Apollo Max Power Bank review: The fastest battery pack to recharge your iPhone 11 Pro and everything else

Even though I'm using the iPhone 11 Pro and am still in awe of its long-lasting battery life, I still prefer to have some extra battery packs with me just in case. I'm no stranger to power banks and battery cases (like the Apple Smart Battery Case that I reviewed), but the common problem is that they always take a long time to charge especially larger capacity batteries.

So when I saw that Apollo Max is a power bank that can recharge in 19 minutes flat, I was intrigued. "Only 19 minutes? That's impossible," I thought. But boy, I was wrong, and the Apollo Max is my favorite little power bank I carry with me everywhere these days, especially when I'm out at Disneyland.

The fastest power bank you'll find

Apollo Max Power Bank: Features

Yes, I was skeptical at first too, but those insane charging speed claims from Elecjet? They're actually very accurate, and yes, I was amazed too when I first started using it.

First, the battery pack itself can go from zero to 100 in 19 minutes. I have tested this out with the provided 100W power adapter, and it holds up. I timed it, and the percentage indicator located between the two ports steadily climbed up at a constant pace. Before 20 minutes, it was already back at 100 percent full. Compared to other battery packs that take a few hours, this is a huge and welcome change.

Now, how about charging up other devices? I mostly use the Apollo Max to charge up my iPhone 11 Pro when it's running low, and it has enough juice to charge it up about two full times. During my tests, I started out with a 100 percent full Apollo Max and my iPhone 11 Pro was at 26 percent. In 58 minutes, the Apollo Max went to 59 percent, and my iPhone 11 Pro was at 90 percent battery.

Since the Apollo Max has 60W USB-C PD output, you can also use it to rapidly charge up an iPad, MacBook, Nintendo Switch, cameras, and pretty much anything else you need. For a MacBook, it may not be enough to provide another full charge, but it is enough to extend your usage by a few hours. There is also a second port, though it's only 18W USB-A, but it supports USB 3.0 Quick Charge for any compatible devices.

Apollo Max has dual batteries inside, so you can charge two devices simultaneously, as well as charge up the Apollo Max itself while charging other devices with passthrough charging. If you're worried about it overheating, don't worry, Elecjet has thought about that too. The power bank features a Graphene Composite cooling layer to promote heat dissipation, so there are no overheating issues.

As far as the appearance of the Apollo Max, it has a dark gray fabric exterior, and a brushed gray metal band that goes around the edges. The power button is a slightly darker gray color than the metal band, and between the two ports is an LCD screen (hidden under the band) that displays the current percentage of the battery pack.

For a 10000mAh battery, the Apollo Max is actually quite heavier than most others of the same capacity. Despite that, the size is pretty slim and compact, as it's only a little bigger than my iPhone 11 Pro. I have no issues fitting the Apollo Max into my daily purse or Tom Bihn Synik 22 backpack. It can even fit into the back pocket of my girl jeans, so I'm sure there's no problem if you wear pants with bigger pockets.

Why bother with other power banks anymore?

Apollo Max Power Bank: What I Like

After using the Apollo Max for the past few weeks, it's definitely my go-to battery pack on-the-go. I never liked having to wait for my phone to slowly charge up with other power banks, and the Apollo Max definitely provides the fastest charge for my iPhone 11 Pro that I've seen.

So when I'm running low, I know I don't need to wait long for it to get charge up and I'm ready to go once more. And if the Apollo Max is out of juice, I know it won't take hours to get it full again, which is super nice.

However, in order to get the fastest recharge time for the Apollo Max, you do need to use the 100W power adapter that it comes with. However, this charger is on the larger size, so it may not be the most convenient to carry around. Still, you'll get a decent recharge time with other high capacity power adapters.

And while the size is a bit large for the 10000mAh capacity, the Apollo Max is still slim and portable enough to not be too much of a hassle.

It's pricey for only 10000mAh

Apollo Max Power Bank: What I Don't Like

My biggest qualm with the Apollo Max is that it's a bit pricey for what you're getting. I mean, it's $130 for just 10000mAh capacity, which you can find for much cheaper from other brands. But I suppose the super fast charging time makes it worth it, if you don't mind paying for that convenience.

I also noticed that if you leave a cable in the Apollo Max after you're done charging up your device, it will continue to drain the battery. This is what happened after my first time using it, so the next time I wanted to use it, the Apollo Max was completely empty. If you want to make sure that the remaining charge in the Apollo Max isn't used up on nothing, then make sure that you pull that charging cable out once you're done with it.

Fortunately, I was able to quickly recharge the Apollo Max after discovering that, and I never made that mistake again.

And while the Apollo Max comes with a 100W power adapter to get the fastest recharge speed, it's on the bigger side, so it's not as easy to carry with you everywhere. This is understandable, though, as you can only reach a certain size for so much power right now. But it is also annoying that it only has one USB-C port, so you can't use it for charging up multiple things.

Recharge in no time at all

Apollo Max Power Bank: The Bottom Line

If you're impatient and don't like waiting around for your power banks to recharge, and want blazing fast charging output on-the-go, then the Apollo Max is definitely worth looking into. It's fairly slim and compact enough to fit anywhere, so you always have it. The only drawback is the fact that the 100W power adapter it comes with is pretty big and unruly with only a single USB-C port, so you can't charge up multiple things with it. But the Apollo Max still charges up reasonably fast with other power adapters if that's all you have on hand.

Apollo Max is currently an Indiegogo project that is estimated to ship out in February 2020.

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