With so many power banks available these days, it can be hard for a company to make theirs stand out – but the Excitrus 100W Magnetic Wireless Power Bank achieves this in a couple of ways.
First, the green fabric finish makes it visually distinctive. But more importantly, the capabilities it offers will, I think, hit the sweet spot for many …
Choosing a power bank
I’ve used every type of power bank out there, from tiny ones intended to simply keep an iPhone going through a long travel day, to ones designed to keep you tech happy for a full weekend off-grid trip.
Choosing the right power bank for your own needs will depend on your intended usage. There’s of course a balance between capacity on the one hand, and size/weight/price on the other.
For most, I think the sweet-spot is a power bank that charges quickly, slips easily into a bag, will keep an iPhone charged for a weekend, but also has the power to keep a MacBook going all day when required. That’s the target market for the Excitrus. Additionally, iPhone charging is wireless – but we’ll get to that.
Excitrus: Look & feel
The Excitrus measures around 8 inches by 3 inches by one inch, and weighs a little over a pound. That’s a little hefty for pocketability, but will happily slip into any bag.
The look and feel of the device is one of its selling points. Most power banks are pretty anonymous-looking, with black the dominant color in evidence. The Excitrus, in contrast, is an attractive green color. There’s a glossy black plastic surround, but the rest is covered in a fabric which both looks and feels premium. The feel also offers a solid grip, making it unlikely to slip from your hands.
The wireless charging side is indicated by a white cross, and the Excitrus logo. This works with any MagSafe iPhone, AirPods, and any device supporting Qi charging.
One side has a power button, the other a white display, showing the percentage remaining. The top has one USB-A port and two USB-C ports, of which one is both input and output, while the other is output only.
Specifications
- 20,800mAh capacity
- PD 100W output
- PD 65W input
- Digital display with charging status indication
- 15W wireless charging
Maximum combined output is 103W, and you can draw 100W of that from a single USB-C port, making it suitable for any MacBook, including the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
As always, charging or powering multiple devices will reduce the power available on any one port, but it can cope with simultaneously powering smaller MacBooks, iPad Pro, iPhone, and AirPods.
The power bank itself charges at 65W, and using my MacBook charger got a 70% charge in an hour, and a full charge in less than two hours.
MagSafe in all but name
You’ll note that the full name of the device is the Excitrus 100W Magnetic Wireless Power Bank, and not Excitrus 100W MagSafe Wireless Power Bank. That’s presumably because the company hasn’t paid the licence fee required to use MagSafe branding.
However, I found zero difference in practice between this and a MagSafe charger. My iPhone 13 Pro Max magnetically attaches to the charger in the right position to charge, and the connection feels equally strong. My phone remained firmly in place when holding the charger at a 45-degree angle, and even just held when I very carefully turned it upside-down (not that I would recommend it!).
In use
For iPhone charging with any MagSafe model, just place the phone on the pad and press the power button. I’d prefer it if just placing the phone down woke the charger, but it’s easy enough to press the button too.
It’s a bit odd to have the percentage power indicator on the opposite side – it would make more sense to me to have it right next to the power button.
For use in coffee shops and similar, it’s a convenient arrangement, and I was able to use my iPhone on the pad while keeping it it at 100% capacity.
The wireless charger works with the phone either way up (top or bottom of the phone at the wired ports end), which makes it flexible when you want to use both wired and wireless charging simultaneously – like charging your phone and MacBook simultaneously.
Performance
My personal preference for using power banks is to have the charger power them while they are in use, so that the device batteries remain at 100%. In that way, if the power bank runs out, I still have full capacity available on the devices. So for extended use, I drain the power bank first, then the devices.
The Excitrus worked perfectly well in this way, letting me simultaneously use my iPhone 13 Pro Max and M1 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro (for everyday tasks) without using any built-in power. In this mode, it kept my MacBook powered for 12 hours without running out, and the company says that it would keep an iPhone 13 Pro powered for 75 hours.
Others prefer to run the devices on their own batteries and then use the power bank to recharge them overnight; the 20,800mAh was enough to fully recharge both devices from 10% overnight. For iPhone top-up charges, it delivers around an 80% charge in one hour, wirelessly.
Exitrus wireless power bank: Pricing & conclusions
The Excitrus 100W Magnetic Wireless Power Bank costs $99 – which meets the general rule of thumb of paying around a dollar per watt.
As I said earlier, I think this unit hits the sweet spot for many. It is sufficiently affordable and portable to be something you can keep as part of your standard tech bag contents, while also providing enough power and longevity to meet everyday needs.
Wireless iPhone charging is of course more convenient than having to use a cable, and I think this is going to quickly become an expected feature now for all but low-end power banks.
The Excitrus 100W Magnetic Wireless Power Bank is available from Amazon or the company’s own website.
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