The Anker Prime Power Bank (26k, 300W) isn’t larger than prior versions of Anker’s flagship portable battery, but it ups the power output to levels previously only found in portable power stations—allowing you to fast-charge two or more of your most thirsty mobile devices at once.

6/10

Brand

Anker

Weight

1.32 lb

Capacity

26,250mAh

Output

300W

The Anker Prime Power Bank, offering a battery capacity of 26,250mAh, can now supply up to 300W of power spread across three devices. That’s a 50W boost from the prior model. This impressive battery can charge two devices simultaneously at 140W, but with an MSRP of $230, you’re paying a premium to do so. 

Pros & Cons

• Can charge two devices at 140W simultaneously
• Immensely useful display
• Impressive build-quality

• 300W output drains the battery very quickly
• High price for the amount of energy storage

Price and Availability

The latest Anker Prime Power Bank retails for $230, though as an Anker product, you can expect it to be readily available at a discount. You can purchase it directly from Anker and Amazon.

A Distinctly Anker Design

If you know Anker products, the look of the Anker Prime Power Bank will not surprise you. Like other products in Anker’s Prime line, the colors here are a mix of silver on the outside and a black, glossy front. Its familiarity does nothing to diminish its initial impact. I have an abundance of cheaper, smaller battery banks throughout the house, and this feels every bit a premium product as you pull it out of the box.

That said, there’s only one additional USB-C port here compared to Anker’s cheapest power banks, which often come with a single USB-A joined by a single USB-C port. Here, the USB-A is joined by a pair of USB-C.

Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek

A 50W Boost in Performance

This latest Anker Prime Power Bank can now supply 300W of power, up from the 250W upper limit of the prior models (the max capacity of 26,250mAh, by contrast, is slightly lower than the previous 26,650mAh). There are some caveats to understand here, as this battery cannot funnel 300W directly into a single device. The max you can send to a single device remains 140W.

This limitation doesn’t matter all that much in practice, since the fastest charging phone in the US tops off at 80W (and the fastest phone in the world currently peaks at 125W). A Nintendo Switch 2 has a 60W max, while a Steam Deck can reach 45W. A MacBook Pro is the most common device likely to draw the maximum speed, since current models use a 140W wall adapter.

To use the full 300W, you need to plug in multiple devices at once. Both USB-C ports can recharge a device at 140W simultaneously. This enables you and a friend, partner, or colleague to charge two MacBooks at the same time. The USB-A port maxes out at 22.5W, though if the other two ports are firing on all cylinders, then this port will be reduced to 20W. That’s a reduction you may spot in the app or on the display, but few are likely to notice in practice.

If you’re primarily charging a phone at 25W or a first-generation Nintendo Switch, the Prime’s extra charging speeds are wasted on you, and you could get by with a much cheaper power bank with a similar capacity. I have $15 portable battery banks from Anker and Best Buy’s Insignia brand that output at 25W, and this Anker Prime battery doesn’t charge my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 any faster than those do. A 100W power bank would be enough to charge my most-used devices at full speed at the same time.​​​​​

Performance That’s Difficult to Max Out

I don’t have two current MacBook Pros on hand to put this battery through its paces, so I instead tasked the Anker Prime with the absurd job of charging two of my significantly larger Anker Solix C300 portable power stations at the same time. I also plugged a smartphone into the USB-A port for good measure.

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Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek

On default settings, the battery easily charged both power stations at just shy of 100W. That it didn’t go higher wasn’t a reflection on the battery. My power stations were both above 70%, where they no longer reach their max charging speed of 140W. Yes, even if you own devices that can charge at 140W, the window of time at which they draw that amount of power is typically very short.

While I haven’t noticed the battery get any warmer when charging my phone at under 30W, pushing out over 200W was a different story. The battery became very warm to the touch, but that’s apparently no cause for concern. According to Anker’s temperature gauge, the battery was not even close to overheating by the time it had drained itself of power.

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That brings us to a bigger issue to keep in mind. If you’re charging at anywhere near 300W, you’re going to drain this battery in minutes. 26,250mAh translates to just under 100Wh, so supplying 300W continuously could drain a fully charged battery in under 20 minutes. Keep in mind, as well, that much of the power will be lost in transition, and Anker’s small print says you can expect closer to 15,000mAh of actual use.​​

Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek

An Immensely Useful Display and App

If you’ve used an Anker Prime battery or charger before, you know what to expect here. The small display shows the power bank’s current charge in the form of both an easily visible number and a progress bar. When you plug in a device, the amount of power going out will appear at the bottom. If you plug in a second one, the display will briefly change to show how much power each device is pulling before returning to the default screen.

You can change what’s on the display by pressing a button on the side of the battery bank. By doing so, you can switch between the default screen and the view of individual charging speeds. A third screen shows a bar representing the temperature of your battery and whether it’s beginning to overheat. A fourth screen shows whether you have a Bluetooth connection.

The Bluetooth connection enables you to use the mobile companion app. The Anker app is the same one used to connect to other Anker products, including Anker’s massive SOLIX portable power stations. With the Anker Prime power bank, you can monitor the same information that’s available on the built-in display, but on a larger screen. You can also create custom power profiles, enabling you to prioritize one charging port over the other, for example.

Should You Buy the Anker Prime Power Bank (26k, 300W)?

Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek

What you’re buying with the 300W Anker Prime Power Bank is speed, not capacity. You can get power banks with a similar 20k capacity for under a fifth of the price. So when deciding whether this is a worthwhile purchase, what matters are the devices you need to charge and how much juice they require.

You can easily save money by going for a power bank that’s proportional in power output to the devices you currently use. Quite frankly, Anker’s own 25k, 165W power bank can ultimately charge the same devices and, at $120, starts at $100 less. $230 is also enough to buy an Anker SOLIX C300 DC, which may not be the kind of battery you keep in your everyday carry, but its 90,000mAh capacity is in a whole different league.

If you do need the fastest portable power bank you can get your hands on, and budget’s no concern, then the Anker Prime Power Bank is a good buy. The battery is relatively slim and portable, the build quality feels durable, the display and app alike are useful, and the performance delivers. This is a phenomenal battery to grab on sale, but even as someone who loves Anker batteries as much as I do, I find this one difficult to recommend at full price.

6/10

Brand

Anker

Weight

1.32 lb

Capacity

26,250mAh

Output

300W

The Anker Prime Power Bank, offering a battery capacity of 26,250mAh, can now supply up to 300W of power spread across three devices. That’s a 50W boost from the prior model. This impressive battery can charge two devices simultaneously at 140W, but with an MSRP of $230, you’re paying a premium to do so.