Ugreen PowerDot: handy power bank with integrated lightning cable in the test

Ugreen recently sent me a new power bank (thanks for that!), Which comes with two, no, three nice features:

• It is small and still has a capacity of 10.000 mAh.
• It offers USB C Power Delivery with 20 watts of power.
• she has a MFi certified lightning cable integrated (or optionally a USB-C cable or no charging cable).

All good reasons to buy the Ugreen Powerbank (Manufacturer site/Amazon product page) to take a closer look.

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Technical data of the Ugreen PowerDot

I would like to deal with the "specs" first, so that you have a rough overview of what the battery has in terms of input and output.

• Manufacturer: Ugreen
• Model: PowerDot (PB172)
• Battery type: lithium polymer
• USB C input: 5V / 3A or 9V / 2A
• USB C output: 5V / 3A, 9V / 2.22A, 12V / 1.5A
• Maximum USB C output power: 20W
• USB C output: 5V / 3A, 9V / 2A, 12V / 1.5A
• Capacity: 10.000 mAh at 3.82V (38.2 Wh)
• Nominal capacity: 6250 mAh (TYPE 5V 3A)
• Maximum output power: 5V / 3A
• Charging time of the power bank: 3h (with USB PD with 18 W)

Two more small notes:

• Loading of three devices at the same time (via the Lightning cable, USB C and USB A port) is possible, but limited to a total of 20 watts of power.
• Load through loading - than charging devices while the power bank is charging itself - is not supported. As soon as the power bank is charging, the other ports are switched off.

Capacity, nominal capacity and watt hours ...

What some of you may have noticed when skimming the technical data is the indication of the nominal capacity with "only" 6250 mAh. Most power bank providers like to ignore this additional information. For advertising purposes, they only indicate the capacity of the built-in battery cells, which is, however, always significantly more than the capacity that can be found at 5 volts.

For this reason, I have been advocating for years that one shouldn't mAh information does more with power banks, but simply indicates the watt hours (Wh), because this unit includes both voltage and capacity. This would give you a value that could be used very well to compare the individual power banks.

My measured values ​​from practice

Ugreen advertises 20 Watt output power via the USB C port. To check how it behaves in practice, I connected my MacBook Pro (Intel) to the power bank. While this is not the intended use as the power bank cannot seriously charge a MacBook Pro, I was sure that the maximum performance was being obtained.

In my measurements came too 20 watts from the USB C port - just as promised by Ugreen.

The remaining measured values ​​with iPhone and iPad

While loading mine iPhone 12 Pro Max flowed a good 15 watts into the smartphone.

My iPad, on the other hand, was able to use the power bank USB A port with 4,9 volts and 2,0 Ampere – i.e. almost 10 watts - charged. On the USB C port was even with 4,9 volts and 2,3 amps loaded. Why not with more power? Because this iPad is older and not yet USB-C Power Delivery unterstützt.

Good for iPhone and iPad, but not very suitable for a MacBook

The values ​​are all very good and show that the power bank is quite suitable for charging an iPad or iPhone.

For a MacBook Pro, on the other hand, I would recommend a larger power bank with 26.800 mAh so that the laptop noticeably gains operating time. The number of watt hours from the Ugreen PowerDot Powerbank is roughly half that of a 13 inch MacBook Pro. If you also assume an efficiency of 80% when charging, then with a complete power bank filling you gain maybe 20 to 30% battery level with the MacBook Pro.

Practical in everyday life - the Ugreen PowerDot

Apart from the technical values, the PowerDot Powerbank is a really helpful device if you use it in everyday life. My children have used them more often in the last few weeks to charge their iPhone and iPad and it has always been particularly practical that the Lightning charging cable is attached to the power bank. This eliminates the hassle of searching for the right charging cable.

Furthermore, the versatility of the connections is very pleasant: From USB A to USB C to Lightning, everything can be plugged into the Ugreen PowerDot battery.

I think the power bank is very successful, especially when you see the price of around 23 euros, for which it is currently listed on Amazon. Nevertheless, from my point of view it is a good power bank for on the go, for hiking, cycling or for similar activities.

The power bank is available in a version with a built-in Lightning cable here at Amazon.

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Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He acts as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with technical problems. In his spare time he rides electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with the iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions to current bugs.

The page contains affiliate links / images: Amazon.de