The ZMI 20000mAh 65W power bank QB823 is like most power banks – a slab of rechargeable batteries inside an elegant metallic blue alloy case.
The ZMI 20000mAh 65W power bank does one thing most other 20K power banks do not. It is a three-port USB 2.0 Hub as well. It is also a tad lighter, uses a later tech and stretches the PD 3.0 wattage to 65W – enough for most notebooks – fruity or otherwise.
What really attracted me to review ‘yet another damned power bank’ was the ZMI heritage. You see, it would not exist without Xiaomi. Zimi Corporation (ZMI) is the exclusive mobile power accessories supplier to Xiaomi. It is one of the first Xiaomi-funded ecosystem companies (27.4% stake). Kind of vertical integration where each company feeds off the other and gets stronger.
And in its relatively short life since 2014 it has won numerous design awards and created quite a reputation for good gear.
Australian review: ZMI 20000mAh 65W power bank QB823
- Distributor: Xiaomi distributor Panmi and RRP is $149.95
- From: Amazon Australia for $111 plus delivery if applicable (and other online stores)
- Country of Manufacture: China
- Warranty: 12 months from Amazon
Base specs
USB-C PD 3.0 means it communicates with the PD device to negotiate the charge rate. In effect, it can charge a single device to 65W or multiple devices to a total of 60W.
Size
160.4 × 81.8 × 21 mm x 440g.
No IP rating
Battery
3.6V, 20000mAh, 72Wh. It is aircraft cabin safe and has temperature, short circuit, over/under voltage and over current protection.
Input
Any USB-C PD 3.0 charger to 100W. Our tests show it charges at up to 12V/3.75A/45W or other non-PD Charger
Charge times vary.
- 45W PD 3.0 fast charge 0-100% is about 3 hours
- 18W (9V/2A or 12V/1.5) is about six hours
- 10W 5V/2A is about 10 hours
Output: USB-C
- PD 3.0 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/3.25A (65W)
- PDO – as above
- PPS 5-11V/3A and 5-20V/3A (QC 3.0)
All the above means is that it is 100% compliant with PD and QC standards
Output USB-A
- Single USB-A port: 5V/2.4A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.25A (18W) QC 2.0/3.0 for smartphones
- Double USB-A port: 18W
- Three ports – 2xUSB-A and 1xUSB-C: There is a 60W limit over all three ports. When all three are used it caps the USB-A ports at 5V/1.25A/7.5W (15W in total) and 45W over USB-C.
USB Hub speeds
It is USB 2.0 480Mbps (60MBps) half-duplex that allows for 30-40MBps data transfer rates attached to an external storage device like a flash drive or even up to 2TB SSD. You must enable HUB mode via a double click on the power button.
In the box
- Charger
- 30cm USB-A to USB-C 15W rated cable
- 45cm USB-C to USB-C 100W rated cable
Tests using a Power-Z monitor – PASS
We tested the input (charging), and it does negotiate 45W from higher capacity chargers. We did not monitor the entire time, but it appears to get to 80% and then top off with 5V/3A.
Output tests
- HP x360 65W Spectre – PASS both charge and operate
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (45w capable) – PASS
- Apple iPhone 5V/1.25A – PASS (although you only need to use the USB-A port for this)
- USB-A – various USB devices from 1 to 3A – PASS
Number of recharges
20,000mAh sounds like a lot, and it is when you have a 4000-5000 mAh smartphone battery. This means (allowing for charging efficiencies both ways) an iPhone 11 or Samsung Galaxy S20 will charge about five times.
Notebooks usually quote Wh (watt-hours), and you have about 72 of these. Count on one recharge.
Tablets are usually 3000-1000mAh, and you should expect 1 to two charges.
GadgetGuy’s take – ZMI 20000mAh 65W power bank QB823 is a useful power bank and great little USB Hub.
What more can I say – well priced, light for the power rating and meets or exceeds all tests.
Its using the new higher capacity 18650 Lithium ion batteries that require less space and hence weight.
You can read other GadgetGuy power bank review here