May 24, 2017 Joey Ferris

Choetech Portable Power Bank – A good fit for Nintendo Switch? (review)

Battery power banks are a hot product on the market thanks to the immense popularity of smartphones, tablets, and gaming devices like the Nintendo Switch. Speed and capacity are the names of the game when it comes to finding the right power bank for you. And luckily the Choetech Portable Power Bank offers both, albeit at the cost of portability.

Personally, I like it when a battery charger fits easily in my pocket. The Choetech is a little too bulky to fit down there. It’s roughly about the size of my LG G4 and almost 3 inches thicker. It would be nice if it was thinner, but it is an understandable adjustment seeing as it is a 20000 mAh power bank. Looks like I’ll have to stick my wallet in my back pocket from now on.

There are four different inputs on the device: a micro-USB port, Lightning port for charging and two USB slots, one of which is 3.0 for faster charging. The Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 port is easily my favorite thing about the power bank. As a result, it can fully charge my phone in about 30-45 minutes flat from zero percent! This is especially handy if you’re using your phone in its charging state as it’ll be charging much faster than it is draining. The 2.0 USB slot is fine too, but you want to use that 3.0 slot every chance you get. If your friend needs a charge at the same time, you can both share. (Just don’t tell them the 3.0 port charges faster.)

I only tried one other device with the power bank, the Nintendo Switch. When it’s running a demanding game such as Breath of the Wild or Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, the battery can fully drain in about 3 hours. While I was playing Breath of the Wild at max brightness in the charging state, the battery percentage would fluctuate between being lower than it was or higher. Safe to say that playing the Switch while the bank is charging it is not a good idea. But in sleep mode it works perfectly fine, maintaining the fast charge I witnessed on my phone.

Final Reaction

If you’re looking for a reliable, yet inexpensive portable charger for any of your devices, then this power bank from Choetech is a more than reliable option. The only negatives is the somewhat bulky design and an inability to charge the Switch during its most power-draining moments. However, the USB 3.0 slot and large capacity more than make up for those minuscule flaws. These are more nitpicks than actual problems. Definitely have a look at this battery pack to take with you on your next vacation!

Rating: 4.5/5 Atoms