With users looking to squeeze as much battery life as possible out of their iPhones, external power packs have become almost as common of an accessory as cases and traditional chargers. Unfortunately, they've tended to lean to the more expensive side, so we're happy to see Belkin bucking the trend here with an ultra-portable power solution that provides a decent amount of juice and sells for only $30.
Available in silver, rose gold, and black, Pocket Power 5K features a minimalist and lightweight design — it weights only 4.6 ounces, making it lighter than an uncased iPhone 8, and about the same size. On one end you’ll find a USB-A port to which you can connect a standard USB to Lightning cable for charging your iPhone or just about any other USB-capable device, and a micro USB port for recharging the power pack. The unit ships with only a short USB to micro USB charging cable, so you’ll need to supply your own power source to charge it back up, as well as your own charging cable for your iPhone or whatever other device you’re using, but we think that’s pretty fair game considering the low price tag.
Four LEDs on the side indicate the approximate power level of the battery. These light up when the device is in use — charging another device or being charged itself — and can also be viewed at a glance by pressing the button located beside the LEDs. This is the only button on the unit, and the only purpose it serves; unlike other power packs we’ve seen, Pocket Power 5K doesn’t have an “off” switch, so it’s ready to go as soon as you connect something to it. The USB-A port is also capable of putting out 2.4 amps, so you’ll get full speed charging for pretty much any iPhone model, although iPhone 8 and iPhone X Fast Charging is naturally not supported as this requires a USB-C port supporting the USB-PD spec.
Belkin’s Pocket Power 5K works as well as we’d expect, with the 5000 mAh battery being capable of fully juicing up an iPhone 8 and then having enough left over for about another 50 percent charge. What makes Pocket Power 5K particularly unique, however, is the design and the price — it’s light and portable with a decent amount of power, features a nice design, and it’s almost affordable enough to be a stocking stuffer.
