With the PowerCore Reserve, Anker offers an extraordinary power bank. If we can call the PowerCore Reserve a power bank at all!
So it has a capacity of a whopping 192Wh! It corresponds to 51891 mAh capacity (Anker speaks of 60,000 mAh)! This is a huge power bank, which is a cross between a power bank and a power station.
It relies on a LiFePO4 battery and, in addition to a number of USB ports, also offers a separate solar input! That sounds really exciting.
Let’s take a look at the Anker 548 Powerbank (PowerCore Reserve 192Wh) in the test!
Die Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve 192Wh im Test
Certainly the first thing we have to talk about is the size and weight of the power bank!
It measures 11.7 x 11.7 x 19.6 cm and weighs a whopping 1.725 kg!
If you are looking for a “compact” or a power bank with the highest possible energy density, then you are not at the right place here. Then you should rather choose two large normal power banks.
This is certainly also due to the use of LiFePO4 battery cells, which we will talk about later.
However, I like the form factor of the PowerCore Reserve! The power bank itself is quite portable. Of course you can’t just put these in your trouser pocket, but Anker has given them a small fabric handle.
This allows easy transport from the house to the garden or from the car to the campsite, etc. The quality of the power bank is also really impeccable.
PowerCore Reserve connectors
In contrast to a real power station, the PowerCore Reserve has no sockets, which is why I would classify it as a power bank. It only has four USB outputs on the front.
2x USB A 18W – Quick Charge 3.0 – 5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1,5A
2x USB C 60W – USB Power Delivery – 5V/3A, 9V/4A, 12/1,5A, 15V/3A, 20V/3A
First of all, we have two USB A ports, which are classic quick charge ports, but which you can use universally for all devices.
The two USB C ports are more exciting. These can deliver up to 60W according to the USB Power Delivery standard, which is even enough for many notebooks and of course also more than sufficient for smartphones.
The lower USB C port can also be used to charge the power bank, also with up to 60W.
I think it’s a bit of a shame that we only have 60W of power, with such a large power bank 100W should be possible without any problems, but 60W is usually completely sufficient.
In addition to the USB C input, we also have an XT60 input. XT60? XT60 is a standard connection which is often used for Lipo batteries and solar panels. Yes, you can charge the PowerCore Reserve using a normal solar panel! You only need a suitable MC4 to XT60 adapter cable (affiliate link to Amazon).
Here, too, the power bank accepts up to 60W (10-24V and a maximum of 3A).
LED Lampe
A kind of fold-out LED lamp is integrated in the cover of the power bank. This is not a headlight or flashlight, but a “flat” lighting.
This is intended for tents or for emergencies. Fortunately, the LED lighting is also quite bright.
Maximum 87W power!
Important, the Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve can deliver a maximum of 87W across all ports simultaneously!
For example, if you use both USB C ports at the same time, they will open 60W + 27W throttled.
But this is “ok”, because that is more than sufficient for a notebook + a smartphone.
If you also use the USB A ports, the 2nd USB C port and the USB A ports are throttled to the 5V power level (5V/3A or 5V/2.4A). The primary USB C port remains at 60W.
NO PPS!
Unfortunately, the two USB C ports do not support PPS! This is a bit disappointing for a high end power bank in 2023.
As a result, the charging speed in combination with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is limited to 14W, for example.
With helpful display
The Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve has a helpful and detailed display on the front.
This can show you the following information:
Battery status in % Remaining charging/discharging time Input power in watts Output power in watts
Discharging and charging at the same time?
Fortunately, you can charge the Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve 192Wh at the same time, both via XT60 and via USB C and discharge via the other ports.
What a LiFePO4 Battery!
Interestingly, the Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve contains a LiFePO4 battery. LiFePO4 is a slightly different battery technology compared to lithium ion batteries.
LiFePO4 batteries are larger and heavier than lithium-ion batteries, which is why you won’t normally find them in power banks.
In return, LiFePO4 batteries are much more durable and safer! So Anker advertises here with 3000+ cycles! A normal power bank manages a maximum of 500-1000, as long as it uses good cells.
In addition, LiFePO4 batteries cannot thermally run away. Therefore, this technology is very popular in power stations, as well as in e-mobility.
Important, LiFePO4 batteries must not be charged below 0 degrees. Unloading works, but not loading.
The capacity
Anker promises a capacity of 192Wh for the PowerCore Reserve. I could measure the following:
Wh
mAh @3.7V
% of HA
20V/3A
177,08
47859
92%
20V/1A
177,63
48008
93%
9V/3A
187,41
50651
98%
9V/1A
180,84
48876
94%
5V/2A
178,33
48197
93%
This looks really good! In the test, the PowerCore reserve reached 92% to 98% of the manufacturer’s specification, which is an absolute top value!
Loading speed in combination with other devices
Expected loading speed
Apple iPads
+++
Apple iPhones
+++
Apple MacBooks
++
Google Pixel
++
Huawei Smartphones
+
OnePlus Smartphones
+
Realme Smartphones
+
Samsung Galaxy Smartphones („S“ Serie)
+
Windows Notebooks (Dell XPS, ASUS, etc.)
++
+++ = “perfect” maximum possible loading speed to be expected ++ = very high loading speed to be expected + = brisk loading speed to be expected 0 = “standard” loading speed to be expected – = slow loading speed to be expected — = not compatible or only suitable to a very limited extent
Thanks to the 60W USB C port, the Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve is very well suited for all Apple devices!
It doesn’t matter whether it’s an iPhone, iPad or MacBook, everything will be charged quickly on the power bank. A 100/140W USB C port would have been nice for the MacBooks, but 60W is usually sufficient here.
In general, 60W is usually a good performance for notebooks, especially if you only use them for office/light media applications. The same applies to game consoles such as the Steam Deck or the Switch.
Only with Huawei/OnePlus and Samsung smartphones would the charging speed be somewhat limited in combination with the Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve.
The latter is due to the lack of the PPS standard.
Ladedauer USB C
According to Anker, you can charge the PowerCore Reserve with up to 60W via USB C.
This is also the case in practice! The power bank needs about 4 hours for a 0% to 100% charge. Not overly fast but fit for such a high capacity power bank.
Charging time via Solar/XT60 input
Charging via the XT60 input, i.e. also via solar, is a little more complicated to quantify. Because we have some factors!
How much power does the source have (how powerful is the solar panel / power supply, how much sun is shining, etc.). What voltage does the source offer.
According to Anker, the XT60 accepts 10-24V input at up to 3A. So if you had a 12V source, we would theoretically only get 36W of power.
12V * 3A = 36W On the other hand, at 24V we could theoretically reach 72W. However, Anker’s values do not seem to be quite correct in practice.
For the test I connected the power bank to a +-13V source, I was able to observe the following performance values.
The PowerCore Reserve even took just over 4A for me. As a result, we achieved a charging speed of +- 54W, which resulted in a charging time of 4:50 hours.
Conclusion
I find the Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve 192Wh very exciting! So it sits between classic power banks and the larger power stations.
Above all, we have a significantly higher capacity here than with ordinary power banks. 192 Wh is not little! This is enough to load a 13 inch notebook 2-3 times. When it comes to smartphones, we are talking about dozens of charges.
The power bank also achieves this in practice 187,41 Wh a very good “real” capacity and thanks to the LiFePO4 cells is more durable and safer than normal lithium ion based models.
The XT60 input is also pleasing and allows for fairly uncomplicated charging via solar if you want that. Alternatively, you can of course also charge the power bank via USB C!
On the port side, we have 2x USB A and 2x USB C. The two USB C ports can deliver up to 60W. In principle, this is “OK” for me. 60W USB C ports are sufficient for smartphones, tablets and most notebooks.
However, a 100W port would certainly have been possible in a power bank of this class. A little more disappointing for me is the lack of PPS.
PPS is certainly not mandatory, but it is important for the Samsung Galaxy S smartphones in particular! Without PPS, they charge comparatively slowly on the power bank. From my point of view, this is the only real fault with the power bank.
Otherwise, this is a very interesting model if you are looking for a little more capacity without wanting to use a large power station right away.
The price is also okay for me. At the time of the test you pay between 150 and 200€ for the power station, check Amazon for the current prices. But 150 to 200€ is fine for me.
Anker 548 PowerCore Reserve 192Wh
POSITIVE
High capacity
Practical and detailed display
60W USB C output
Interesting form factor
XT60 solar input
USB C input (0% to 100% approx. 4h)
Integrated LED lamp
NEGATIVE
No PPS
“Nur” 60W USB C