In brief: Although most of its consumer electronics are limited to the Chinese market, Xiaomi is globally known for its high quality, highly affordable products. The company's latest value for money offering is the 30,000mAh Mi Power Bank 3 that goes on sale later this week at Jingdong, China's largest retailer, for just ¥169 ($24).
Power banks can be a lifesaver for frequent travelers, and even those not always on the move benefit from being able to charge and use their devices without being stuck to a wall. That freedom ultimately comes down to the pack's battery capacity, which in the case of Xiaomi's Mi Power Bank 3, should result in plenty of freedom.
Weighing in at 657 grams, the Mi Power Bank 3 is Xiaomi's biggest battery bank yet. It also won't be making it to a flight anytime soon because it's 30,000mAh capacity and 3.7V operation make for a 111Wh power rating. That's bigger than what's found in most laptops and is 11Wh over the currently allowed limit for lithium-based batteries.
In terms of ports, the Mi Power Bank 3 features 2 x USB Type-A, 1 x USB Type-C, and 1 x Micro USB. The Type-A and Type-C ports can output up to 18W for fast charging three devices at the same time, though expect it to quickly drain juice at this rate.
There's also a low-power mode for recharging sensitive devices like smartwatches, bands, and Bluetooth headsets. Double-pressing the gadget's check power button switches on its low current charging mode, complementing the in-built protection against over-current, over-power, and short-circuiting.
A power bank of this capacity will also take considerable time to recharge. The Mi Power Bank 3 is said to reduce that somewhat with support for 24W high-power input through its Type-C port, taking around 7.5 hours for a full recharge. The same can be done in 10 hours via its 18W micro USB input port.
As with Xiaomi's recently announced $559 AMD-powered RedmiBook, this hardware will also be exclusively available in China for now. It's set to go on sale on June 18, although reservations seem to be sold out at this time.