Top 5 Best Portable External Battery Chargers for MacBook – On the move backup power

Most of you have seen this and some of you might have been there too, sitting on the floor in the mall or at the airport, next to a wall socket, charging your laptop for the connecting flight or some extra work hours.

If you do a lot of field work, work away from the office, take daily commutes that can last for an hour or more, a frequent flyer or look to take that long vacation with several hops this summer, then an external battery charger is going to be a life saver. You won’t be left without power for MacBook or other USB devices. The highest capacity backup battery packs listed below lets you charge a MacBook Air up to 4 times. Give or take, that is nearly 50 hours of battery life without needing a single wall socket.

There are two types of power banks as you will see in our list below, ones with AC power outlet or DC power outlet. Of the 5 portable external battery chargers in our line-up, only two offers AC power outlet, ChargeTech and ChugPlug. This meant you can simply plug your laptop Power Adapter to it like you would to a wall socket and charge your laptop that way. ChargeTech takes this one step further by supplying a universal adapter which meant you can charge virtually anything.

UPDATE: MAXOAK has a high capacity 36000mAh powerbank with 4 output ports. They consists of 2 USB ports, 1 Type C port and 1 DC for MacBook Air and Pro. The Type C output offers 12V/3A suitable for MacBook 12 and other devices with Type C Connector. It comes in a matching silver aluminium shell and thick end caps. The company also does a bigger 50000mAh power bank with 6 output ports but supports non-Apple laptops.

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Power Bank Laptop Chargers with AC Outlet

RAVPower has given us a power bank with AC Outlet. From its high capacity 20100mAh battery comes a maximum of 65 Watt output on its AC Outlet. This AC Outlet can be used with wall power adapters for laptops. To know your MacBook’s wall adapter power rating, use the support link from Apple below.

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External Link: Find the right power adapter and cable for your Mac notebook

MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air power adapter ratings:

• USB-C output are rated 29/20W (for 12-inch MB), 30W (for 13-inch MBA), 61W (for 13-inch MBP) and 87W (for 15-inch MBP).
• MagSafe 2 adapters are rated 45W (for 11/13-inch MBA), 60W (13-inch MBP) and 85W (15-inch MBP)
• MagSafe “L” and “T” shaped adapters: 60W “T’ style (13-inch MBP), 60W “L” style (13-inch MBP), 85W “T” style (15-inch and 17-inch MBP), 85W “L” style (15-inch and 17-inch MBP), 45W “L” style (13-inch and 11-inch MBA).

Essentially, if you have a 15-inch or 17-inch MacBook Pro, you will need a portable laptop charger with higher rated AC Outlet. MacBook Air or 13-inch MBP would be able to use the RAVPower. For bigger MacBooks, choose the following (Use the links below to access the items on Amazon):

• Jackery PowerBar 20800mAh Laptop Charger with 85W AC Outlet
• Omars 24000mAh/40200mAh Portable Laptop Charger with 80W/90W AC Outlet
• EWEMOSI 31200mAh Portable Laptop Power Bank with 100W AC Outlet
• RAVPower 27000mAh Power Bank Laptop Charger with 85W AC Outlet

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These power bank laptop chargers also come with USB ports (Type A and sometimes Type C) to charge mobile devices such as tablet and smartphone as well as laptops with USB-C input.

Best External Battery Charger or Backup Battery for MacBook Air and Pro

We take a look at 5 of the best high capacity power banks that let you charge your MacBook and how they compare with each other. Use the links below and elsewhere on this page to access the items on Amazon.

1. ZeroLemon ToughJuice V3.0 30000mAh Type-C/USB-C/QC3.0 Portable Charger
2. Lizone Extra Pro 40,000mAh External Battery Charger
3. HyperJuice 2 Portable Charger with 100Wh 26,000mAh Battery Pack for MacBook ALUMINIUM BODY, AC POWER OUTLET 
4. Energizer XP18000AB Universal Power Adapter with 18,000mAh External Battery Pack
5. ChugPlug Portable Power Adapter for MacBook – AC POWER OUTLET

A Closer Look

When considering a power bank or external battery charger, you want one with the high capacity that your budget allows. Next, you will also need to establish if a suitable MagSafe connector is supplied. If not, can you get one easily. The size of the battery pack obviously goes hand in hand with the its capacity. The higher the capacity, the bigger and heavier the external battery charger is going to be but that is a small price to pay for the hours you will get from them.

1. ZeroLemon ToughJuice V3.0 30000mAh Type-C/USB-C/QC3.0 Portable Charger

New comer ZeroLemon offers high capacity 30,000mAh power bank with QC2.0 and QC3.0 complaint chargers. It has a toughened ruggedised design with anti-shock case. What is important is it is compatible with MacBook with USB-C or Type-C connectors. These include new MacBook 2015/2016 and MacBook Pro 13 or 15 2016. With its versatile 5 USB port output; 1 Quick Charge 3.0 (12V/9V) with legacy 5V/2A support, three 5V/1A charging ports and a further one Type-C output port.

• Output Voltage: 7A Outputs 5 USB Ports: 1 Quick Charge 3.0 port (12V/9V) with legacy 5V/2A support, and 3 Ports for 1A charging.
• Dimensions and Weight: 7.1 x 3.6 x 1.3 inches, 1.2 pounds

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2. Lizone Extra Pro 40,000mAh External Battery Charger – ALUMINIUM BODY, ULTRA HIGH CAPACITY

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• 40,000mAh Grade A Panasonic battery capacity wit high energy efficiency rate
• MagSafe 1 cable or MagSafe 2 cable are available to buy separately.
• Charge MacBook Pro 13-inch approx. 2 times
• Lizone technology enables full speed laptop DC port (up to 4.5A 90W) and USB port charge (up to 2.1A) and universal compatibility
• Output Voltage: DC port (up to 4.5A 90W) and USB 5V port charge (up to 2.1A). Total output 6.6A.
• Running Time: Charge MacBook Pro 13-inch approach 2.0 times
• Dimensions and Weight: 6.5 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches, 1.5 pounds

Other Models Available from Lizone:

• also available 26000mAh for non-Apple devices.

3. HyperJuice AC External Battery 100Wh 26,000mAh Battery Pack  ALUMINIUM BODY, AC OUTLET

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• Built-in AC wall output to power any device adapters for laptops, tablets, smartphones and more to a maximum of 120W
• Comes with 1 x QC3.0 compatible USB output port to quickly charger smartphones with 26,000mAh capacity.
• Fully recharge in 2 to 3 hours with included compact 45W charger
• Aluminium enclosure with matching MacBook Silver colour and finish.

4. Energizer XP18000AB Universal Power Adapter with 18,000mAh External Battery Pack

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• Three outputs for simultaneous charging of up to three devices. Smart LED light indicator for battery level and charging status. Battery is rechargeable up to 500 times. Comes with media tips to fit a wide range of devices.
• Battery Capacity: 18,000mAh Lithium Polymer
• Outputs Voltage: DC 5V, 2.1A / DC 12V, 2A / DC 19V, 3.5A
• Running Time: up to 5hrs for laptops, up to 8hrs for netbooks

5. ChugPlug Portable Power Adapter for MacBook – AC POWER OUTLET

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• Supports both 45W and 65W MagSafe power adapters via Apple’s proprietary slots on both ends one for Apple AC Power Cord and the other for Apple MagSafe power adapter.
• Seamless connection lets you charge the battery and run the power adapter at the same time.
• Charging Time: 2hrs
• Running Time: MacBook Air 11 (up to 4hrs), MacBook Air 13 (up to 3hrs) and MacBook Pro 13 (up to 3hrs)

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Remember to check if your choice of external charger comes with the required MacBook power cable suitable for your use. These are sometimes optional and are sold separately.