Under a thousand: Lots of battery, decent wireless charging…for not too much

Portronics has been grabbing some attention in the value-for-money mobile accessory market with its Luxcell range of power banks. Generally compact and lightweight, these come with eye-catching designs (rare in power banks, which tend to be big, bulky and plain), and decent charging speeds as well as capacity, all topped with that surprisingly affordable price tag that is a Portronics USP. Portronics has now come up with a power bank that also supports wireless charging while keeping the price relatively low. In a market where it is rare to find a decent power bank that supports wireless charging for under Rs 2,500, the Portronics Luxcell Wireless Mini is available for Rs 1,250 at the time of writing and often dips below Rs 1,000 with the right offers.

Rather remarkably, the Portronics Luxcell Wireless Mini brings a lot to the charging table for that price. While a number of affordable power banks with wireless charging support tend to come with relatively smaller battery capacities, the Luxcell Wireless Mini packs in 10000 mAh. It also comes with a USB Type-C port and a Type-A port as well as a wireless charging pad on the back. What’s more, the Luxcell Wireless Mini not only charges wirelessly but also comes with the ability to attach itself magnetically to the back of phones that support magnetic charging – Portronics claims that the power bank supports MagSafe charging. Charging speeds are very good too – the wireless charging goes up to 15W, the Type-C port charges at 20W and the Type-A port at 20W. The power bank itself can be charged at 18W through the Type-C port. All of those are exceptionally good speeds for a power bank priced in the vicinity of Rs 1,000.

Most strikingly, all of those features come bundled inside a surprisingly compact and colourful frame. The Portronics Luxcell Wireless Mini is 136 mm long, which is about the same as an iPhone 13 mini, and although a bit thicker at 21 mm is still very lightweight at 210 grams. In simple terms, this is one of a handful of 10,000 mAh power banks that can fit into the palm of your hand as well as into a trouser or jacket pocket. While it is made totally of plastic, its yellow and light blue shades are very strikingly designed, with stripes on a slightly raised portion on one side, above which there is a rectangular transparent panel with some components below it. This panel also contains the four LEDs that show the battery levels and charging. It is a small, sleek package.

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Charges briskly, wires or no wires

The power bank fast charges an iPhone in both wired and wireless format (Express Photo) The power bank fast charges an iPhone in both wired and wireless format (Express Photo)

Best of all, it works rather well. The 22.5W and 20W charging options are excellent when you want to charge your device a bit more briskly, but wireless charging speeds are decent too – our iPhone 15 Pro Max went from 22 per cent to 52 per cent in about half an hour, and we were able to charge our AirPods from the charging pad too. Wireless charging speeds seemed a little faster on Android phones like the Nothing Phone (2), but the difference did not quite jump out at us. We were also able to charge three devices at the same time from the power bank, although this did result in a very steep fall in charging speeds.

The power bank itself takes about 4-5 hours to charge using a 33W charger. Portronics has bundled a Type-C to Type-C cable in the box but it is a mere six inches or so long, which makes it handy for charging devices but is of little to no use for charging the power bank itself. The LEDs indicating battery life also get a little inaccurate when there are multiple devices connected to the power bank. There is a button next to the ports to switch the power bank on and off, but the power bank switches on automatically when it is connected wirelessly or through wires to a device – a convenient feature. The strength of the magnet on the power bank is impressive – it stuck solidly to the back of our ipHone 15 Pro Max even through a cover!

Great for those wanting portable power with wireless charging

A power bank that’s easy on the pocket (Express Photo) A power bank that’s easy on the pocket (Express Photo)

All said and done, the Portronics Luxcell Wireless Mini is an excellent option for those who want a light and easy-to-carry power bank, with wireless charging support thrown in for good measure. It is one of those few accessories which does not really have any major negatives. Its charging speeds (wired and wireless) are decent enough, and it has a reasonable number of ports as well. Some might have preferred two USB Type-C ports instead of a Type-C and a Type-A, but we do not see that as a deal breaker given the number of Type-A to Type-C cables that accompany smartphones, tablets and TWS these days. What we would have liked is perhaps a magnetic disk that we could have attached to the backs of phones that do not have magnets on their backs, allowing the power bank to be attached to them magnetically. But perhaps that was one of the corners cut to accommodate the affordable price tag.

Honestly, we would have considered the Portronics Luxcell Wireless Mini as a sound investment even without the wireless charging at its price of close to Rs 1,000 (there is another version which comes without wireless charging support for about Rs 900, which we covered a few months earlier). Add wireless charging to the mix, and this becomes perhaps one of the best value-for-money power banks around. The blend of portability, power and charging speeds at that price is formidable. And it looks good too – we cannot remember when we last said that about a power bank.