Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 Review — a great backup for smartphones

Xiaomi 165W HyperCharge Power Bank 10000

7.6

If you own a Xiaomi flagship with support for 120W HyperCharge, the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 become a no-brainer. If you don't, the 110W total output is still great to charge two smartphones at the same time.

What's Good?

• Sleek minimal design
• Good to charge two devices together
• 0-100% in less than an hour

What's Not?

• Limited flexibility

I will start off by saying that the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 is designed as a smartphone-first power bank. The Xiaomi 212W HyperCharge Power Bank 24500 we checked out previously proved to be a very capable power bank — outputting a huge amount of power that’s also split well across its multiple ports. All of that also comes at the cost of it being rather bulky and hefty, so if you’re looking for something a bit more portable, the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 might be more up your alley.

Let’s get the math out of the way

As with its larger sibling, the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 is also named in line with the industry conventions, which can unfortunately be rather misleading. The “10000” in the name refers to the total capacity of the four 2,500mAh 3.6V Li-ion cells inside. However they’re laid out in series, which means that you get a 2,500mAh 14.4V. Xiaomi also lists the total power as 36Wh, with a rated capacity of 5,500mAh at 5V, which takes into account the approximately 15% conversion losses from 3.6V cell voltage to 5V output voltage.

Next, we have the 165W rating, which just like the Xiaomi 212W HyperCharge Power Bank 24500‘s 212W rating, is only achievable with Xiaomi’s own smartphones which support 120W HyperCharge. This time around, you don’t need a proprietary 5-pin USB-A cable to achieve it as it comes with an integrated USB cable that also doubles as a loop for securing it your bag. But in any case, if you don’t own a Xiaomi smartphone, the integrated cable will output up to 65W, while the USB-C port will output a maximum of 45W. The upside is that both outputs can deliver their maximum output together for a total output of 110W.

Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 — What’s Good?

Sleek minimal design

Instead of the tech-punk look of the Xiaomi 212W HyperCharge Power Bank 24500, the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 goes for a cleaner design with smooth edges and a matte finish. It’s also a lot more compact, being about the length of the iPhone 15 Pro, while being approximately 2/3 the width of the iPhone 15 Pro. The screen is similarly underutilized here, but as it’s smaller and also dimmer, I will pretend to overlook it. The integrated cable can double as a hook to attach it to your bag, although I wouldn’t be putting too much weight on it as it is also the primary input and output.

Good to charge two devices together

The 165W power output is exclusively when used with Xiaomi’s 120W HyperCharge-capable smartphones, but even without one, you still get 110W of power across both ports. That’s pretty respectable, and I quite like the fact that Xiaomi is allowing the USB-C port to deliver 45W, regardless of whether the integrated cable is used. Essentially this means that you and your friend can charge at the maximum rate, without having to sacrifice your own charging speed to help someone out. One thing I wish is that the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 allowed up to 65W output from either port when only a single port is used, as that would allow for more flexibility beyond the reach of the short integrated cable.

0-100% in less than an hour

The Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 does charge really quickly. With support for 90W input, the claimed 75% in 15-minute figure was almost achievable, as I got 71% in the same time. The charging speed gradually tapers off as it fills up, with a full charge achieved in around 40 minutes. Not too bad. And I also didn’t encounter any thermal issues like I did with the larger Xiaomi 212W HyperCharge Power Bank 24500 which couldn’t accept a charge after heavy use. Now, the issue would be how you need to charge it to get the maximum speed, as the USB-C port only accepts up to 45W input…

Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 — What’s Not?

Limited flexibility

As mentioned earlier, the integrated cable is the main input and output for the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000. Only the integrated cable can allow this power bank to recharge at the full 90W and output 65W or 120W Xiaomi HyperCharge. The limited length means that you’re pretty much forced to charge your device on a table or awkwardly hold the power bank behind your smartphone. If you decide to run a cable to keep the power bank in your bag and charge your device in your pocket, you’ll be limited to just 45W. And yes, input is capped at 45W for the USB-C port. As I have set up a charging station of sorts on my desk, this pretty much guarantees I won’t get to enjoy the full 90W charging speed as I am not inclined to go under my desk to plug in the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 to my 140W GaN charger.

Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 Specifications

Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 — should you buy this?

While the Xiaomi 212W HyperCharge Power Bank 24500 is more versatile as a power bank for multiple devices, the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 is quite clearly more optimized for smartphones. It’s more portable overall, and the 65W output is perfect to charge at the maximum rate on something like the ROG Phone 9 FE. 45W USB-PD is also more than enough to juice up iPhones and Samsung flagships at their maximum charging rates. It is however missing a lot of older fast charging standards like Samsung AFC or HUAWEI’s SCP and FCP, so I guess it’s designed for the more modern devices.

Now, if you own a Xiaomi flagship with support for 120W HyperCharge, the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10000 become a no-brainer. If you don’t, the 110W (65W+45W) total output is still great to charge two smartphones at the same time. If you intend to use this with a laptop, I would say that the 65W output can charge laptops, but at least 100W would be preferred for laptop use. Still, in an emergency, it would still work quite well. And hey, it’s also pretty affordable at RM169.

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