles through to various other power details. We’ve rarely felt the need to worry about the finer intricacies and exact charges going through to our devices, but it’s nice to have the option available. Similarly, it’s easy to charge these Nexode Power Banks too – plug it in to any one of those USB-C cables you’ll have laying around the place and charge will be added back in.
As is expected from a UGREEN device, both versions are covered with safety features too – 13-layer safety protection, a thermal guard system and airline approval. Each come with a very short, USB-C cable included in the box too.
So, downsides? Well, not really, aside from the fact that neither the 20000mAh or 12000mAh Nexode Power Banks from UGREEN are particularly pocket friendly. Don’t expect to chuck these in a jeans backpocket, but if you do have a backpack to hand, they’ll fit neatly enough. You should also probably consider the weight of each too – 12000mAh comes in at 311 grams, whilst the beefier 20000mAh bank is a hefty 476 grams; nearly half a kilo. It feels it too.
On the whole though, you won’t go wrong with the UGREEN Nexode Power Banks, no matter whether you get the 12000mAh 100W option or that of 20000mAh 130W. In fact, drop the required cash on either, and you’ll probably find them becoming travel companions fairly swiftly. We know we wouldn’t go anywhere without ours.
Huge thanks go out to UGREEN for providing us with both the UGREEN Nexode Power Bank 20000mAh 130W (£89.99) and UGREEN Nexode Power Bank 12000mA 100W (£49.99). Grab one for yourself from Amazon – discounts will no doubt be available.
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