Aukey Quick Charge review; 10,000mAh of fast-charging bliss

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You need power for your gadgets — there's just no getting around it. Sometimes you're near an outlet. Other times, you're on-the-go and can't be bothered to plug in. The Aukey 10,000mAh External Battery is made for those times. Like most battery packs, it brings you a charge when you're out and about. Unlike most battery packs, it also supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology, so if your phone also supports that tech, Aukey's pack will power you up quickly. Does it really work as advertised, though?

Yes and no.

I'll start by saying Aukey's charger is really classy looking, and reminds me of the myCharge pack I reviewed not long ago. A simple input/output and solo power button let you know what's going on, and the wrap-around aluminum makes it a handsome addition to your bag.

Input and output are both 5V/2.1A or 9V/1.8A standard, but the output reaches 12V/1.35A as well. The four battery indicator lights all represent 25% of battery or so, with zero lights meaning you might have as much as 5% left in the tank.

As a standard charger, Aukey is nice. It gets the job done, and the output is great for those smartphones that can accept more juice when charging. At 12 ounces it's definitely pretty heavy, but it's also 10,000mAh. You can expect heft.

When it came to quick charging, we tested Aukey with a DROID Turbo. It definitely charged faster than standard charging techniques, but not quite as fast as it can via an outlet.

Fortunately, it wasn't noticeably slower, just not quite as fast as we can get via the wall charger. At around 10% battery, it took just 90 minutes to get back to a full charge. Via the wall charger, it takes just over an hour. So 15-20 minutes difference, really.

The best part about this charger? It's $29.99. That's an absolute steal, and though it's heavy, the price is really hard to beat for a power pack this size. Quick Charge is also cool, but I still wish more companies would include cables in their chargers like TYLT does. Not having to tote around a cable is really handy.

If you're interested, the Aukey 10,000mAh battery pack can be found via Amazon.