While I still haven’t found a need for an external battery pack for my iPhone 6 Plus — which never seems to run out of energy during a typical day of use — I’m sure that eventually I’m going to run into a situation where I’m away from a wall outlet for an extended period of time. RAVPower has a good looking and convenient 9,000 mAh battery pack/Lightning charger combo called the Savior RB-PB18 (US$99.99, on sale for $49.99, affiliate link) that we’re looking at today.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 4.33 x 2.76 x 1.10 inch (11 x 7 x 2.8 cm)
- Weight: 8.6 ounces (243.8 grams)
- Battery capacity: 9,000 mAh
- Output: Built-in Lightning cable 5V/2.4A, USB port 5V/1A
Design
As external battery packs go, the Savior RB-PB18 has a lot going for it. First, you can just leave your regular Apple “wall wart” at home – the Savior has its own fold-out prongs so you can just plug it right into the wall. Second, there’s no need to bring a cable with you, since this MFi (Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod) certified device has a built-in Lightning cable as well.
There’s a regular USB port on the bottom of the Savior, perfect if you want to plug in two iOS devices for charging at the same time. The entire gizmo is covered in a soft-touch matte black or white silicone, and there’s just one button on it for checking charge or turning on the charger if it doesn’t switch on automatically.
RAVPower thoughtfully provides a carrying bag and a number of adapters so you can use the Savior with just about any other device. There’s a flat USB to micro-USB cable, a micro-USB to mini-USB adapter, and a micro-USB to 30-pin Dock Connector adapter.
Function
To test the RAVPower Savior RB-PB18, I initially used it to charge up an iPhone and iPad simultaneously just to drain the battery. Once that was done, I unfolded the power prongs, plugged the Savior into a wall socket, and let it charge the battery. A full charge took seven hours.
With 9,000 mAh capacity, I was able to only charge the iPhone 6 Plus once and still had some power left over. RAVPower notes that the interior cells of the Savior RB-PB18 run at 3.7V and that the device is about 80% efficient at best, so the working capacity is actually about 5,328 mAh. That iPhone 6 Plus has a mammoth 4,400 mAh battery pack, so the Savior can recharge it about 1.2 times.
RAVPower uses something they call iSmart technology to deliver the highest possible current to any device being charged, so the Savior is able to charge a bit faster than other battery packs without this feature. In a comparison test against another battery pack, I was able to charge the 6 Plus in about 45 minutes less time with the Savior than with the competing pack.
Conclusion
I liked just about everything about the RAVPower Savior RB-PB18. The capacity is big enough even for the iPhone 6 Plus, there are cables included for just about everything else, and having the entire kit — charger, wall plug, battery pack — in one package is a real plus. Being able to give two devices a charge at the same time is just icing on the cake. At the current sale price, the Savior is a real bargain.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★
While you’re waiting for 12:01 AM PT on Friday, April 10 to roll around so that you can try to pre-order an Apple Watch online, why not spend a little time learning how to navigate around some of the features of the “most personal computer yet”? Apple has published the first three of ten initial Apple Watch Guided Tour videos to get buyers pointed in the right direction.
These first Guided Tours outline the use of the Digital Crown, Force Touch, and other interface elements for three built-in apps: Messages, Faces (customizing watch faces), and Digital Touch. They’re short, demonstrate the clever ways in which Apple has made it possible to perform complex functions with a minimal display and interface, and definitely serve the function of ramping up excitement about the Watch as well.
Coming soon in the series are Guided Tours for Phone Calls, Siri, Maps, Music, Apple Pay, Activity, and Workout.
In other Apple Watch news, the company won’t be able to launch the smartwatch in Switzerland until after December 5, 2015 due to an intellectual property rights issue. Thanks to a patent filed in 1985 belonging to William Longe, owner of the watch brand Leonard, Apple cannot use the image of an apple nor the word “Apple” to launch its watch in Switzerland.
