UNU Electronics’ $40 (discounted) Superpak is claimed to be the smallest and fastest-charging 10,000mAh rechargeable battery pack, and I am inclined to believe it.
Superpak is ideal for use with today’s more power-hungry USB-connected smartphones and some tablets. Of greater importance is that UNU Electronics’ battery pack delivers its power at near the maximum rate specified for chargers, currently 2.4A at 5 Volts.
Easy to take along and to use, Superpak provides confidence to the user that the compatible smartphone or tablet will last a day of heavy use or provide power for light use over several days, until Superpak recharging is possible.
Pros – compact design, lightweight, simple operation, circuitry that regulates output to maximum charging rate acceptable to connected devices. Comes with Lightning cable adapter.
Cons – None (Who doesn’t already own a usable power supply?)
Superpak is said to have sensing circuitry determining just how much juice, up to a maximum of 2.1A, to send through the port marked with that value on to a connected device.
It’s not a simple matter of more is better, as many consumers may think. Not all devices can accept Superpak’s maximum output. Many smartphones, for example, max out at 1.1A. Others can handle the faster 2.4A rate but are shipped with a 1.1A power supply.
Many users are under the belief that the more power available, the faster the phone or tablet will charge. Not so! This is dependent upon the device’s specs.
Superpak regulates the rate-of-charge for everything connected to deliver the maximum acceptable to the connected device.
The same will be true of recharging Superpak’s internal battery. More on that in a moment. It can be ready to go again in much less time than many competitors. The benefit of faster charging and recharging is convenience, not having to have Superpak tethered for as long as others, and that’s a very good thing.
Superpak has dual output ports. One port is rated at 2.1A and the other is the more nominal 1A, both at the customary and standard 5V that all such USB charging products share. UNU Electronics calls its twice-as-fast charging circuitry SuperX. uSmart Technology is the company’s term for the circuitry that automatically identifies and adjusts to maximum power output and efficiency levels during charging. This same speed and efficiency is employed during Superpak recharging through its standard Micro USB SuperX input.
While the 2.1A port is ideal for many new smartphones and smaller tablets, the 1A port is ideal for less demanding products, such as older, less power-demanding phones and Bluetooth headsets.
What’s 10,000 mAh going to provide? By UNU Electronics’ estimation, about 40 hours of talk time, 50 hours of video playback, Web browsing and game play, 150 hours of music playback and 1700 hours of standby time. That ought to get just about anyone through a heavy usage day and then some. Alternatively, have the confidence of several days’ light use of a smartphone or compatible tablet.
Operation is simple. A single, gentle push ON, push OFF button located to the left of the 2.1A port fires it up and a series of four little LEDs visible in the photo at the top of this review show the state of charge. The 8-ounce, compact Superpak carries Apple’s “Made for iPhone” designation and comes with a cable that has standard USB on one end and Micro USB with attached Lightning adapter on the other. Micro USB is going to be used for non-Apple devices using Micro USB while Lightning is standard on iPhone 5 and newer, and iPads since 2012. The benefit and advantage of such a cable that is Apple-certified cannot be overstated to iOS device users. Lightning cables are not all the same. Quality matters. If the device in need of charging is not charged using a Micro USB cable end, then use the cable that came with the product.
Recharging is through Superpak’s Micro USB port, using the supplied cable or any other cable with standard USB on one end and Micro USB on the other. The circuitry is capable of fast, 2.1A recharging. I’ll leave it to readers to learn if their laptops or already-owned power supplies are up to the fast-recharging task.
In my view, for maximum assured recharging performance, use a USB charger such as what consumers might have for a tablet that specifies output of 12W Watts) or greater. It may also be beneficial to purchase one, such as THIS (single port) or THIS top rated, top selling Anker (dual port) from Amazon that plug into a wall outlet, or THIS top-selling, top rated Anker from Amazon for in-vehicle use. Any of these would also be a good choice for charging phones and some tablets, as well as recharging Superpak.
An aside . . . once you’ve decided to upgrade a phone or tablet, have a look at saved old chargers from older equipment. If you’ve purchased no-name knock-offs or have ancient power supplies, this would be a good time to throw them out and purchase at least one modern accessory charger as above. The cost of one quality-built multi-output power supply as above that can accommodate two or more devices will be worth your while and provide safe charging over the long haul.
What a difference it has made to use Superpak along with high-output wall and car chargers! I will never go back to slow charging and recharging.
UNU provides a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.
While we are not equipped to test the company’s specifications and to prove or disprove its circuitry claims, I can speak to the performance and confidence I experienced. I’m a fan! Well designed, solidly built, easy to use, and delivering on its charging and recharging claims, Superpak is highly recommended.
Find both the Black and White models from Amazon for $40.
