Xiaomi Wireless Power Bank. Review.

Specifications

• Technical Name: PLM11ZM
• Nominal capacity: 10,000 mAh (3.7V) or 37 Wh? H
• Minimum effective capacity: 6,000 mAh (at 5V / 3A)
• Input and output (USB-C): 5V / 3A, 9V / 2A, 12V / 1.5A to 18W
• Output (USB-A): 5V / 2.4A, 9V / 2A, 12V / 1.5A to 18W
• Output (Qi): 10 W
• General output to all ports (including Qi): 5V / 3A
• Support for QC 3.0, USB Power Delivery 2.0, there is a mode for charging low-current devices and end-to-end charging
• Full charge time: 4 hours (18 W), 6 hours (10 W)
• Operating temperature range: +5 degrees ~ +35 degrees
• Dimensions: 147.9 x 71.6 x 18.4 mm
• Weight: 303 g

In the box

• Xiaomi Wireless Powerbank
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• Documentation

Design

Xiaomi wireless bank is made in the style typical of the company - it is an aluminum bar with plastic ends. It is available in only one color - black with a purple tint. On the one hand, it has only a company logo, and if you look only at this part, you can not even guess about the main battery chip. But the opposite side is almost completely covered by a rubber pad with a picture of lightning, and here everything becomes extremely clear - here it is, a magical place where gadgets begin to be energized without any wires. According to the tactile sensations, the rubber pad is rubber, and the smartphone should be placed on it so that the middle of the device coincides with the middle of the bank, - even a separate item was highlighted in the instructions for this.

On the upper and lower ends - matte plastic. Above are the ports and their specifications, indicators of charge and operation of the Qi-coil, as well as a single button. Next to the charge indicator is another LED, blue. It is on while the wireless charging is in operation. By the way, wireless charging must be turned on manually with a short press on the function button. At the bottom there is nothing but detailed specifications.

The new product weighs 303 g, which is almost a third more than the company's classic 10-thousanders (2S and 2i). Keep this in mind.

Functionality

Let's start with the main feature of the device - wireless charging. As I have already noted, in order to start charging the device wirelessly, you need to press a single button once, after which a blue LED will light up, indicating that the Qi coil is on.

Two wireless charging modes are supported: standard 5-watt mode (5V / 1A) and fast 10-watt charging (9V / 1.1A). On Samsung smartphones, fast charging works, which is confirmed by the corresponding inscription, but with the iPhone, apparently, Wireless Powerbank is not able to work in fast mode.

Apple products are quite moody in relation to Qi-charges, and the fast mode is supported only on certified sites (Morphie, Belkin), as well as on some Baseus with the claimed support for fast charging for Apple. Here Xiaomi did not declare such a chip, so there are no complaints about it. The fastest way is Xiaomi Mi 9 charging wirelessly on the bank - about 2 hours.

When charging wirelessly on the table, the heating begins to be felt only when the smartphone is charged at 70 percent or more, and then it is not strong, since the aluminum case well removes excess heat.

Let's move on to the wired functionality of Xiaomi Wireless Powerbank, and here the situation is more interesting. Traditionally for Xiaomi “cans”, a wide range of fast charging technologies is supported:

• Devices supporting Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 / 2.0;
• Samsung smartphones with support for fast charging;
• Huawei flagships (with the exception of devices with support for SuperCharge at 22.5 W, but FCP mode will work, that is, charging will be fast, but not the fastest possible);
• Apple devices without support for USB PD (smartphones up to iPhone 8 / X and old tablets);
• gadgets with support for USB PD (iPhone 8 / X and newer, new iPad Pro, Google Pixel).

At the same time, despite the support of USB PD 2.0, you should not count on charging laptops with such a bank - it has too little power. It is unlikely that you will be happy with numbers like a couple of tens of percent off for three hours of charging, although in emergency cases this can help. For these purposes, it is worth looking towards more powerful models, for example, Xiaomi Powerbank 3 Pro.

The following fast charging technologies are not supported by the bank:

• Dash Charge and VOOC from OnePlus and OPPO;
• Huawei SCP from Huawei (flagships with SCP support will use fast charging via FCP protocol, that is, fast charging will be, but not the fastest possible);
• MediaTek's Pump Express, which is almost never used.
• Moto TurboPower (Moto users note that they see TurboPower, as some versions of Moto's proprietary technology are compatible with QC (newer with USB PD).
• Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ (not enough power).

Of all this, the only pity is the lack of QC4 +, since the list of smartphones with support for this technology is constantly growing. But the rest is already a rarity for third-party accessories.

Conclusion

Xiaomi Wireless Powerbank is not only an excellent device to charge your smartphone, but also saves you from unnecessary wires, allow you to recharge your headphones and other accessories at the same time.

The battery is excellent, functional and universal, if you remove the impressive dimensions for 10,000 mAh. The cost of Xiaomi Wireless Powerbank is $ 38.

The main competitor for Xiaomi Wireless Powerbank is a similar model from Ugreen 10W Qi Wireless Powerbank - but it is simpler both in design and in functionality (there is no charge for low-current devices, as well as support for AFC and FCP). But due to the plastic case, the battery has 50 g less weight. Other models with a 10-watt Qi-charging from well-known brands could not be found - fast wireless charging among power banks is still rare.

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