Sharge has demonstrated time and time again that the chargers and power banks you use to keep your devices running don’t have to look like boring gray bricks. The company has updated its transparent Retractable 65 wall charger, released earlier this year, with a 10,000 mAh battery so that it no longer depends on a power outlet. The only compromise is that its output power has been reduced from 65 watts to 30 watts, making it useful mainly for charging smartphones and tablets.
The Retractable 3-in-1 Power Bank is currently available on Sharge’s online store for $49.99, but its price has been reduced to $44.99. That’s the same price as Anker’s $45 10,000 mAh power bank and charger with built-in USB-C cable, but Anker’s power cord doesn’t retract and is relatively short. The Sharge’s cord is more than 27 inches long, and according to the company, it has withstood more than 30,000 retraction and extension cycles. The retraction mechanism will potentially outlast the battery’s ability to hold a charge.
While the Retractable 65 provides enough power to charge laptops and portable gaming devices like the Switch 2 that require at least 54 watts, the power output of Sharge’s new 3-in-1 is significantly lower, even when plugged into a wall outlet. This limits its usefulness, but it does have an extra USB-C port so you can charge two smaller devices at the same time.
The power bank design is a tribute to the iconic Braun Audio 300 stereo receiver designed by Dieter Rams. On one side of the 300 was a turntable represented by a retractable cable mechanism of the power bank, and on the other side was a radio and various tube controls. The Sharge lacks these features, but has a bright white LED dot matrix display on the front that shows the battery level. It also comes with a matching strap, but unlike the Anker, it doesn’t double as an additional USB-C charging cable, which seems like a missed opportunity to squeeze a little more functionality into it.
