Overall and Final Verdict

Overall I’ve been extremely impressed with the variety that Anker has to offer in their charging options and these four only really scrapped the surface of what they have to offer. With devices like the 737 Power Bank, the last time I picked up a power bank like this it was to get a pocketable battery so I could stay on top of my phone's battery when at events and traveling. Phone battery life has improved a lot and I don’t need to carry one around anymore, but having one like this that can also super fast charge your phone means quick charges when needed which would be especially great if you were camping but with nearly 26k mAh of storage and 60 watts of charging speed it opens up the same possibility with your laptop and other devices. This combination that also comes with the 65-watt charging adapter will run you $179.99 which isn’t cheap but much cheaper than some of the other higher capacity options while being more portable as well.

For the Anker 651 USB-C Docking Station I initially thought this would be something perfect for use on my desk as a replacement for a USB hub and an SD card reader that I have used in the past and it did replace those perfectly. It also gave me a nice Qi charger for wireless phone charging which given how bad I am at remembering to charge my devices kept my phone topped off. But in the end, the 651 is a lot more than what I am using it for and it would be better put to use for a desk setup that is based around a laptop. It is designed around the data input Type-C connection also charging your laptop and the USB connections and the Display connections are perfect for keeping your entire desk setup hooked up and ready. There is room for improvement in the design which has all of the connections on the sides which are hard to see and once you have cables hooked up you can then see the mess of cables. Moving those around would be a big improvement and also integrating in at least one higher wattage USB connection outside of the laptop plug for faster phone charging if needed.

The Anker 727 Charging Station has to be the device I was the most excited about because for my desk I have multiple charging adapters plugged in up under my desk for charging different devices with that mess of cables I still have to use a power strip mounted near my PC when testing devices and to plug in my laptop when it needs to be charged as well. The Anker 727 Charging Station covers all of that in a shockingly thin design. It brings even more USB charging ports up on to my desk where I can reach them as well as the power plugs and has enough power where charging my laptop no longer needs its power adapter as well. With most of that, I was impressed with how the Anker 727 Charging Station performed but given that its main duty would be to charge my phone I was very disappointed to find out that it doesn’t support charging Samsung devices in the “Super Fast Charging” mode for up to 25 watts. It does do 15-watt charging so all isn’t lost but given the power, it does support I don’t know why it doesn’t. The GaNPrime design offers efficiency which is always great, the less power we use the better even when it is smaller devices. My only other nitpick is that with the design looking like it would be a Qi charger, I would love to see a model in the future that does exactly that by integrating wireless charging as well. In the end, I will most likely continue to use the 727 but for fast charging my phone I may need to use one of the AC plugs to plug in another device. I know some people take issue with the proprietary power cable and I get it, but the 727 is so thin that a normal power plug wouldn’t fit and I don’t blame Anker for not going with an integrated cable which would lock the device to be specific to one region. The 727 has an MSRP of $94.99 which is a little expensive considering the 615 has similar capabilities (but 65 watts to the 727’s 100 watts) and is a lot cheaper.

Speaking of the Anker 615 USB Power Strip, this is without a doubt the coolest device out of all of the chargers that they sent over and it didn’t disappoint. The Anker 615 USB Power Strip is focused on traveling and like the 727 integrates a combination of AC ports and three GaNPrime-powered USB ports with a total wattage of 65 watts. The Anker 615 USB Power Strip is perfect for traveling by giving you a way to cut out all of the power adapter clutter and even cut out your laptop charger for laptops with Type-C charging. You can charge your phone, laptop, and another device like your watch/drone/gaming device at the same time while getting power plugs for anything else you might need. Its integrated cord management is my favorite part though which hides the entire cord when it isn’t in use and lets you pull out only what you need while still having a compact design. The Anker 615 USB Power Strip including the cord bundled up is smaller than the brick part of my laptop's charger and that charger isn’t exactly large. It did also charge my Samsung phone at the proper 25 watts as well. The Anker 615 USB Power Strip is the cheapest of the four devices with an MSRP of $69.99 as well.

Overall all four devices were impressive in their own ways and while with a few of them I did have a few areas where I would love to see improvements none of them were hated. In fact, the biggest thing that they did for me was just cement even more that Anker is the first company that I look at when I need a charger.

Live Pricing:

Anker 737 Power Bank

Anker 727 Charging Station

Anker 615 USB Power Strip

Anker 651 USB-C Docking Station

 

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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