Have you ever wondered why same looking power banks have different pricing? I decided to buy a power bank on Amazon. I looked at two items with same capacity, color, and no name brand. The only difference was 14$. I’m not good at chemistry or physics, so I can only tell that I like or I don’t like the design.
I started to compare the gadgets. I have found only one contrast it was in batteries. Both types are used for portable electronics. So the question is whether the types of battery influence the price in this case.
One of the power banks had a lithium-ion polymer battery also known as LiPo or LIP. Sony introduced the first LiPo commercial cell in 1991. The advantage is that it can be shaped to different shapes. This cause also disadvantage of potential over-charge, over-discharge and higher cost of manufacturing. Lithium-ion polymer battery is more resistant to failures as the Li-ion battery. As the batteries gradually discharge even if they are not connected and in use. Tesla motors also seen pros of this battery. This leads them to open the world’s largest Lithium-ion battery factory called- Gigafactory.
The second power bank had a lithium-ion battery known as Li-ion battery or LIB. They are the most popular types of rechargeable batteries for portable electronics. The pros are slow loss of charge when not in us, low maintenance and lower cost of production. Lithium-ion batteries could be dangerous under some conditions. The reasons are that they contain flammable electrolyte and are kept pressurized. You can also find this battery in your iPhone, iPad, iPod MacBook or Samsung Galaxy S6.
So does the type of battery influence the price? It could cause some differences in the cost, but it would not make a huge difference. Plus I found out that any battery could explode. Despite that the polymer based battery is safer.
When you decide to buy the power banks just consider what capacity, size you need and how much you are willing to spend.
