Duracell has launched a pair of portable power stations, patterned after the company’s batteries, that can charge your laptop, smartphone and smartwatch. They can even charge drones.
Starting with the smaller of the twoThe Duracell M150 is 3.1 inches wide by 6.4 inches long and weighs about two pounds. Inside is a 25,000 mAh battery that can deliver 150W of power via a wired connection. Wirelessly, it can emit 15W through the charging cover. Yes, we said lid because you can open it and reveal a small compartment where you can store USB cables. The top opens 110 degrees, allowing you to attach your smartphone and position it at the ideal angle for watching videos – assuming you have a phone with MagSafe charging.
Duracell states that the tilting lid itself does not have a phone magnet. You will have to supply this yourself. The company claims that “external rings are available for purchase,” but we didn’t see any on the official website.
The M150 has two USB-A ports and two USB-C ports on the back, as well as a charging dock. At the top there is a 360 degree dimmable ring light. Duracell explains that you use the light to “brighten your face for important digital meetings” or as a simple lamp.
How it works
The way the M150 works is that you first plug it into the base station or “directly into a wall socket using a USB-C cable” to charge its energy reserves. The company says it takes about two hours to charge when plugged into a wall socket, while on the dock it takes about 2.5 hours. From there you can disconnect the drive and then take it with you.
The interesting thing about the M150 is that it can deliver a certain amount of cost depending on the hardware connected to it. For example, a laptop can be fully charged once, but smartphones can be charged six times. Smartwatches can be charged fifty times, tablets get three and drones get four. What we want to know is whether connecting multiple devices affects the capabilities of the drive.
Let’s say you connect a MacBook, iPhone, and Apple Watch to the M150. Can the drive fully charge the MacBook in that situation or is performance affected by all the additional gadgets connected? We posed this question, along with a number of others, to Duracell. We wanted to know if there are plans for an international launch and if it is considering selling magnetic rings for smartphones. This story will be updated at a later date.
Bigger and possibly better
The M250 functions similarly to the M150, although it is significantly larger, weighing 4.5 pounds and measuring 5 x 10.4 inches. The internal battery is also beefier at 60,000 mAh. It delivers 250W of power over a wired connection, but wireless performance remains the same. The M250 retains the same range of USB ports and also has a power socket for power cords.
Thanks to the larger battery, this station can provide a longer charging time. Laptops now get three charges, phones get fourteen, drones nine and smartwatches can get a hundred charges. You can buy the M150 powerplant now on Duracell’s website for $200. The M250 retails for $300.
If you’re looking for something smaller, check out Ny Breaking’s list of the best portable chargers for 2023.