Reviewed in Canada on November 28, 2023
I doubt this power bank is 20,000 mAh based on my use of it. My guess is no more than 10,000 mAh to 12,000 mAh based on how many percentage points it drops combined with charging my phone from 1 to 100% while measuring with AccuBattery.
But whatever. All the manufacturers exaggerate the capacities of their batteries, and some capacity is lost to the inefficenies of charging in general.
I like the features of this power bank, especially the dual direction USB-C port, which allows faster charging of your phone with a USB-C cable, as well as charging the power bank itself more quickly using a USB-C cable and USB-C charger. Other power banks in the same class offered only one way USB-C charging. It's also several watts more powerful than it's closest competitors (at least from the established 'reputable' brands) which often top out at 15W, whereas this one is rated for 22.5 watts.
My Samsung phone did not display Super fast Charging, only the standard Fast Charging, which is to be expected because I think you need 25 watts to enter Super Fast mode.
Whether 22.5 watts will charge a Samsung phone any faster than a 15 or 20 watt, I don't know. I'm not sure if Samsung's adaptive charging has a position between 15 and 25. But in any case, 22.5 is better than 15 if you want to charge two devices at the same time, so that's something.
Nonetheless, my Samsung S21 series phone charged from 1% to 100% (while it was on and being actively used, with airplane mode on, and Wi-Fi re-nabled, screen brightness 20%) in a very respectable 2 Hours 10 Minutes.
I imagine it would have been slightly faster if the phone had been off or idle, But I would be surprised if the difference was more than about 20 minutes.
And of course, I was using a good condition high quality charging cable. So, not too shabby at all.
The large easy to read display shows the battery percentage of the power bank. It's an old school LED type display, not a higher resolution LCD display, but that's irrelevant since it only needs to display simple numbers and a percentage point, and it does that very well.
Now, onto the stuff I don't like.
The powerbank does not always intelligently divide the charging power between the connected devices. If I connect a single device it will charge at the maximum compatible speed. If I connect a second device at the same time, charging speed will drop and split between the two devices, which is expected. However, when removing one of the devices, the powerbank does not reset the ports to re-allocate all available power to the remaining connected device. I tried two of these units. The first one had two ports which refused to re-allocate, and the second one had one port which wouldn't. Indicates lack of quality control, and it confirms that the powerbank *should* be dynamically allocating available power. The powerbank must be fully powercycled to restore the ports to their full charging speed in this scenario. A few times I turned it off and on and the ports were not reset, so I held the power button longer when turning it off, and that seemed to do the trick.
The exterior has a soft touch rubberized coating on it, which is good for making it less slippery and easier to handle. However, soft touch coatings tend to degrade and become sticky over time. As I'll mention more about in a minute, this power bank does not have a premium build. So I have some doubts about the longevity of the soft touch coating, but whatever.
I also noticed when plugging cables into the onboard ports, It doesn't have a smooth feel or sound. No premium connectors here.
Similarly, the power button is overly clicky and feels cheap.
That doesn't mean it won't last, but again it highlights where the costs were cut. However, in both the on and off position, the button sits flush with the case with a minimal amount of wiggle. It's quite small, and can take a few seconds to locate. Better placement would have been on the narrow end opposite the connectors.
Tapping on the case sounds hollow and not solid.
You can hear that hollowness when plugging the cables into it as well. The cables click into place with the same hollow echo you get from tapping it. In other words, it sounds like there's a lot of empty space inside. Was this hollow space intentionally left by the manufacturer to make it less apparent if the batteries begin to swell up and become unsafe, to overcompensate for lower quality battery cells? Hard to know. But it could be a potential safety issue as batteries could become swollen without the case showing any signs of expansion, unlike if the case was of a more streamlined fit.
You can tell from how the two halves of the shell snap together that it would be likely to pop open if dropped. It certainly doesn't sound like a power bank that would hold up well when being dropped or treated roughly.
Push the power button quickly twice, and you can enter flashlight mode. In a really dark room, in an emergency, it would do in a pinch. But the LED beam is weak and unfocused, similar to a keychain flashlight, with an overly cool beam that doesn't offer a lot of clarity. Another penny saved.
All things considered, I would say it's about a $40-$45 power bank at most. Much more than that and the build quality compromises become more difficult to swallow.
I'm happy with it overall, and I'm sure I'll come to appreciate it a lot more when it keeps my phone or tablet streaming Netflix during the upcoming winter power outages.
The manufacturer is pretty good about replacing defective products under warranty, but there is no guarantee the replacement model they offer you will be equal to, or have the same features as the one being replaced, and they aren't especially flexible in that area, so bear that in mind if the warranty is a big factor in your purchase decision.
After all is said and done, I will still continue to purchase INIU products even if they are not perfect.
Overall they represent a pretty good value, are a well established "gibberish name" brand on Amazon, and have good customer service and decent length warranty to back it up.