A functional and beautifully designed charger. Well built, but a little overpriced for the features and battery capacity.
The Mipow Power Cube X is a Qi wireless charger, but it also sports a detachable 5000 mAh power bank for wireless charging on the go. Currently retailing for $79, and available in a choice of black or white color schemes. Is this the one charger to rule them all? Read on to find out.
Don’t forget to enter our giveaway contest at the end of this review, where you can win a Power Cube X, courtesy of Mipow.
Design and Features
This charger and power bank comprises of two parts. The Power Cube itself contains the battery and wireless charging components. This contains status lights, along with a USB Type-A output port, and a USB Type-C input port, for charging the battery. This sleek battery is very smooth. The rear is brushed aluminum alloy, while the front is glossy plastic. It doesn’t appear to attract fingerprints immediately. The rear of the battery also houses a proprietary two pin charging/power delivery connection. This is used in conjunction with the dock to simultaneously charge the battery, and supply power to any devices charging wirelessly.
The Power Cube X Smart Dock is reminiscent of a children’s toy. Its plain matte finish and rubber feet ensure stability on any surface. This dock houses a USB Type-C port for its main power input, along with another USB Type-A port, so you can pass through the power to charge wired devices too.
Aside from the charging connection to the battery, there’s not much else to look at. The smooth battery-shaped groove in this dock ensures the battery sits almost flush with the surface. The top edge contains an inset channel to make battery removal an easy task.
Both the Power Cube X and dock feel well designed. The smart dock measures 7.32 x 3.85 x 0.74 inches (186 x 98 x 19 mm) and weighs 4.93 oz (140g). The power cube itself weighs 4.23 oz (120g), and measures 5.66 x 2.79 x 0.59 inches (144 x 71 x 15 mm). This is quite large for such a low capacity power bank (5000mAh), but don’t forget this also houses the Qi wireless charging technology.
It features foreign object protection, so only suitable devices receive power. It also has over-charge protection so your phone battery won’t explode once it reaches 100% charge.
Inside the box, you’ll find a USB Type-C to Type-A charging cable, along with a protective bag for the battery itself. You’ll need to supply your own mains charger. Don’t forget to read our guide to USB cable types if you’re not sure what your phone uses.
Specifications
- Battery capacity: 5000 mAh
- Cycle life: >300
- Output voltage/current: 5V/3A
- Wireless output voltage/current: 5V/1A
This total output current of 3 amps is ample, and should provide enough power to charge all but the largest of phone batteries in a reasonable time. Unfortunately, the wireless output voltage and current of 1 amp is rather low for a device made in 2019. Sure, it will charge your phone, but slowly. The Qi specification allows for higher current delivery, so this lower wireless power output is outdated. Still, if you’re charging your phone overnight, or using the wireless charger as a mini cradle for your device throughout the day, you shouldn’t encounter any problems running out of charge.
This 5000 mAh capacity is on the low side, but it should be sufficient for one to two charges, depending on your mobile device.
This cycle life of “greater than 300 charges” is only OK. Premium battery packs can often handle over 1000 charge cycles, so the fact that Mipow won’t commit to a higher number of claimed power cycles perhaps illustrates where they may have cut corners on quality.
Using the Power Cube X
This charger is super simple to use. Once charged, or mounted in the dock and actively charging, you can place your phone on top to begin charging. As mentioned above, the reduced current available when wirelessly charging means modern devices take that little bit longer to fully charge. Using a Google Pixel 3 XL, Android alerts me that “this device is charging slowly”.
One quirk I noticed is that wireless charging does not often begin when using the battery alone. To initiate a charge, you have to “wake up” the charger by touching it until a light appears. Once awake, devices charge without issue. This is not a problem when the battery is connected to the dock.
Wireless charging requires your mobile devices to sit at a specific angle and orientation. Your phone won’t charge if you haphazardly throw it on to the charger, without care for its orientation. This isn’t the fault of Mipow, it’s just a limitation of the underlying Qi wireless charging technology. Still, it’s something to be aware of. You can read more about why this happens in our wireless charging technology guide.
This charger makes a very faint noise when charging wirelessly, and this only happens when a device is charging wirelessly. It’s very faint, and you’ll need to hold your ear almost next to the charger, but it’s there. This isn’t likely to cause many problems with your sleep as it’s so quiet, and it’s nothing like the high-pitched whine you sometimes hear with cheap chargers. When no device is wirelessly charging, the Power Cube X is silent.
Should You Buy the Mipow Power Cube X?
It’s difficult to fully recommend the Power Cube X. While it’s undoubtedly a beautifully designed and well-made product, it’s a little expensive for what you get. You can easily buy a wireless charger and higher capacity power bank for less money. Many of the issues with speed are due to the limitations of Qi wireless charging itself, but many alternative wireless chargers use the newer standards for faster charging of your tech.
That said, it’s a wonderful piece of design and engineering. If you want to reduce the number of cables and devices in your life, or are looking for a well-designed charger to live on your desk or bedside unit, then the Power Cube X is a solid choice. We’d like to see a mains adapter included in the box and an increase in the battery capacity in the future, but this is still an excellent product.
If you’d like to win a brand new Mipow Power Cube X in white with Smart Dock, then enter our giveaway contest below!
Enter the Competition!
Mipow Power Cube X GiveawayRead the full article: Mipow Power Cube X: Wireless Charger AND Power Bank
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