Otterbox Fast Charge Wireless Power Bank

Otterbox has been a brand I’ve known for years but never ventured to try. Often because when I was younger I couldn’t afford their gear with my pocket money. By the time I had a full time job I had developed fierce brand loyalty elsewhere. But I recently had the opportunity to grab the Otterbox Fast Charge Wireless Power Bank so I thought it was my duty to give it a test and see if I could be converted.

Taking the charger out of the box it does look great. It’s textured which reinforces the drop protection Otterbox advertise. I think it looks really great, but holding it in my hand the texture feels superficial in places rather than practical. At first glance it appears grippy but actually feeling it’s really smooth.

A power bank should never going to be complicated to use. It has a single USB A and a USB C input and output sockets. They have included a clear LED light panel at the side showing how much charge is remaining. Due to the materials used in the Power Banks design there is no grip to keep your phone in place. I found when wireless charging if my phone got knocked even the slightest it would slide and lose connection, meaning I used the wire most of the time. All it needs is a little bit of rubber in the design just to grip onto the phone and keep it still and it would be a massive improvement to the design.

The wireless charging feels a bit gimmicky and has just been added without thoughts of practicality. There’s no ability for passthrough charging. Meaning that at night you have to charge the power bank separately using a second cable and cannot charge the phone and power bank together. With other Wireless Power Banks like the one from Anker, I can place my phone on the power bank and the wireless charging will continue to work. Meaning at night I can leave this on a bedside table and by the morning I have both devices at full capacity. When I’m travelling I have a lot of tech with me to charge, so this feature would be really convenient.

This will probably split opinion, as I can see arguments for it being on the bulkier side and also for it being quite slim. I think for 10,000 mAh its exactly the size I would expect it to be. For some people who want something small and light for top-ups or a single charge then there are a lot smaller options. If you want multiple charges from a single device then this is a great size. Of course you can get significatly bigger and bulker power banks, even up to 26,000 mAh which will of course be even bigger. It all comes down to your needs. If you want something that is going to last a few days with semi-regular use, then the Otterbox Fast Charge Power Bank will be a great contender.

Considering they names it the Otterbox Fast Charge Wireless Power Bank, the max output is just a mere 18w. In this day and age I don’t think that’s fast enough. A power bank is to be used to top up when not near an outlet. You want something that’s going to recharge your battery quickly. You don’t want to be tied to a cable, and with the latest Samsungs able to handle 45w charging that’s around 2.5x faster than what the Otterbox is capable of.

Look-wise I love this power bank and would say on appearances it’s the best out of the others I have. But usage counts a lot more than style and there’s nothing that really wows me about it. It delivers on what it promises but nothing more, and for the price you pay I would want more. The lack of passthrough on wireless charging is a big disappointment as it means I would ultimately never use it. The only time I use wireless charging would be at night when I’m charging the power bank at the same time as my phone. The rest of the time I want high speed charging so I’d use a cable, and even then it doesn’t deliver on “fast”.