Coming Soon: PowerCore Solar 10000!
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Thats absolutely correct.
Batteries and sun (heat) is a mess.
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Using currently commodity technology you can create:
- folding 30W panel, with both a USB-PD and a DC output. As sun energy is variable, the PD port would have to turn itself off then on every few minutes to present it’s current capability to the device.
- Powercore with DC and USB-PD input. This can recharge from USB-PD wall charger, and from the solar product above.
- Pass-thru, so when the above Powercore is connected to both solar and output,it would let the solar energy go to the device, acting then as a DC-DC converter until not demand, then to recharge it’s own cells.
You’d then have a system could power a laptop from the sun.
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How about a port to connect an external solar panel to it and charge the PowerSolar? Then disconnect it when full, to power our electronics via USB-A or USB-C?
Also needs some kind of hook or strap so I can easily carry it with me while hiking (like on my belt or arm).
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That is exactly what I am suggesting. A Powercore, separate, so it can be shaded from heat, which has a variable voltage input, and a solar panel which has, say, both a simple DC output which goes to the separate Powercore, and say a USB port.
The reason this is technically superior is you merge two DC-DC conversions into one.
There are plenty of us today owning the Anker Powerport Solar 21W and Powercore and using the common 5V USB. The issue is the solar panel is doing stepping within the DC-DC conversion in the solar panel and then DC-DC conversion in the Powercore. If instead it was done purely in the Powercore you’d get more energy and from a wider range of conditions.
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How come you don’t use it? What are the drawbacks?
Well I bought two of these $20 each over 4 years ago.
I found I did not use as they are heavier for a given capacity. I did leave them on window ledge to get some sun to keep them charged. Guess what, they died, much earlier than my Anker Powercore which I kept in a draw. What did get used heavily, weekly, were my Powercore 10000 as they were smaller, not so heavy, so I’d pack them often and so use them often and they never did die and still used regularly today.
So these combined solar+battery didn’t get used and I learned my lesson.
I got solar folding panel and Powercore separately, that gives me the ability to handle off-grid with more capacity and solar cells don’t die like lithium can.
I spent a few dozen hours learning why my combined solar+battery failed and the pros/cons
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IP65+/- is essential for these types of products! Anything that will be used in the back country needs to be able to stand up to mother nature!
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Thanks professor, I better stay away from them. While the price seems tempting I will be just throwing money away if it doesn’t work
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it takes too long to charge while in sun, gets too hot - the first time i tested it in sun, thought it might burst out / blast. Charges iPhone 8 for 1 full charge and another 50%…
Since I have Anker Powercore powerbanks, this solar charger is no match, so keep this is car just for the LED light, in case I need them ever… so hardly use it these days.
After I saw this article posted, took it out only for taking its pics 
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Solar panels around the order of size of the Anker 21W are very good, useful in many situations, it’s worthwhile investing in one, you can get useful energy not in strong sunlight.
Anker’s Powercore in the 10Ah - 20Ah are also very useful.
The problem exists between these two products, because the output of the solar panel, say, the 21W varies 5W-15W. The actual voltage from solar moves the most based on the amount of cloud and time of day, and the Anker 21W tries to compensate by keeping voltage in 4.2-4.8V range and so the current varies wildly. Anker’s Powercore which can take 15W in and yet still make use of 5W in, they only made 2 of them, the dual-port Powercore II 20000 and the Powercore 26800. All the modern Powercore which can do a USB-PD out will reject the lower end of a solar panel output.
So what you need is a Powercore which can accept any voltage any current and DC-DC to what the cells need. That is trivial electronics.
I don’t think that is Anker’s intention, they existed solar by not investing in the Anker 21W, so would be quite a turnaround if they did make a solar product with a DC any-voltage output with a DC barrel connector to a Powercore which took DC any-voltage.
If they did, they’d be able to take any quality of sunshine and recharge a lower end laptop.
A solar any-DC out would be a good pairing with a Powerhouse any-DC in as then solar would power more things.
There is a role for stronger waterproofing, but I can forsee this coming in the wireless portable charger range, it is possibly for a fully wireless Powercore with an IP rating with a flap you can use for wired charging. This would then be placed next to an IP rated phone which is wirelessly recharged.
Wireless charging and IP ratings are obvious combinations. IP ratings and solar? Surely these are opposites.
Update? been 4 weeks …
I see the trademark in March, implies a product range.
https://www.trademarkia.com/company-anker-innovations-limited-4861959-page-1-2
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Good find, thanks for sharing,
Its more like… Anker started audio products with SoundCore… the products clicked, runaway success, and it became a separate product entity… Soundcore
similarly, PowerConf is becoming another success… may be a year or so, we may hear another brand Powerconf (look at the change from C to c ) … and similarly PowerSolar … also some may be just the various terms used by Anker such as Bass-Up, Voltage Boost,…
There may be some which did not click as much… Zolo …
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I just do not see how Anker can make products which are both reliable (to align with their customer service ethos) and are solar and involve batteries (which hate heat). You’d be needing to revise the entire product line into an any-DC.
But for sure, solar is going to be a major part of planet-wide success.
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I sincerely hope they don’t do that. If they do, it would be purely to confuse the customer base and trick people into making extra sales (similarly as they are doing with excess amounts of various products).
It’s very unethical, and I strongly disapprove.
Also the PowerConf only has 203 reviews on amazon, so I would be SHOCKED if it became its own brand.
Might be Anker is eyeing to get into the Solar Plus Battery kind of ventures ( not to the scale of what Tesla is doing, still possible … ) more of consumers for emergency backup and camping / charging with their already PowerHouse and Solar Portable panels, may be improved technology.
These are just assumptions based on what we have seen so far…
Though there may be only 203 reviews but it is Anker’s foray into Business speakers.
- Soundcore Brand is more fun, for music lovers
- Powerconf Brand may be more for Business Speakers (or may be a sip line phone or more)
With more and more work from home users, this trend is here to stay… and the powerconf kind of conference speaker, it really takes that extra pain off your ears for long meetings.
I have not used phone (softphone) headsets for past couple of weeks since I got PowerConf, and only using it for all conference meetings, calls on WebEx zoom goto meeting, Slack, more
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I can’t tell if it’s you or Anker that’s getting carried away 
Maybe both!
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May be… 
On a side note… PowerConf better be under Anker… Else one more community to attend to in future
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The more products the more confusion.
The more splitted companies the more confusion.
The more…
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