Anker PowerCore 5000 Review

The Anker PowerCore 5000 is one of the easiest contenders to transport, easily fitting in a pocket and being much less cumbersome than many other portable chargers on the market. The PowerCore 5000 has a bit less battery capacity than other heftier power banks but should be more than enough to fully charge most smartphones at least once. However, it lacks any convenience features like integrated cables or multiple charging methods.

Performance Comparison

Portability

To test portability, we measured and scored each charger's volume and weight, and slid them in various types of pockets to judge how comfortable they were while sitting and walking around. Anker's PowerCore 5000 is one of the most portable and easy to carry power packs out there.

This power pack utilizes a small cylindrical profile, measuring about 1.3 inches in diameter and 4.2 inches long, and weighs in at a scant 4.71 oz. — making it one of the lightest battery packs out of the entire group.

The Anker PowerCore 5000 should also be your first choice if you're seeking a charger you can slip into your pocket while you walk around. This battery is one of the best at fitting in either a front or back pocket and has the USB output port on the end. This lets you easily plug in a device and charge it while you are walking around, keeping the device in one pocket and the battery in another, running the cable around your waist.

Charging Efficiency

For our next set of tests, we looked at how much electrical energy each battery actually stored. To determine the score, we looked at how much electrical energy we could actually extract from each charger at its maximum discharge rate using a dummy electrical load and how well each product stacked up against its manufacturer's stated advertising claims. The Anker PowerCore 5000 did fairly well in this test.

This portable battery has a stated capacity of 5000 mAh, and we were able to get 3259 mAh or about 65% of this out of the battery when setting the discharge rate at 2 amps. It maintained this for around 3100 mAh, then shut off. We restarted it at a 1 amp discharge rate and got it to run for a few more minutes, but then it completely died. We ran the entire test again at a 1 amp discharge rate and only got a little more total energy from the battery, with our meter registering a total discharge of 3343 mAh before it died.

Anker claims that this battery pack can deliver 1.1 Samsung Galaxy S9, 1.8 iPhone 8, or 1.1 iPhone X charges, which aligned very closely with our results. We didn't have an S9, but we were able to charge a Samsung Galaxy S8 1.12 times before the PowerCore 5000 was totally depleted.

Added Convenience

For our next round of testing, we moved on to ranking and scoring the various features and extra functions that made these products easier and more convenient to use. We scored each portable battery on the presence of an integrated recharging solution, if there are built-in cables for charging a device, if the battery has a flashlight, and if you can charge multiple devices simultaneously. We also took into account what sort of warranty is included with each product. The Anker PowerCore 5000 has a small, simple design with no bells and whistles, so it didn't score super high here.

This portable battery lacks any integrated features, requiring an additional cable to recharge the battery or to charge any devices. However, it does include a micro USB cable, but you need to either plug it into your computer or provide your own AC wall adapter for charging.

This battery pack only has a single output port, so you are limited to charging a single device at a time and does not have a built-in flashlight. However, it does include an 18-month limited warranty.

Recharge Time

The final 10% of each product's score relates to its recharge time. For this test, we timed how long it took to completely recharge a fully depleted battery pack and compared it between products. The PowerCore redeemed itself for its poor performance in the previous metric, earning one of the best scores overall.

This battery pack completely recharged in about two and a half hours in our test, right in line with the manufacturer's estimated time of 2-3 hours with a 2 amp charger.

Should You Buy the Anker PowerCore 5000?

While this battery doesn't have a ton of extra features, it's ultra portable, performs well, and is affordable. If you want a top-notch portable charger, we think the Anker PowerCore 5000 is a great choice.

What Other Portable Chargers Should You Consider?

If you're hoping to charge multiple devices at once, check out the INIU Portable Charger 10000. To really stretch your dollars, the Miady 10000 comes in a 2-pack for a very affordable price. And if you need something that can charge your heavy-duty devices, like a laptop, the Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD will do the job.