With the current craze in gold smartphones and tablets, we were keen to review Lumsing’s gold 8000mAh Power Bank. It’s a darker shade than Apple’s gold, but this USB charger is pretty bling – and good value, too. Also see: Best power banks 2018. It’s not just gold iPhones this Lumsing (also available in black and blue – and pink, although we can’t find this version in the UK) is keen to keep powered on either. With a 2.1A output this power bank will charge any USB-powered device, be that a smartphone, a tablet, a Bluetooth speaker, an MP3 player or a camera. The 1.5A Micro-USB input is also decent, allowing you to recharge the power bank faster than you would many of its rivals, which are usually specified with 1A inputs. Few power banks can be desribed as stylish, but the brushed aluminium chassis and slim, pocketable dimensions of this Lumsing impress – it’s just 10mm thick, and much easier to handle than other brick-like chargers we’ve reviewed (see the EC Technology 18000mAh Power Bank, for example). It’s a tad smaller than our phone, and a few grams heavier at 168g; in the pocket it simply feels as though you’re carrying a second handset. A Micro-USB cable is supplied in the box. Its coiled cable is too fancy for our liking, reminding us of a landline telephone cord. You can supply your own cable if it’s not to your taste, or if your device charges over anything other than Micro-USB. There’s also a built-in LED torch – you just double-press the only button to turn it on or off. At this price you shouldn’t expect the Lumsing to support fancy features such as passthrough charging and auto-on, although it will automatically turn itself off five seconds after a device is disconnected to save power. But while it’s cheap, it’s not the cheapest power bank we’ve seen. And a chunk of that price tag is definitely owed to its design. It’s interesting to note that the one power bank that really shows up this Lumsing in terms of value is another from the same company: the 10400mAh Harmonica-style Power Bank. And it’s not difficult to see why: it’s cheaper, it’s higher in capacity, it has two outputs that allow you to simultaneously charge a phone and a tablet, it comes with a soft carry case – and it’s still portable and stylish. Which of the two you choose will likely come down to how long you need to stay connected away from the mains. Our one gripe with this device is the LED system it uses to show how much capacity remains. Most high-capacity power banks use four LEDs; some of the smaller pocketable USB chargers use three; this 8000mAh power bank has only two. When one LED is lit somewhere between 4000- and 8000mAh remains; and when this LED flashes there could be anything between 0- and 4000mAh remaining. That’s quite a big chunk of power, so you could have enough to fully charge your smartphone or the Lumsing could be on its last legs, and you wouldn’t know until it was too late. Lumsing’s Power Bank comes with a one-year warranty and the promise of protection against over-charge, -discharge, -voltage, -current, -heating and short circuiting. Read next: How to improve smartphone battery life. Follow Marie Brewis on Twitter. Marie is Editor in Chief of Tech Advisor and Macworld. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she’s worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our English language, French and Spanish consumer editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry’s transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.
