Last updated: July 2026 | 10 min read | Tech & Gadgets
Anker 737 Power Bank: Quick Overview
If you’ve ever watched your laptop hit 8% battery on a road trip with no outlet in sight, you already know why the Anker 737 Power Bank (PowerCore 24K) shows up on every serious “best power bank” list. It’s a 24,000mAh / 86.4Wh battery that delivers up to 140W via USB-C — enough to fast-charge a MacBook Pro, not just trickle-charge it.
I keep one of these in the trunk permanently after a work trip where my laptop died 40 minutes before a client call and the nearest outlet was inside a locked conference room. A smaller phone-only power bank wouldn’t have saved me that day. This one would have.
Anker 737 vs. the Alternatives
Features, Pros & Cons
Key features: 140W bi-directional USB-C (PD 3.1), two USB-C ports plus one 18W USB-A port, real-time OLED display showing input/output wattage and time-to-full, GaN-based internals with ActiveShield 2.0 temperature monitoring, and a 24,000mAh cell that lands just under the FAA’s 100Wh carry-on limit — so it’s flight-legal without an asterisk. It’s the same category of “small screen, big usefulness” upgrade we liked in our AI wearables roundup — hardware that tells you something useful instead of making you guess.
“It’s the power bank equivalent of a Honda Accord — not flashy, not the cheapest, but reliably excellent everywhere that matters.”
Pros: Genuinely charges a laptop at usable speed (MacBook Pro 14″ goes from 20% to 80% in under an hour), recharges itself to 70% in about 30 minutes so downtime is short, the OLED screen means you’re never guessing how much juice is left, and build quality feels like it’ll survive years of bag abuse.
Cons: At about 1.4 lbs and roughly the size of a large candy bar, it’s not a pocket item — this lives in a bag, not a jacket. It’s also priced above simpler phone-only power banks, which isn’t a flaw so much as a reminder that this is a laptop-class tool, not an everyday carry impulse buy. Leave a cable plugged in with the screen active and you’ll notice some idle drain, so unplug it when it’s not actively charging something.
The one thing that surprised me after a year of daily use: the OLED display isn’t a gimmick. Knowing exactly how many watts are flowing — instead of guessing off a four-dot LED — changed how I actually use a power bank. I stopped over-charging things I didn’t need to.
What’s in the Box
The Anker 737 ships with the power bank itself, a 140W USB-C to USB-C cable (needed to hit the full charging speed — don’t swap it for a cheap generic cable), a travel pouch, a welcome guide, and Anker’s 24-month warranty. Nothing extra to buy just to get it working out of the box.
How to Choose a Laptop Power Bank
Three things actually matter here, and most buying guides bury them under spec-sheet noise:
Output wattage, not just capacity. A 20,000mAh power bank that only pushes 18W will trickle-charge a laptop for hours without meaningfully raising the battery. If you’re charging anything beyond a phone, look for 65W minimum — 100W+ if it’s a modern MacBook or gaming laptop.
The 100Wh airline rule. TSA and most international carriers cap carry-on batteries at 100Wh without special airline approval. Anything advertised close to or over that line (check Wh, not just mAh) is a gamble at the gate.
Weight-to-capacity tradeoff. More capacity always means more weight. If you’re mostly topping off a phone between meetings, you don’t need laptop-class power — check our Everyday Carry Upgrades guide for lighter daily-carry options.
“Headline capacity doesn’t equal usable energy — conversion losses mean a 24,000mAh battery delivers closer to 13,000–14,000mAh of real-world charge. Budget for that gap.”
I used to just grab whatever power bank was cheapest at the checkout aisle, until one died mid-charge on a red-eye flight and I learned the hard way that “24,000mAh” printed on a box means nothing if the output port can’t push real wattage.
Who Should Skip the Anker 737
If you only ever charge a phone and a pair of earbuds, the 737 is more bank than you need — you’re paying for laptop-grade wattage you’ll never touch. My cousin borrowed mine for a weekend trip expecting a phone charger and handed it back the next day laughing that it was “way more machine” than she needed just to keep her phone alive. A smaller, lighter option like the Anker 20,000mAh Travel Essential will cost less and take up half the bag space. Save the 737 for when you actually need to keep a laptop alive away from an outlet.
FAQ
Is the Anker 737 safe to fly with? Yes — at 86.4Wh it’s under the FAA/TSA 100Wh carry-on limit, so no special airline approval is needed. Keep it in carry-on, not checked luggage.
How many times will it charge my phone? Roughly 4–5 full charges for a typical iPhone, depending on model and battery health.
Can it actually charge a MacBook Pro? Yes, at full 140W speed with a PD 3.1-compatible cable and device — one of the only power banks in this price range that can.
How long does it take to recharge itself? About 30 minutes to reach 70%, under an hour for a full charge — fast enough to top off during a lunch break.
Does it work with the iPhone 15, 16, and 17 series? Yes — every iPhone from the 15 series onward uses USB-C, so it charges directly with the included cable, no adapter needed.
Is it better than the Anker Prime? Not better, different job. The Prime pushes more wattage for charging multiple laptops at once, but costs and weighs more. For one laptop plus a phone, the 737 is the better value.
Final Verdict
The Anker 737 doesn’t win on price, and it’s not the lightest thing you’ll throw in a bag. What it wins on is doing exactly what it claims — 140W is real, the recharge speed is real, and the flight-safe capacity means you never have to think twice at security.
What We’d Actually Buy: If you’re charging a laptop on the road more than a couple times a month, the 737 is the one we’d buy — it’s the rare power bank that actually replaces a wall outlet instead of just delaying the inevitable low-battery panic. If you’re strictly a phone-and-earbuds carrier, save the money and grab something smaller from our Everyday Carry picks instead — you’d be paying for wattage you’ll never use.