Reviews

OmniCharge Omni 20+ Power Bank review: A one-stop shop for all your charging needs

The OmniCharge Omni 20+ is a successful follow up to the Omni 20, simply because OmniCharge no longer has different models of the same charger with different ports and connections. With the 20+, you get two USB QC 3.0 ports, a USB-C port with PD up to 60W, a DC port with up to 100W output, a standard 120V AC outlet, and wireless charging. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is—and you’re going to pay for it—the Omni 20+ is priced at $199.

Note: This review is part of our roundup of portable power banks. Go there for details on competing products and our testing methods.

Despite the number of ports and connections, the Omni 20+ is still small enough to carry around in a backpack or big purse. It measures 5.0 x 4.8 x 1.1-inches. Weighing 1.4-pounds, you’re going to notice a difference when toting it around.

As the name implies, the Omni 20+ has a 20,000mAh (72Wh) battery. Looking at the front of the Omni 20+ you’ll find an LCD screen that provides input and output data, as well as indicates which charging ports or methods are currently enabled.

To the left of the screen is the power button, and to the right of the screen are two additional buttons. The top button turns on the 120V AC outlet that you can plug your laptop charging brick directly into. The bottom button turns on the USB ports, as well as triggers wireless charging. There’s, of course, also a battery indicator for the pack itself on the screen. Next to the buttons are two full-size USB ports. On the right side of the pack is a DC port, and a USB-C port for charging the pack, or another device. You can also use the DC port to charge the pack if you happen to have a 5.5 x 2.1mm barrel adapter.

Included in the box is a USB-A to USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-C cable. You won’t find any of the DC adapters that OmniCharge sells in the box, and those cables range from $20 up to $60 depending on the connection type. Outside of a specific connection, like the Surface Pro, I don’t see why you’d pay extra for a DC adapter kit. Even then, the 120V AC plug works just fine.

Using a USB-C wall adapter, I was able to charge the Omni 20+ from empty to full in under two hours. An hour and 40 minutes, to be exact. As for efficiency, the Omni 20+ pumped 56.636Wh out of a potential 72Wh of power in our tests. That’s 78.66-percent efficiency, which puts it below the 82.28-percent average among all the packs we’ve tested.

Despite a lower-than-average efficiency, the Omni 20+ is a portable battery pack for anyone who is constantly on the road or in need of various connection options. Outside of a 12V connection, which would look weird on the Omni 20+, this battery pack does it all. And at $200, it had better.