With more and more brands removing in-box chargers, people have started looking at buying third-party chargers more than ever. On the other hand, despite the rise of faster charging, power banks have been as useful as ever, especially when you’re away from a power socket. But third-party chargers and power banks can sometimes be guilty of looking out of place with your well-designed smartphones. URBN’s new Black Edition products are here to change that. What we have for review today are two handy products from the URBN portfolio – a compact 33W GaN fast charger and a wireless power bank that can charge your devices wired and wirelessly. Here’s what I feel about these two devices.
URBN Black-Edition 10,000mAh wireless power bank (Rs 2,199)
The URBN 10,000mAh power bank is one of the best-looking ones I have used in its class. While it doesn’t have a loud and funky design, the minimal sleek look with the polished texture has a great look and feel in your hand and on your work desk. The wireless power bank looks extra cool on my table which has a carbon-fibre wrap on top.
The URBN 10,000mAh power bank can charge up to three devices at once, two when it is being charged. (Image Source: Chetan Nayak/ The Indian Express)
The power bank can charge devices at up to 22.5W via its ports and supports power output via both its USB Type A and Type-C ports. A neat feature is the ability to charge the power bank while it charges another device wirelessly. Support for wireless charging will include any Qi-charging device including most iPhones and Android devices like the Galaxy S20 FE and the Nothing Phone (1).
This lets you basically turn this power bank into a wireless charger when in a pinch, something I did enjoy using with my Nothing Phone (1). When the power bank is not charging itself, you can use it to charge three devices at once, one with the wireless charging pad, one with the Type-C and another with the Type-A port. The power button, which features some LED status indicators embedded in it, is also a good addition.
URBN Black-Edition 33W GaN fast charger (Rs 1,699)
The main advantage of GaN (Gallium Nitride) chargers is that they’re super-compact. The URBN 33W GaN charger is no exception, being so small you can completely cover it in the palm of your hand, or even put it away in the coin pocket on your jeans.
This charger is ideal for your travel setup and while it isn’t ideal for laptops, it will pretty much charge everything else efficiently, including phones, accessories and tablets. The URBN 33W GaN charger also comes with two ports, a USB Type-A and a USB Type-C, allowing you to use both Type-A-to-Type-C or Type-C-to-Type-C cables with it.
The URBN 33W GaN charger is much more compact than most regular 33W fast chargers. (Image Source: Chetan Nayak/ The Indian Express)
You can even plug in both cables and charge two devices simultaneously, at the expense of the 33W speed on the primary Type-C port dropping to 22.5W. This is handy if you want to power two devices like your phone and earbuds case at once, without the need for two separate adapters.
Verdict: Are these URBN Black-Edition products worth it?
If you’re looking for an inexpensive GaN charger that can charge multiple devices together, the URBN Black Edition 33W GaN charger is worth looking into.
The 10,000mAh wireless power bank on the other hand is a tad more expensive than most 10,000mAh power banks at Rs 2,199, but that’s for the added wireless charging perk. I’d suggest you invest in it only if you have devices that charge wirelessly, and if you actually use wireless charging on them in the first place. If you do, you’d find a few products on the market with the features this power bank offers in a single package.
