You never know how useless a phone or tablet can be until you’re staring at a black screen because they’ve run out of battery.
If you’ve ever been in a scramble where you’re begging for your device to charge or, at the very least, turn on, you know the struggle. Usually, the factory-given chargers don’t cut it.
When I was given the Anker Nano ($16.99, anker.com) as part of a package of devices to try, I didn’t think anything of it. I already had a charger for my iPhone and though it’s not great, I thought it was fine.
One charge to my iPhone using the Nano, as well as an included Lightning Cable (which can be added for $13 more) and I won’t be going back unless I’m stuck with the factory charger.
With its 20-watt charge (as opposed to the standard 5-watt charger), the Nano is designed to give devices like the iPhone 12 the maximum allotted power and it shows. As a person who is often on the go, I can run down my phone battery pretty quick and don’t have a lot of time to recharge. This cut charges that normally would take 30 to 45 minutes almost in half.
The same goes for my iPad, which I mainly use for battery-draining Zoom and Google Meet calls. While a 15- to 20-minute gap between meetings won’t get the battery to 100%, it will juice it up enough to not make me nervous that the battery will die during the call.
I’m normally skeptical of after-market products, especially ones aimed at Apple products, though this can charge Android products as well. With this, I’m sold on Anker.
While this column often features a product with a lot of frills or modern twists to an old idea, there’s nothing flashy or extra about the charger. It’s white, compact and charges electronics fast and efficiently.
If you’re a person on the go who struggles with your device’s battery, this is the perfect solution. By far, it’s the best charger you’ll find on the market.
