We all want a well-built power bank with plenty of ports. Read our Crave Plus portable charger review to find out if it’s the one for you.
Crave Plus Portable Charger Review: Craving Faster Speeds
Sometimes it seems like power bank makers are in a race for the lightest, thinnest option on the market – Crave seems to have found a possible solution with their Crave Plus Portable Charger that at only 10.16 mm thick, but at what price? The 10,000mAh capacity still has to fit somewhere, so let’s see how Crave took on the challenge. This is our test for the Crave Plus portable charger.
What you need to know about the Crave Plus Portable Charger
Crave Plus (10,000 mAh): € 49.99
Crave Plus Pro (20,000 mAh): € 99.99
As mentioned above, the Crave Plus family of power banks only includes two models. and today we have the smallest 10,000 mAh option on our hands. This metal case power bank has a trio of ports along the bottom edge: a micro USB for input/output, a USBC for input/output, and a USBA for output only. It demands maximum output speeds of 18W from the USBA port and 15W from the USBC port, although our tests produced slightly different results (as we’ll see in a moment).
The Crave Plus has a grey metal case with silver plastic ends for most of the time. It has a small silver button and four white LEDs on one side to check the remaining charge. As already mentioned, the power bank is impressively slim at 10.16 mm. It measures 157.48 mm on the longest side and 78.74 mm wide. The Crave Plus also weighs 246.6 g. Overall, it’s slim enough to fit in a backpack, but you’ll likely feel the weight in a bag.
The package is simple, with a small instruction manual and a USBA to micro USB cable in the box. An important point that the user manual makes clear is the input limit of 2.4 A, which means that you will have to spend around seven hours charging the power bank.
What is good?
Crave has set itself the goal of building a slim and robust power bank, and overall they have succeeded: With a thickness of only 10 mm, it shouldn’t be a problem to make room for the Crave Plus at any time when you are on the move. Do a few twists and turns with the metal structure. Even the plastic ends feel solid, although everything still has to be done to protect the ports.
I also found that the Crave Plus portable charger outperforms the advertised speeds, at least for the USBC cable. It’s listed up to 15W, but I got 17W speeds on a Microsoft Surface 3 laptop and 17.5W speeds on an iPhone 12 Pro. A Samsung Galaxy S21 reached 14.7 W speeds with the USBA port thanks to fast charging support. Samsung customizable.
Overall, the Crave Plus supports a robust set of charging standards. There’s no mention of USB power, but I’ve gotten the same speeds on multiple devices. You can use Quick Charge 2 and 3 for older devices, and the Crave Plus includes Samsung’s AFC, Apple 2.4A and Huawei Fast Charge.
What’s not so good?
Although the Crave Plus is nice and slim, it is not the lightest power bank I have ever used. Due to the metal design, it feels heavier than the stated weight of 246 g. The longing can also make its external battery higher and wider made to compensate for the thickness; It would have been nice to see official Power Delivery support as Samsung’s new flagship phones and Google Pixel 6 series require USB PD PPS for maximum speeds.
Crave Plus Portable Charger Review: Should You Buy It?
Those of you looking for a sleek power bank will be well served with the Crave Plus portable charger. Getting a size much slimmer than 10mm is not easy, even if it comes with a wider and bigger body. Reasonable charging speeds for non-Samsung devices with a decent range of charging standards, even if the latest power options are not included. Unfortunately, the use of micro-USB and the incredibly slow charging slowed down an otherwise well-built power bank.
If you’re not concerned about the metal construction, check out Anker’s PowerCore III Wireless ($ 49). It’s not more expensive, but it does include Anker’s proprietary PowerIQ charging, as well as a Qi charging pad. on the top plate. Those of you on an impressive budget might consider Samsung’s 25W Wireless Portable Battery ($ 79). It’s expensive for a power bank but includes USB PD PPS and a rubberized charging pad that will keep your devices off
