The best power bank for MacBook Pro owners, now 39% off for Black Friday
The best power bank for MacBook Pro owners, now 39% off for Black Friday
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The best power bank for MacBook Pro owners, now 39% off for Black Friday
The display when the power bank is in use.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
What’s the Black Friday deal?
The Anker 737 140W power bank is 39% off on Amazon. This amounts to a savings of $58 for a total price of $92.
Why this deal is ZDNET-recommended
Power banks are a really handy, portable way to keep your smartphones, laptops and other devices charged up. But the latest MacBook Pro needs 140W of power to fast-charge, which is more than most power banks can handle.
The Anker 737 power bank changes this. This power bank can output a full 140W of power needed to handle the most demanding workloads.
The Anker 737 has a very solid, brick-shaped construction, of exactly the sort of high quality that I have come to expect from a company like Anker. It has a battery capacity of 24,000 mAh, good for nearly five recharges of an iPhone 13, and more than one charge of the MacBook Pro.
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With a total power capacity of 86.4Wh, this power bank is fine for taking onto commercial aircraft (the limit there is 99.9Wh).
The kit comes with the Anker 737 power bank, a carrying case, a USB-C-to-USB-C cable, and a small instruction booklet that guides you through the features.
Anker 737 140W power bank tech specs
- Max output: 140W
- Capacity: 24,000 mAh
- Ports: 2 x USB-C, 1 x USB-A
- Weight: 22.22 oz/630 g
- Dimensions: 6.13 × 2.15 × 1.95 in/155.7 × 54.6 × 49.5 mm
On one end are three USB ports (two USB-C, one USB-A), and there’s also a small but bright and readable color display. On the side is a button that controls everything.
Anker 737 has three USB display ports (two USB-C and one USB-A ports).
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
On the display you can see information on battery capacity, charge and discharge currents from the various ports, the time needed to recharge or discharge, temperature, battery health, and other info.
This offers a great overview of the overall health of the power bank, as well as the power that’s going into and out of it.
Power bank capacity.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Detailed information.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
As for power output, the three ports are capable of outputting 140W of power, depending on the configuration:
- Single USB-C in use: Up to 140W
- Two USB-C ports in use: Up to 140W
- One USB-C and one USB-A in use: Up to 100W for both USB-C, up to 18W for USB-A
- Two USB-C and one USB-A in use: Up to 122W for both USB-C, up to 18W for USB-A
There’s also a trickle-charge feature for low-draw devices such as earbuds and the like. This is activated by double-pressing the button.
Inside are all the safety features you’d expect from a quality power bank, such as temperature sensing and over/under voltage protection.
Option to keep the display activated (I suggest leaving this off for battery longevity).
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
As for charging, I managed to get the power bank to take in power at close to 130W using the Apple MacBook Pro 140W charger and the supplied cable.
Anker 737 charging at close to 130W.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Anker says the supplied cable is rated for 140W, so it’s a good idea to keep this handy for fast-charging if you have a 140W charger.
The Anker 737 comes with a 140W USB-C cable.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
The Anker 737 is now my favorite power bank. The 140W output is a massive game-changer for keeping my MacBook Pro charged up when I’m out and about. The bright, crisp display adds value rather than being a gimmick, and the addition of a USB-A port along with the USB-C ports means that legacy devices don’t get left out in the cold.
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It has enough power to keep my devices changed, but not so much that I have to leave it behind if I go on a plane.
And that display is also nice. Good use of color means that it is easily readable no matter the conditions, day or night.
And everything is backed by Anker’s 24-month warranty, which takes the stress out of the situation if you do end up with problems.
At $149, the Anker 737 might seem dear, but for your money you’re getting a very high-quality power bank that delivers on all the claims made on the box, is easy to use, and is built for longevity.
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