Charge Me Up - a perspective to new mobile power banks out there

It may not be immediately obvious but charging solutions for laptops and phones have seen quiet progress, and the products on offer today are great examples of the latest tech being packaged into portable form factors. Meet the DailyObjects POP range of GaN chargers and the Sharge Icemag 2 Qi2 power bank.

DailyObjects POP: Talk about adding a bit of pop into the hitherto dull charging experience. The POP range of chargers from DailyObjects don’t just wow with the range of colors - yellow, red, blue, black, and white – but they’re packing the latest GAN5 (gallium nitride) tech that allows them to be more power efficient while managing smaller form factors than traditional chargers.

You can pick up the 33W or a 45W variant, each with two Type-C port, or a 67W adapter with one USB-A and two Type-C ports – whichever one you choose, all three come with foldable pins that allow the charger to fold flat, vast improving the ability to pocket or slide the charger into the slimmest of bag pockets. In use, the 67W charger did well to power the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro, while being considerably smaller than the included charger.

The 33W charger is delightfully small and handles iPhones and AirPods with no issues, while the 45W ups the ante for tablets and ultraportable laptops. Across all POP chargers, DailyObjects handles multiple connected devices via intelligent power distribution, sharing the power draw (exact specifics are listed on the site). In all, a strong combination of GAN5 tech, a practical folding design and lively colors make POP a strong choice for your everyday carry.

Rating:8/10

Price: Rs. 1,499 (33W) to 2,999 (67W)

Sharge Icemag 2: Wireless MagSafe chargers are a dime-a-dozen for the iPhone, but you’ve likely not seen anything like the Sharge Icemag 2. With a transparent section that looks very Nothing-inspired and shows off the power bank internals, and an RGB-light up fan that cycles through colors, the MagSafe / Qi2 power bank doesn’t just look cool, it actually keeps your iPhone cool while it’s charging.

Its squat design fits perfectly on the back of the smaller iPhone 16/16 Pro, and a very handy fold-out stand allows you to prop up the phone and watch content while charging. Worth noting that I’ve never gotten a thermal warming while the Icemag 2 was attached onto the phone in my pocket, which has occurred with other MagSafe chargers, so while it may not necessarily cool the iPhone down to visibly improve gaming performance, it keeps the whole setup cool during charging, which is known to improve battery longevity.

With its 10,000-mAh capacity, support for Qi2 for rapid wireless charging up to 15 watts, and 30-watt charging from the USB-C port, the Sharge Icemag 2 is a standout product in the humdrum world of power banks. The only downside? The in-built fan makes a mild whirring noise when in use, so it’s not the best for the bedside or the quietest of environments. 

Rating:8/10

Price: Rs. 5,699