A Portable Charger for Your MacBook Pro

Don’t you just love a portable power charger?  It gives you such a sense of relief when you’re traveling or just going about your day, knowing that you don’t have to worry if your phone runs out of battery.  

Having a portable charger is a vital part of your digital life backup plan because your battery always seems to run out faster on those days where charging your phone isn’t easy.

What if you could have a portable charger for your new MacBook Pro?  Wouldn’t that be helpful?  Yes, the newer MacBook Pro models have batteries that can last up to 10 hours.  But you know Murphy’s law, that by the time you start your presentation, work brief, or even term paper, your MacBook Pro runs out of battery at the 9th hour?

I love the freedom that comes with just grabbing your MacBook Pro, a portable charger, and running out the door.  No figuring out the night before if the MacBook Pro is charged…I just go.

Kanex makes a powerful portable battery charger just for the MacBook Pro and other USB-C laptops.

The USB-C Difference

So why all of a sudden is it possible to use a portable charger with a MacBook?  Due to the new MacBook Pro’s use of the USB-C instead of the Apple lightning or other laptop charging cords we are all used to.  Yes, USB-C is a cousin to the USB-A charging cords used for Android and Windows devices.

What is a USB-C port you ask? USB-C is the new emerging industry standard for charging cords to exchange data and power between two sources.  It’s much more powerful and has much more throughput than the latest version of the USB we are used to.  The latest MacBook Pro uses it…and so do a handful of new robust phones and laptops.

10 Laptops that Use USB-C Today:

1. MacBook Pro’s
2. Lenovo Yoga 900
3. ASUS Transformer book T100HA
4. HP Spectre 13 x360
5. LG gram-15Z960-A.AA75U1
6. Dell XPS 13
7. RAZER BLADE STEALTH Ultrabook
8. Acer Aspire R 14 (R5-471T-52EE)
9. Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro VN7-572TG-775T
10. MSI GT72S 6QE DOMINATOR PRO G series
11. Dell Precision 15 7000 Series

The Kanex GoPower USB-C Portable Charger

We have looked at other USB-C portable batteries before.  They are extremely helpful.  But what makes the Kanex GoPower Portable Battery for USB-C so different is that it’s designed to allow you to power your MacBook Pro, USB-C laptop, or phone while charging another nonUSB-C device at the same time…or by itself.  

The Kanex GoPower includes a USB-A port so you can plug any charging cord…including a lightning cord, into the charger to charge your Android phone or tablet too.  Or, charge your USB-C phone and your Android tablet at the same time.

I love the flexibility the Kanex GoPower gives you.  You can use it to charge your MacBook Pro or USB-C laptop, or you can take it on the go just to power your phone or tablet.  With 15,000 mAh of power, I can charge my devices the whole day long.

There is enough power in the Kanex GoPower to charge your iPhone 6s, iPad Pro, or Android smartphones and tablets multiple times! And with its priority charging detection technology, you can charge your attached device first before the battery, when plugged into a power source for charging.

Features:

• Comes with  15,000 mAh power to charge your MacBook, USB-C laptop, and even USB-A Android, Apple, and Window devices
• Has priority charging detection technology to power your devices plugged into it first, even if it is charging while plugged into a power source
• With the included USB-A port, you can charge nearly any device, including your tablets, phones, smart watches, speakers, and more 
• Can charge two devices simultaneously to keep you productive
• Fast charging – charge your devices twice as fast over the average charger
• Attractive premium Aluminum body
• LED status – know how much battery is left
• Comes with two high-quality cords, a 1M USB-C to USB-C Cable and a 1M USB-C to USB Cable

Pros:

• Has a long lasting charge
• It’s not nearly as heavy as you would expect considering it can power a laptop
• It has a fast charge – phones get charged quickly
• You can charge two items at the same time
• Includes circuitry to ensure you do not over charge your devices
• The LED battery status and charging status is helpful to know when to charge
• For one of the first USB-C portable chargers on the market, the price is quite reasonable

Cons:

• It’s great that it has one USB, but with so many USB-A devices, a second one would be great to use all of its capacity
• It doesn’t quite charge the new MacBook Pro all the way one time
• It takes a while to charge the Kanex GoPower fully – need to plug in overnight
• Wall Power Adapter not included

The Kanex GoPower Portable Battery for USB-C Macbook is available from Amazon for $63.62 with free shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

I absolutely love that our portable devices now have portable devices to back them up!  I remember going to Disneyland as a chaperone for my daughter’s 7th grade leadership day.  Halfway through the day, I was seeking out available plugs.  Now let me tell you, that is a near impossibility!

Had I had the Kanex GoPower USB-C battery pack, I would have been the hippest of all chaperones there with the ability to not only charge my phone but the kids’ phones too!

With its 15,000 mAh power and its ability to charge a MacBook Pro and another device at once, the Kanex GoPower USB-C Portable Charger is one of the best available on the market.  Kanex gets it.  We need LOTS of portable power and the ability to multi-task…or in this case, multi-charge.

You may not have a USB-C laptop, phone, or tablet yet, but you will, change is coming!

*I was given a Kanex GoPower Portable Charger for USB-C Macbook in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.