Hello everyone! So this is probably the 4th review (or more if reading later on) you’ll be seeing of the PowerExtend 12 Strip so I’ll try to keep the unboxing and content related information to a minimum.
Disclaimer: Anker sent me a Review Unit as part of Testing Club/Insider Testing but did not have any influence in what I will be saying.
Alright so let’s get started I guess. The box is classic white and blue box that Anker has been using for a while. The back doesn’t have much information about the specifications and just the basic “advertisement” of Anker and FCC and legal statements.
Opening the box, you see the powerstrip wrapped in plastic and the thick (or thiccc 
) 14 AWG cable.
Other than the powerstrip, box contains the standard Happy/Not Happy card and information pamphlet in both English and Spanish
Specs (straight from the provided pamphlet)
AC Input - 125V AC, 60Hz, 10A
AC Output - 125V AC, 60Hz, 15A, 1875W
Surge Energy - 4000J
Size - 293 x 113 x 30 mm / 11.5 x 4.5 x 1.2 in
Cable Length - 1.8 m / 6 ft
In our current apartment, we have 5 dual wall sockets in our living room making a total of 10 sockets for our lamps, TV, modem, etc. However, at least 2 of those are too loose to even plug my laptop charger in, which is a 3 prong charger. And we also had to store our washer and dryer in our living room since the community management wouldn’t allow us to hook ours up instead of theirs which covers 1 pair of sockets.
Out of the rest 4 pair, we only get 6 usable sockets and 3 of which are behind our sofa. On 2 of those sockets, we hooked up our modem, home telephone, and printer which leaves only 1 usable socket empty for laptop/cell phone charger. On the bright side, we hooked up a 6 plug surge protector (will compare to this later) on the opposite side of the room where we have our TV and sometimes charge one of our laptops if I or my sister decide to sit on the floor.
Having this 12 plug surge protector would mean I can plug the printer, modem, and home telephone in this and still have 9 other empty plugs to charge our phones and laptops. This also allows me to relocate some other things in the home which I couldn’t put in that location because of lack of sockets. Having this powerstrip also gives me a piece of mind that my printer would be protected (plugged in 24/7) in case there is a power surge because of heavy thunderstorms and what not.
Comparison
Talking of surge protectors, I mentioned I already use a 6 plug surge protector mainly of TV and to plug in anything else around there. I also mentioned in the testing plan that I own a surge protector so here’s the short comparison. The powerstrip I have is from APC that we bought a while back. Many of you might know APC from way back in the day probably before I was even born but I didn’t know how big and old it was until I researched about it. My dad, who doesn’t know much about surge protectors and UPS, considers APC as one of the biggest brands that he would trust. But anyway, all this is not important so let me start comparing.
As you can see in the above photos, we have a 2-pack surge protector with 6 plugs each. This is sold for $20 at Sam’s Club and offer up to 1080J of surge protection (if that’s how you phrase it but you get the idea hopefully ). Also, as you can see on the back of the box (second photo) the 1 of the APC powerstrip has 2 USB A ports that provides 2.4A of charging power and “Ground OK” indicator (similar to PowerExtend 12).
Pros of PowerExtend 12
- Dual surge protection with much more protection than APC.
- Better value for money all around
- More plugs to charge/run all your devices
- Anker’s support. Some might not consider this when buying something but considering the kind of support and help I have received for my devices, I would rate Anker’s and Soundcore’s after-sales support as the best in the industry so a big pro in my opinion!
- Lifetime* $300,000 connected equipment warranty which is much higher than the $50,000 that the APC strips offer on mine. Also “lifetime” is defined as the lifetime of the product just to be clear.
Pros of APC Surge Protector
- Convenience. Meaning you don’t have to have 12 plugs at 1 place. Having the 2-pack with 6 plugs each means you can use them at 2 different places if you don’t have more than 6 devices plugging in this at once
- Less expensive if you really want the cheapest. You are essentially saving $8 even though it might not be better value
- 2 USB A ports if you haven’t made the switch to USB C everything and still have older phones and chargers you regularly use
- A subtle touch but the powerstrips had a cord plug cover something like the photo below to protect the plug in case something does happen and ends up damaging the plug. Or you can just use it when you store it somewhere for whatever reason
In the end, what you end up buying is your choice. Both PowerExtend 12 and the APC powerstrip I own have their own use cases and both really fits in our way of living (in different areas and because of different reasons but still both fit in quite well). Anker also makes 3 plug and 6 plug surge protectors each with 3 USB A charging ports but they are weirdly overpriced considering PowerExtend 12 is $28 on Amazon so would honestly look for something else if you don’t need more than 6 plugs. Also this last statement goes to show that my disclaimer above is 100% correct and Anker had no say in what I say here.
Here’s the use as of right now after cleaning some wires out. Had a huge mess!
Anyway, that’s the end so thank you so much for reading. Thanks a ton @AnkerOfficial for choosing me as 1 of the 27 or so testers and now I just have to wait for a power surge.
UPDATE: A pretty big thunderstorm rolled by yesterday and caused 3 power flickers (power outage that lasts about a second or so). The powerstrip is still running strong according to the lights on the strip and allowed by printer to stay running throughout the flickers without causing a reset. The modem reset itself for some reason unlike the printer but is running properly so no damage from what I can see. Tropical storm Laura is heading towards Florida so will have to it if it intensifies and sends bands of heavy rain and wind along with in here in Georgia. But other than that, no more updates so far and powerstrip is coming in handy for all our needs.
My Other Reviews
Soundbuds Slim Review
SoundBuds Slim Problem
Spirit X vs Spirit Pro Review
Flare Mini (Placeholder)
. Also they selected 27 instead of 30. Wonder why they do that 
