Romeo Saber USB-C battery pack capable of providing 87W charging power to 15-inch MacBook ...

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2017
Romeo Power has launched what could be an extremely useful portable battery for mobile professionals, with the high-capacity Saber power bank offering the ability to charge a MacBook Pro as well as smartphones and other smaller electronic devices.

Saber by Romeo Power


Holding up to 86 watt-hours of charge, the Romeo Saber is capable of providing enough power to charge an iPhone more than ten times and iPads two to four times. Alongside its two USB ports and single USB-C connection, it also includes a variable AC outlet that can be used to charge larger items, with the firm claiming it can be used to charge most notebooks twice.

Notably, it is capable of providing up to 90 watts of power to a single device, which means it is capable of handling the full 87 watts a 15-inch MacBook Pro requires when charging though USB-C. Overall, it is capable of charging up to four devices at the same time, using all four outputs without any extra accessories.

For recharging the power pack itself, the Saber is quick to reach its capacity, taking two hours to charge from empty. The unit measures 2.28 inches by 2.36 inches by 10.5 inches, and weighing 2.2 pounds.




Romeo built the Saber with dust and water resistance, as well as making the pack drop and shockproof, and has been approved by the FAA and TSA for taking it aboard an aircraft.

The Saber companion app for iOS allows users to check the state of the battery pack from their iPhone or iPad. Connecting over Bluetooth, the app provides real-time details concerning the amount of remaining charge, what ports are currently in use, and how long it will take to recharge from an outlet, as well as warning when it is running low on power.

Expected to ship before the holiday shopping period, the Romeo Saber will be available in black, red, and blue options. The normal retail price will be $299, but Romeo has opened preorders for the Saber at $199.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,558member
    How does one recharge it? USB, wall cable, power brick?
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  • Reply 2 of 12
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    How does one recharge it? USB, wall cable, power brick?
    They give you a link which has all the specs:

    1. Charger: Universal AC/DC power supply, 19V/3.5A, 2.5mm plug, with short circuit protection
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 12
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    products like this make the death of MagSafe seem like a worthwhile sacrifice. 

    An example of the benefits of Apple taking the long view and shipping a controversial design change. I was extremely skeptical. 

    But i give Apple the benefit of the doubt, which usually ends up the best way to look at them. 
    Solicurtis hannahvannygee
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  • Reply 4 of 12
    Avieshekavieshek Posts: 100member
    Just mention the battery-capacity of this thing.

    Does it have the capacity of Anker's PowerCore+? That's the thing. 
    edited October 2017
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  • Reply 5 of 12
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Avieshek said:
    Just mention the battery-capacity of this thing.

    Does it have the capacity of Anker's PowerCore+? That's the thing. 
    Just look it up. It exceeds Anker's PowerCore+ from what I can tell and has a US 120v plug in.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 12
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    Not power but energy is important (capacity). Power does not have anything to do with it (try to study electrical engineering a bit) - it is unit of energy per second (so how many seconds of that power is provided by device?). If charger was 20 Watts it would also charge, but slower and assuming it would not be overloaded (restriction circuit).
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  • Reply 7 of 12
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    maciekskontakt said:
    Not power but energy is important (capacity). Power does not have anything to do with it (try to study electrical engineering a bit) - it is unit of energy per second (so how many seconds of that power is provided by device?). If charger was 20 Watts it would also charge, but slower and assuming it would not be overloaded (restriction circuit).
    Was the number of recharges to expect on various devices not enough to give you an idea what to expect?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 8 of 12
    jb510jb510 Posts: 129member
    polymnia said:
    Not power but energy is important (capacity). Power does not have anything to do with it (try to study electrical engineering a bit) - it is unit of energy per second (so how many seconds of that power is provided by device?). If charger was 20 Watts it would also charge, but slower and assuming it would not be overloaded (restriction circuit).
    Was the number of recharges to expect on various devices not enough to give you an idea what to expect?
     No. It’s a bit like telling me something weighs as much as 100 elephants. It’s a number that sounds like a lot but means nothing in the context that I’m concerned with. What I want to know is how much power it can provide to recharge my laptop, which given the variability of laptop (and mobile phones batteries) is best described in amp hours.  If you go shopping on amazon no one advertises batteries as “provides 4 full recharges to an iPhone”, they rightly advertise 3,000 mAh or 10,000 mAh....

     The specs provided on the site are few and far between. It is not clear what the capacity is? it’s not clear how you charge it, can I charge the USB-C like others? It’s not clear what the power output of each port actually is? Does the USB-C port provide 90W (20V 4.5A) all on its own or like many is it only 30, 45 or 60W with the other usb a ports adding up to 90w over all? Or is that 90W from the AC plug?

     I might be interested in this if it did not include an AC outlet and converter.   It is just like the Omnicharge and I wonder who this product is for. why would I ever want to charge inefficiently with AC when I can charge directy with DC?

    edit: not sure how I missed these the first time I clicked the specs link on the site,  but as suspected above this will NOT provide full (86w) power to a 15” MBP, just 60W.   

    Ports

    1. USB port #1: female type A, output: 5V, 2.5A/10.5W, current-limited
    2. USB port #2: female type A, output: 5V, 1A/5W, current-limited
    3. USB-C port output: 5V/3A (15W), 20V/3A (60W)
    4. AC inverter output: 120VAC/0.75A (90W), 60Hz
    5. DC input charging port: 19V/3.15A (60W Max), for supplied charger

    Power

    1. Cell type: Li-NMC
    2. Pack capacity: 86Wh (14.4V nominal voltage, 6,000mAh)
    3. Single cell equivalent: 24,000mAh (3.6V)
    4. Cycle life: ~800 cycles to 80% capacity (0.62C charge, 1.5C discharge), 86 deg. F (30 C) ambient
    5. Shelf-life: 6 months, or keep plugged in
    6. Management system: charging system with over-voltage secondary protection
    7. Charger: Universal AC/DC power supply, 19V/3.5A, 2.5mm plug, with short circuit protection
    edited October 2017
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  • Reply 9 of 12
    nhtnht Posts: 4,522member
    Not power but energy is important (capacity). Power does not have anything to do with it (try to study electrical engineering a bit) - it is unit of energy per second (so how many seconds of that power is provided by device?). If charger was 20 Watts it would also charge, but slower and assuming it would not be overloaded (restriction circuit).
    Both are important. Try to study electrical engineering a little bit and pay attention in introduction to power class.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 10 of 12
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,468member
    jb510 said:
    polymnia said:
    Not power but energy is important (capacity). Power does not have anything to do with it (try to study electrical engineering a bit) - it is unit of energy per second (so how many seconds of that power is provided by device?). If charger was 20 Watts it would also charge, but slower and assuming it would not be overloaded (restriction circuit).
    Was the number of recharges to expect on various devices not enough to give you an idea what to expect?
     No. It’s a bit like telling me something weighs as much as 100 elephants. It’s a number that sounds like a lot but means nothing in the context that I’m concerned with. What I want to know is how much power it can provide to recharge my laptop, which given the variability of laptop (and mobile phones batteries) is best described in amp hours.  If you go shopping on amazon no one advertises batteries as “provides 4 full recharges to an iPhone”, they rightly advertise 3,000 mAh or 10,000 mAh....

     The specs provided on the site are few and far between. It is not clear what the capacity is? it’s not clear how you charge it, can I charge the USB-C like others? It’s not clear what the power output of each port actually is? Does the USB-C port provide 90W (20V 4.5A) all on its own or like many is it only 30, 45 or 60W with the other usb a ports adding up to 90w over all? Or is that 90W from the AC plug?

     I might be interested in this if it did not include an AC outlet and converter.   It is just like the Omnicharge and I wonder who this product is for. why would I ever want to charge inefficiently with AC when I can charge directy with DC?

    edit: not sure how I missed these the first time I clicked the specs link on the site,  but as suspected above this will NOT provide full (86w) power to a 15” MBP, just 60W.   

    Ports

    1. USB port #1: female type A, output: 5V, 2.5A/10.5W, current-limited
    2. USB port #2: female type A, output: 5V, 1A/5W, current-limited
    3. USB-C port output: 5V/3A (15W), 20V/3A (60W)
    4. AC inverter output: 120VAC/0.75A (90W), 60Hz
    5. DC input charging port: 19V/3.15A (60W Max), for supplied charger

    Power

    1. Cell type: Li-NMC
    2. Pack capacity: 86Wh (14.4V nominal voltage, 6,000mAh)
    3. Single cell equivalent: 24,000mAh (3.6V)
    4. Cycle life: ~800 cycles to 80% capacity (0.62C charge, 1.5C discharge), 86 deg. F (30 C) ambient
    5. Shelf-life: 6 months, or keep plugged in
    6. Management system: charging system with over-voltage secondary protection
    7. Charger: Universal AC/DC power supply, 19V/3.5A, 2.5mm plug, with short circuit protection
    So the article is wrong about getting 87W over USB-C, but you can get it from the “inefficient” AC outlet. 
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 11 of 12
    dgatwooddgatwood Posts: 5member
    fastasleep said:
    So the article is wrong about getting 87W over USB-C, but you can get it from the “inefficient” AC outlet. 
    Nope.  You'll never be able to produce 87W of output power from a power supply if the inverter only provides 90W on its input.  The conversion would have to be 97% efficient, which is exceptionally unlikely.

    Apple's 87W supply is specified at 1.5A input at 100–240V, so a 120VAC inverter hardware would need to be able to provide at least 180W inrush current briefly, or else you'll blow fuses every time you plug it in.

    Similarly, I suspect it probably draws around 100–110 Watts during worst-case normal operation at 87W.  Either way, I'm sure it's way over 90.  Thus, to use this with Apple's power supply, you would have to either use their 60W AC power supply or use a cable with a lower wattage rating (to force the power supply into 60 W mode).  Either way, you'll be getting 60W, not 87W.

    fastasleep
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  • Reply 12 of 12
    ijohnnyijohnny Posts: 1member

    I tried but wasn't really satisfied. Now I ordered A3 USB-C PD from LIFEPOWR. I can highly recommend it. It packs the fastest USB-C port available, supporting PD up to 20V / 4.3A, along with AC outlet (120W) and quick charging USB-ports.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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