External battery Xiaomi mi 10400 Power Bank: description, specifications and reviews

As a rule, when buying a portable battery for a mobile device, experts advise to avoid cheap models, especially those whose specifications seem too good to match the price at which they are sold. But from time to time there are products that disprove this rule. An example of this is the Xiaomi Mi 10400 Power Bank.

Inexpensive and powerful

Like the smartphones of Xiaomi (and not only), the price of the device is much cheaper than similar offers from competitors. For comparison, a branded battery with a capacity of 10000 mAh, as a rule, costs about 100 US dollars. How much will the external battery of Xiaomi Power Bank cost 10400 mAh? At only $ 13.99.

Of course, there are other affordable and powerful energy banks. Taobao's regulars will confirm that inexpensive external batteries are abundant in the Chinese Internet market (for example, Romoss), but with their delivery and guarantee there may be problems.

So, is Xiaomi Mi 10400 Power Bank worth the money spent on it?

Construction overview

On the design of the energy bank, in addition to the fact that the product worth $ 14 looks and is assembled very well, we can say the following. The main body is cut from a single piece of aluminum using a CNC machine and anodized in such a way that the surface becomes slightly textured and creates an additional grip on the hand. Xiaomi claims that the coating is not destroyed by water, does not corrode, and can withstand a load of 50 kg (although users do not advise it to check). The surface also passed a 300-fold abrasion test. The metal case allows you to quickly get rid of excess heat, which extends the battery life.

The only plastic parts of the Xiaomi Mi 10400 Power Bank are the upper and lower ends of the device. At one end is a standard USB port for output, a Micro-USB input connector, 4 LEDs and a round capacity check button. On the other end, specifications and normative signs are printed. Xiaomi representatives are sure that the buttons and ports do not need explanations, so they did not even bother to label them.

The power switch is not necessary, since the battery is automatically activated and charges the device when it is connected with a USB cable. The purpose of the capacity check button is to turn on the LED indicators, which will indicate how much charge remains. Briefly, each indicator corresponds to 25% of the charge. When the battery is fully charged, all the LEDs are on and do not flash. The brightness of the indicators is sufficient - not too bright to blind at night, and not very dark to be inconspicuous in bright light.

Contents of delivery

Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10400 Silver is sold together with a flat white Micro-USB cable 16 cm long and user's manual. Given that the rechargeable device should not be too far away, this is one of the few cases in which such a short length makes sense. Users like a flat cable, since this shape prevents it from tangling easily. A power adapter is not included.

Reliability and durability

Some more technical data. According to Xiaomi, the port of the Micro-USB device is capable of withstanding 5000 cycles of use, and the larger USB connector is rated at 1500. Xiaomi has even presented the results of an electrostatic discharge test: 8 kV on contact and 12 kV for air. Obviously, the manufacturer is trying to do everything possible to assure potential buyers that the Xiaomi Mi 10400 Power Bank is a quality product, despite its low cost. In fact, the above data - that's not all. The device was tested in conditions of low and high temperatures, high humidity, temperature fluctuations and in the salt chamber.

The company claims that the portable battery is equipped with 9 levels of protection. These include a mechanism for monitoring the heating temperature, input and output voltage and current, preventing short circuits, overcharging or discharging, as well as the ability to reboot in unstable external conditions.

Performance

The model comes with a lithium-ion battery, produced by LG or Samsung, with a capacity of 10.4 A ∙ h, which at a voltage of 3.6 V corresponds to 37.44 W ∙ h. As follows from the experts' explanations, due to the loss of power during the voltage conversion and the resistance of the circuit, the amount of overcharging that the energy bank provides is not determined by a simple division of 10,400 mAh into the capacity of the battery of the charged device. According to Xiaomi, Mi Power Bank 10400 mAh allows 4.5 times to charge the phone "iPhone 5s", 2.5 - Mi 3, and one and a half - iPad Mini tablet. According to users' reviews, these numbers seem quite accurate, as they managed to replenish the iPhone 5s, whose battery capacity is 1560 mAh, four times, and they still had a little charge.

Thus, the efficiency of the device is about 93%, which gives a net 7000 mAh. This is much more than most food banks sold in the market.

Charging speed

In addition, the owners are very satisfied with the power of the input and output current of the energy bank. To be precise, the device is capable of outputting up to 2.1 A, which is great for tablets and smartphones that can accept more standard 1 A. Even the charging port is rated for currents up to 2 A. This is unexpected for such a cheap power bank, Because the market has a lot of expensive batteries that can not accept more than a half amperes. In other words, the Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10400 mAh is charged pretty quickly. According to the manufacturer, this takes about 5.5 hours when using a two-amp adapter or about 10 hours with an adapter for 1 A.

The device is capable of charging and charging at the same time. This option is offered only by a few food banks, and it is necessary in the case when the number of available outlets is limited - for example, during a trip.

What is inside?

Users who could not reconcile themselves with the fact that a high-quality external battery could cost so little, could make sure of this by looking at what is inside it. The device consists of four batteries manufactured by LG, each of which has a capacity of 2600 mAh, which in total is 10,400 mAh. According to the manufacturer, the energy bank uses Texas Instruments controllers. Indeed, the external battery operates under the TI BQ24195 chip. The circuit also uses an 8-bit microcontroller of South Korean ABOV.

Advantages and disadvantages

So can you recommend an external battery Xiaomi Mi Power Bank 10400? Of course, yes. And not only because it is cheap - the energy bank is inexpensive and does its job well. For a 10.4 Ah battery, it is compact, provides an output current of 2.1 A on the output, can be quickly charged with a two-amp current, and the components used are convincing.

Does the device have disadvantages? If you carp at trivialities, then we can say that for an external battery of such a high capacity it is strange to have only one output. This means that it is not possible to charge more than one device at a time. Again, you can always buy another portable energy bank and connect it with an elastic band - you get two ports and a bank with a capacity of 20800 mAh for only $ 28! Secondly, the kit does not include a power adapter, which can be a problem if there is not too much in the stock. Finally, iOS users will have to find their own Lightning cable.

Finally, if for some reason 10400 mAh seems too much, you can buy an external battery of the same manufacturer with a capacity of 5200 mAh. It is smaller, and seems to consist of similar components, except that the number of batteries is reduced to two, and the output can only get 1.5 A.