3 stars
Anker PowerCore 5000 Quick Review Summary
Anker PowerCore 5000 was an excellent portable charger when it was released. However, for 2021, it is too large, too heavy and has less battery capacity for its weight, price and size. Instead, if you want a small, light portable charger, we recommend the excellent Anker PowerCore 6700 which is lighter, smaller, and better designed than PowerCore 5000 and also has 34% more battery capacity. PowerCore 5000 is sometimes available at highly discounted prices in some colors and you can check out its current price as sometimes it may be a better deal than PowerCore 6700.
Pros
- Charges iPhone 8/7/6s/6/SE from zero to 50% in 35-40 minutes and 13, 12, 11/11 Pro/Max/XR/XS/X/8+/7+ in 50-60 mins (nearly twice the speed of Apple iPhone original chargers as it supports 2 amp charging).
- Charges most Samsung phones and other Android phones from zero to 50% in 50-60 minutes.
- Fully charges iPhones 8, 7, 6s, 6, SE, 5s, from zero to 100% about two times
- Charge iPhones 13, 12, 11, 11 Pro/Max, XR, XS, X, 8+, 7+, 6s+, 6+ slightly more than one time.
- Charges Samsung S/Note/A 20% to 100% one time.
- Robust build quality
- Premium finish
- Gets fully charged in about 3.5 hours
- Grippy design is better than all metal shells
Cons
- Max output is 2 amp which is good for iPhones 7/7+ and older, but latest compact power banks such as PowerCore II 6700 can output up to 2.4 amps, which allows them to charge Samsung and most other Android phones faster
- Longer and larger than its advanced new cousin PowerCore II 6700
- 5 oz (120 grams) weight is more than 4.2 oz of PowerCore II 6700
- Large 1.3 inch x 1.3 inch round cylinder size is bulgy in pockets
- Good capacity for small screen iPhones (iPhone 8/7/6s/6/SE, SE 2020) for two full charges but the 5000 mah capacity is simply not enough for Android phones or large screen iPhones.
Anker PowerCore 5000 Charging
Anker PowerCore 5000 supports a maximum charging output current of 2 amps . This enables it to charge both Android smartphones and iPhones at decent charging speeds. PowerCore 5000 charges all iPhones including the latest iPhone 13/12/11 Pro/Max, XS, XR, X, 8, 8 Plus etc. at fairly good charging speeds of zero to 50% in approximately 40-55 minutes. This charging speed at 10 watt or 2 amps output is twice the charging speed of Apple stock iPhone charger (5-watt or 1 amp).
The charger also charges LG, Samsung and other Android phones at 2 amp charging current. While this is not as fast as latest compact power banks such as PowerCore II 6700 , it is still adequate to charge the Samsung/LG and other Android phones from zero to 50% in 50-60 minutes.
PowerCore 5000 has a nominal battery capacity of 5000 mah, which translates to real-world actual usable capacity of about 3600 mah. This used to be considered a good capacity way back in 2015 when it was released. However, phones these days come in much larger battery capacities and PowerCore 5000 struggles to charge most latest phones more than once.
The only exception are all small-screen iPhones (8, 7, 6S, 6, 5S, SE). These small screen iPhones have smaller batteries (about 1700-1800 mah) and PowerCore 5000 can fully charge them two times.
PowerCore 5000 charges most large-screen iPhones (including iPhone 13, 12, 11, 11 Pro/Max, XS, XS Max, XR, X, 8 Plus, 7 Plus, 6s Plus) that come with 2500-3300 mah batteries about one time. It also charges most Samsung and other Android phones that usually come with 3000-3500 mah batteries one time.
The power bank supports maximum input current of 2 amps and gets charged via the micro-USB port. The charging time for the portable charger from zero to 100% is about 3 hours.
Anker PowerCore 5000 Design and Features
PowerCore 5000 has a cylindrical design with dimensions of 1.3 x 1.3 x 4.2 inches. The finish and build quality of the power bank is top notch with build quality of ports being premium and snug.
Our biggest issue with PowerCore 5000 is its large size and weight for its capacity. In 2019, this large 1.3 inch x 1.3 inch cylinder of PowerCore 5000 looks a size too big given its small 5000 mah capacity.
The round shape with uniform 1.3 inch thickness means that there is no way to avoid the bulge. Make no mistake, this is NOT a lipstick size power bank but rather a big cylinder.
Compared to the PowerCore 5000, new portable chargers such as Anker PowerCore II 6700 are way smaller, lighter and pack more capacity. Both these have a flat 1 inch x 1.7 inch design that is easily far more pocketable than PowerCore 5000.
PowerCore 5000 gets charged via a micro-USB port and has one regular USB charging port with Anker’s PowerIQ auto-optimizing charging current detection and output.
The power bank has 3 blue LED battery indicators and is available in four cool looking colors. It comes with a free micro-USB cable and a travel pouch.
Anker PowerCore 5000 vs RAVPower 6700
PowerCore 5000 and RAVPower 6700 are both premium compact portable chargers. However, RAVPower 6700 is easily the far better portable charger as it is smaller, lighter (4.2 oz vs 4.8 oz) and has way more battery capacity. RAVPower 6700 gives practically two charges (25% to 100% twice – hardly anyone starts charging from zero!) for most latest phones such as Samsung S10/S9/S8/iPhones 11, 11 Pro, XS/XR etc. PowerCore 5000’s battery size is simply not adequate and in fact it cannot fully charge (zero to 100%) some big battery phones such as Samsung S10+ or Samsung S10 5G.
The charging performance of RAVPower 6700 is slightly superior to PowerCore 5000, especially with Android phones as RAVPower 6700 can output maximum 2.4 amps vs 2 amp max of PowerCore 5000.
Between the two, we will recommend the RAVPower 6700 as it offers way more value for money and beats PowerCore 5000 in every aspect.
Anker PowerCore 5000 vs Anker PowerCore II 6700
Anker PowerCore II 6700 is clearly newer and advanced portable charger of the two and it shows. PowerCore II 6700 has a higher maximum charging output current of 2.4 amp compared to PowerCore 5000 (2.1 amp). This practically translates to the PowerCore II 6700 charging iPhones and Android phones a bit faster.
PowerCore II 6700 has 34% more battery capacity than PowerCore 5000 while having about 10% lesser weight! PowerCore II 6700 also has a way better modern ergonomic flat design and looks much much better than PowerCore 6700.
Considering all criteria, Anker PowerCore II 6700 is the easy winner in almost every single aspect.