Eggtronic Wireless Power Bar review: A handy but pricey travel companion

There are lots of power banks out there, and many of them are quite good. Eggtronic's new Wireless Power Bar is one of the more unique solutions we've seen. It's a 10,000mAh battery pack with a USB-C port capable of 30W output and input, two Qi wireless charging pads, and a pop-out Apple Watch charger. It's a single "all your Apple gear" charger you can throw in your travel bag, without a lot of supporting cables.

Two wireless pads, USB-C, Apple Watch

We've seen power packs with lots of USB inputs and outputs, and we've seen power packs with wireless charging built it. But the Wireless Power Bar has one of the more unique configurations we've ever seen.

There's a single USB-C port, capable of 30-watt USB-C Power Delivery. You can plug in an USB-C to USB-C cable to charge your MacBook or iPad Pro or a USB-C to Lightning cable to charge an Apple Watch or iPad. Fortunately, Eggtronic supplies one of each cable in the box.

Eggtronic

But that's not really the main purpose of this power bank. It has two Qi-certified wireless charging pads, spaced far enough apart to easily allow you to charge a large iPhone and your AirPods Pro. Both pads supply up to 7.5 watts. They will, of course, charge other Qi-compatible phones or devices.

There's also an integrated Apple Watch charger. You sort of have to dig your nails it to pop it up, which isn't very elegant. The charger still works without popping it up first, but the band on your Apple Watch will probably prevent it from lying flat and getting a good connection.

The functionality here is great. You can charge your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch all at once with wireless charging, so you don't need to bring around a bunch of cables. It's a wonderful overnight charging companion.

Capacity and delivery

The Wireless Power Bar has a 10,000mAh capacity. It's enough to fully charge an iPad Pro or recharge up your iPhone two or three times (depending on your iPhone model), but it's probably a little on the light side if your main concern is charging up your MacBook. There's just not enough capacity to fully recharge something like a 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Fortunately, that USB-C port delivers up to 30 watts via USB-C Power Delivery. It dumped power into my 13-inch MacBook Pro pretty quickly for a portable battery, taking it from 44% to 87% in just over an hour. Unfortunately, that was enough to completely drain the Power Bar.

Eggtronic

The USB-C port also accepts power input at up to 30 watts, which makes recharging the Power Bar rather speedy. Many power banks charge very slowly, taking 4 or more hours to fill up a similar capacity. If you have a 30-watt USB-C PD adapter (Eggtronic includes no power adapter), the Power Bar will recharge in less than 2 hours.

It's a nice multi-device wireless charger that can give you a little more longevity in your Mac laptop, just don't expect it to recharge it all the way.

Middling build quality

If there's a particular downside to the Wireless Power Bar, it's the lackluster build quality. There are visible seams where the plastic meets, and the whole thing feels a little cheaply made. It's off-balance as though there's too much empty space inside, and it's harder than it needs to be to pop out the Apple Watch holder.

This is the kind of thing we expect from relatively cheap power banks, but this one costs $150. Many other high-quality power banks at that price have a much higher capacity and multiple USB ports.

With 30-watt power delivery, two wireless charging pads and an Apple Watch charger, we won't fault the Power Bar too much for having only a single USB-C port, but the 10,000mAh capacity feels small in a battery pack of this price. (Eggtronic's own Laptop Power Bank is $90 and has two USB-A ports, one USB-C port, and a 20,000mAh capacity).

Eggtronic's Wireless Power Bar is a unique and useful battery pack for those with a lot of Apple gear, but it's just not a very good value, and I wish it didn't look and feel cheaper than it is.