We all have numerous portable chargers lying around, and we often have a favourite or one we know works well and charges our devices quickly.
Based on this, it is obvious that not all chargers are created equal. For this reason, we decided to check out Australia’s first LiFePO₄ (lithium iron phosphate) charger, the SafeCharge Max from Chargecore (a sub-brand of LASER).
The charger we received was the 10,000mAh Chargecore charger, which has a display showing how fast the device is charging and the charge left inside the charger.
What makes LiFePO₄ (lithium iron phosphate) so special?
The LiFePO₄ technology is not something you will notice every day. It is more thermally stable than previous technologies and is non-combustible making it great for travelling.
Another advantage that you will notice on a daily basis is its weight – the new technology is lighter than previous technologies and will also charge faster.
It does not claim to charge your devices faster though, and I tested that out with another decent charger I had on hand, a 10,000mAh charger, this one with that brand’s BOOSTcharge technology.
The charger is not as small as I thought it would be given that the LiFePO₄ technology is meant to make the chargers smaller. The 10,000mAh battery one I have of a different brand is smaller in size.
The Chargecore charger has three charging ports, two USB-A charging ports and a USB-C charging port. The manual from Chargecore states that the maximum outputs for each port are:
These speeds don’t look super quick, considering how fast wall chargers can charge devices, but they are standard speeds for nearly all portable chargers.
Interestingly, though, when charging my OPPO Find X8 Pro, the USB-C charging port was faster than the USB-A port. I assume that is because the voltage was 12V, and thus, the overall speed of the charging was higher for the USB-C port.
I tested it out twice, once for each port, plotted the points with the help of Gemini AI Advanced and got the following graph:
The graph above shows that the USB-C port charged my phone from 10% to full in just under 80 minutes, while the USB-A port took nearly two hours.
At the end of each charge, the charger’s display stated that there was 25% left in the charger – 2,500mAh. Given that the OPPO’s battery size is 5910 mAh, you would expect more than 4,000mAh left, but obviously, some power/energy is lost while charging the phone. I.e., it is not as efficient as it could be.
I like that the charger tells you how much power is left. Remember that 100% of the charge on my phone is a day of battery life, and for most people, a portable charger is for top-ups – to get my OPPO to 50% would have taken around 35 minutes, which is fast enough for those on the go.
Comparing this USB-C charging speed to that of the other brand charger, and this was the resultant graph:
The SafeCharge Max charged a lot faster than the other brand I have. The other brand has a maximum charging speed of 15w, which shows that it is important to read the fine print on the charger.
The difference in the time it takes to charge fully is fairly significant, though, so it seems that there is more happening with the speed than just the 15W vs 20W difference.
You do not choose the new LiFePO₄ SafeCharge Max portable charger from Chargecore because it charges faster or because it is smaller (which it should be, but this one isn’t – this has me stumped).
You choose it for the display that shows the exact percentage of power left in the charger and, most importantly, because it is safer.
At this stage, airport security folks generally don’t care about the charger’s technology; they care more about its size. However, if rules do come in regarding battery technology, it is always good to have the current safest technology.
The SafeCharge Max portable charger from Chargecore offers a good-looking charger that can charge your device at over 20W speeds, fast enough to quickly provide you with another few hours of power. It does this safer than previous generations of chargers did and for that peace of mind the SafeCharge Max chargers are worth it.
They also offer amazing value for money. The 10,000 mAh SafeCharge Max LiFePO₄ charger used in this review costs just from Laser.co and Harvey Norman.
Other options include:
Scott is our resident open technology expert. If you can mod it, or want to use it your way, Scott has probably done it. From Laptops to phones, headphones and game consoles, he’s played with it and wants to see the next generation.
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