I'm a little confused by this product. Is the main feature the maximum wattage it's able to output? The capacity seems pretty standard, theres 96Wh+ packs from anker and others for far less money.
Other products (that I found so far) support up to 65W in/out, whereas this goes up to 100W in/out. I agree it's overpriced, since others go around $150. But this product is not for everyone, most (Type-C charging) laptops only need 65W.
You could make a custom (and slightly larger due to the non-proprietary nature of it) 18650-based battery pack with twelve $4 LiFe cells, a voltage regulator, and a USB-C bridge, totaling $50.
That said, the BOM for this thing is <$50 at scale, even accounting for the custom nature of their flat pack.
"So why is it marked up EIGHT TIMES for profit?" Since it is targeted at Apple users, this company believes it will still sell, even at that price. I bet it will, but maybe not at a large scale.
maybe when they go full solid state, which is very much "needed" IMO...maybe this will ensure vehicles, laptops, vapes, and even smartphones can get away from their "measly" numbers they currently use.
Flagships that are WAY more potent performance but gmpes by crud for batteries needs to die horrible death, at least a "proper" solid state style battery will allow Apple to "force" repair places to "destroy" their products without fear of explosions and fires and be able to recoup a great deal more material compared to the massive waste they currently contribute to.
that is the next evolution IMO, solid state that charges much much faster has a much much longer lifespan and vastly reduces electronic "waste" hell, they probably could to away with a chunk of the BS electronics waste program if the makers were bloody well intelligent enough to build electronics in such a fashion that they were much easier to recoup the materials from.
maybe 50+ years ago they were not able to do such things, but damn we are almost in 2019, and these makers are contributing big time to waste and hurting the environment by doing what they keep doing..that and the stuff they build these days is far more likely to "break" super easy, so why is it so damn hard to make recycling to reduce waste seemingly well beyond their ability *facepalm*
They're pricing toward their target buyer - MacBook users - exactly the type of people who aren't opposed to paying a few extra hundred dollars for their laptops or accessories.
Fabrication is a problem for a lot of people that aren't interested in the DIY process. There's also a lack of knowledge about what it takes to get the same results. The markup for engineering and assembly seems rather high despite that, but there is probably a market for it. I would also be reluctant to take any DIY battery box through airport security for fear of being dragged behind a screen to a.) explain my hobbyist battery box, b.) get humiliated/fondled by a TSA agent, and c.) miss my $500+ flight. Losing a single airline ticket's value over that sort of thing makes an overpriced retail product like this somewhat more tolerable.
That homemade box full of wires, circuit boards and battery cells looks less like a power bank and more like a bomb. So yes, the BOM cost might be cheap but you'll forever be on a TSA no-fly list.
That said, does anyone carry huge power banks any more? A 20k mAh pack is a big and heavy thing and a fire hazard by itself.
lol I have a battery pack of similar capacity, the same ports (though 40W through the C port max, not that that's a problem for me who doesn't charge a C port laptop) and better made than that, I bought it at a little more than $30 and it was the most expensive model in ZMI's (subsidary of Xiaomi) lineup. Nobody ever stops me at airports.
I don't understand the usage case for this. Most planes have power these days. Why would you carry this monstrosity?
Sure there are smaller flights that don't, but then the laptop should be able to hold out for the length of the flight. I travel a lot for business, and would never add this weight to my carry on.
Maybe for camping or remote location shoots where you must have power?
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22 Comments
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kludj - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
Huh. Yeah, I guess it does look a bit like a small, upside-down Oric-1.bleomycin - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
I'm a little confused by this product. Is the main feature the maximum wattage it's able to output? The capacity seems pretty standard, theres 96Wh+ packs from anker and others for far less money.alexiamor - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
Other products (that I found so far) support up to 65W in/out, whereas this goes up to 100W in/out. I agree it's overpriced, since others go around $150. But this product is not for everyone, most (Type-C charging) laptops only need 65W.Samus - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
You could make a custom (and slightly larger due to the non-proprietary nature of it) 18650-based battery pack with twelve $4 LiFe cells, a voltage regulator, and a USB-C bridge, totaling $50.That said, the BOM for this thing is <$50 at scale, even accounting for the custom nature of their flat pack.
So why is it marked up EIGHT TIMES for profit?
Samus - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
I actually take that back. Upon research, they are actually using 18650 cells. There is nothing custom about this. Except the price.beginner99 - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
Because Apple users are dumb enough to pay that.Santoval - Saturday, September 15, 2018 - link
"So why is it marked up EIGHT TIMES for profit?"Since it is targeted at Apple users, this company believes it will still sell, even at that price. I bet it will, but maybe not at a large scale.
lazarpandar - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
What does your comment have to do with kludj's specifically? Or did you reply to the first comment in an attempt to get yours more views?Samus - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
What, exactly, does your comment add to the conversation? I didn't need to use his thread to "boost" my comment, there is only one page of comments!lazarpandar - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
I was talking to Bleomycin lol, yours was on topic.Lord of the Bored - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
Funny, looks more like an Apricot Qi to me.XeonPlanner - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
It's the air industry that limits the battery life of laptops. I wonder when they could drop the 100wh hard limit.Dragonstongue - Thursday, September 13, 2018 - link
maybe when they go full solid state, which is very much "needed" IMO...maybe this will ensure vehicles, laptops, vapes, and even smartphones can get away from their "measly" numbers they currently use.Flagships that are WAY more potent performance but gmpes by crud for batteries needs to die horrible death, at least a "proper" solid state style battery will allow Apple to "force" repair places to "destroy" their products without fear of explosions and fires and be able to recoup a great deal more material compared to the massive waste they currently contribute to.
that is the next evolution IMO, solid state that charges much much faster has a much much longer lifespan and vastly reduces electronic "waste" hell, they probably could to away with a chunk of the BS electronics waste program if the makers were bloody well intelligent enough to build electronics in such a fashion that they were much easier to recoup the materials from.
maybe 50+ years ago they were not able to do such things, but damn we are almost in 2019, and these makers are contributing big time to waste and hurting the environment by doing what they keep doing..that and the stuff they build these days is far more likely to "break" super easy, so why is it so damn hard to make recycling to reduce waste seemingly well beyond their ability *facepalm*
808Hilo - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
https://www.batteryjunction.com/samsung-inr18650-2...39$ retail price for battercapacity in 18650 batteries. 15$ bulk, case 10$, electronics, 3$.
Dont know how they think 400$ is appropriate pricing.
The Von Matrices - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
They're pricing toward their target buyer - MacBook users - exactly the type of people who aren't opposed to paying a few extra hundred dollars for their laptops or accessories.Ian Cutress - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
Would it do 100W charging to PD standard though?shabby - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
Yes, each of those cells can discharge 20a so that's 74watts per cell, the case probably has 10 cells in it so upto 740watts.PeachNCream - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
Fabrication is a problem for a lot of people that aren't interested in the DIY process. There's also a lack of knowledge about what it takes to get the same results. The markup for engineering and assembly seems rather high despite that, but there is probably a market for it. I would also be reluctant to take any DIY battery box through airport security for fear of being dragged behind a screen to a.) explain my hobbyist battery box, b.) get humiliated/fondled by a TSA agent, and c.) miss my $500+ flight. Losing a single airline ticket's value over that sort of thing makes an overpriced retail product like this somewhat more tolerable.serendip - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
That homemade box full of wires, circuit boards and battery cells looks less like a power bank and more like a bomb. So yes, the BOM cost might be cheap but you'll forever be on a TSA no-fly list.That said, does anyone carry huge power banks any more? A 20k mAh pack is a big and heavy thing and a fire hazard by itself.
s.yu - Sunday, September 16, 2018 - link
lol I have a battery pack of similar capacity, the same ports (though 40W through the C port max, not that that's a problem for me who doesn't charge a C port laptop) and better made than that, I bought it at a little more than $30 and it was the most expensive model in ZMI's (subsidary of Xiaomi) lineup. Nobody ever stops me at airports.Samus - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
I wonder if it is even UL listed?Paazel - Friday, September 14, 2018 - link
I don't understand the usage case for this. Most planes have power these days. Why would you carry this monstrosity?Sure there are smaller flights that don't, but then the laptop should be able to hold out for the length of the flight. I travel a lot for business, and would never add this weight to my carry on.
Maybe for camping or remote location shoots where you must have power?