It's usually a good idea to leave the house with a fully charged power bank, especially if you need to juice up multiple devices throughout the day. Choosing a power bank, however, is not as clear.

Introducing the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10,000mAh (Integrated Cable), which wants to be a worthy addition to your backpack with its combination of power perks.

As the name suggests, this 10,000mAh power bank comes with an integrated USB-C cable and a total charging speed of up to 165W. However, there's a catch to it, which we'll reveal in great detail below.

It's also worth noting that this power bank is quite affordable, at an official price of S$52. You can buy it on mi.com and Xiaomi’s official channels and authorised retailers.

Like our Anker 25,000mAh 165W power bank review, we’ll examine the charging capabilities and the real-world user experience of this Xiaomi one.

At 316g, this power bank is only slightly heavier than a Xiaomi 15 Ultra phone. No thinking was required when we threw it into a bag or stuffed it into the pockets of baggy pants (tried and tested).

However, the integrated cable does leave an awkward dangling strip if you're going with the pants method, so remember to fold it as you slide the power bank in.

I liked the recessed notch that secures the cable's head when it's not in use. I also liked the resulting carrying loop. Please note that holding the power bank by its makeshift cable lanyard (pictured above) can introduce stress to the integrated wire, which we don't recommend.

One downside is that the built-in cable is too short (15cm) for truly flexible charging. If you’re seated, you'll need to place the power bank on a desk or your lap. It can't go any further than that, sadly.

To fix this issue, grab a longer cable for its single and available USB-C port (located next to the integrated cable). 

There’s a small coloured display and a tactile button on the front face. This panel displays some nifty statistics, such as the amount of charge remaining, the charging speeds it's delivering, and the estimated time it takes to charge the power bank fully.

Before you get too excited, we must say that Xiaomi has made some odd decisions with this display.

First, the shown charging speed is in mAh/min and not in Watts (W). Many phones, including Xiaomi's own, indicate phone charging speeds in watts. It gets confusing when the display shows "77mAh/min" when you're expecting to see 90W on a Xiaomi 15 Ultra.

Second, the display's real estate looks large, but the actual space that shows information is confined to a tiny rectangle in the centre. The rest of the display is the bezel. 

Another annoying thing is that the power bank only displays the combined charging speed of both ports when they are used simultaneously. It doesn't tell us the speed of each individual port. That's a very strange decision because how would we know if one side has died or stopped?

The final, pesky cherry on top of this exasperating power bank cake is the abovementioned button. It doesn't cycle through the display (there's no such option), and it doesn't split the total speed into a per-port reading. It only turns the display on when pressed. Pressing again or holding it down does not turn off the power bank. It restarts the gadget.

Huh.

We believe that Xiaomi could have improved in these areas. The company makes truly amazing phones, but it's not that great when it comes to designing a good user interface for power banks.

Fortunately, the power bank costs only S$52, so most of its unintuitive design choices can be overlooked. If the power bank costs more, its value would have been severely penalised by its unfriendly UI.

This power bank can be brought onto commercial flights. The battery's capacity works out to 37Wh, assuming a standard battery voltage of 3.7V. 

This is well below the 100Wh limit for lithium-based power banks that can be carried onto commercial planes without prior approval (per IATA guidelines here).

We brought this power bank on two flights without any issues during security clearances at airports in both Singapore and Japan.

Let’s start with the power bank itself before we discuss how it charges other devices.

The integrated cable was slightly faster when topping up the power bank's stores. It took just 39 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%, but it didn't reach the advertised 75% charge in 15 minutes. It heats up when it's getting the juice, but it's not uncomfortable to touch.

With a third-party, 240W, USB-C cable plugged into its free port and paired with a 120W GaN charger, the power bank got a full charge in just 43 minutes.

The power bank's total speed of 165W is intentionally made for Xiaomi's unique charging profiles.

The two maximum speeds are divided into 120W (integrated cable) and 45W (USB-C port).

True gadget enthusiasts would know that the 120W charging speed is available on compatible Xiaomi devices. Only a handful of Xiaomi-branded devices available in Singapore support a maximum of 120W wired charging, which Xiaomi began introducing on select devices in 2021.

Some recent ones include Poco F7 Ultra, the Redmi Note 14 Pro+, and the Xiaomi 14T Pro. We happened to have the Poco F7 Ultra on hand, so we tried that with the power bank.

For non-Xiaomi devices, the total power output is only 65W + 45W, totalling 110W.

(The Xiaomi 15 Ultra caps out at 90W wired charging, by the way).

With the Poco F7 Ultra, we managed to draw around 80W when the screen was on. If you’re wondering why it’s not 120W, it’s because the fastest charging speeds typically occur when the screen is turned off and the battery is at a low level.

That said, 80W is still very quick. It took only 22 minutes for a 50% charge, and a full 100% only required about 49 minutes.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra, with a maximum 90W wired charging profile, achieved an impressive 75W at its peak speed. A full charge took just 68 minutes, which is on par with our testing during our review. 

We tested the power bank extensively with other devices as well, such as game controllers, an iPhone 16 Pro, a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and more, with no issues.

One of the main selling points of this power bank is that it can provide enough juice to charge up a laptop, and we put that to the test with a 16-inch MacBook Pro (M2) on a plane ride. It allowed me to play Hades 2 for about 30 minutes longer, which is a battery-intensive task. 

For people who are always on the go and have no access to charging sockets, this is great in a pinch.

You'd think I'd dislike the power bank given how I griped at its built-in display. But the fact is that, at S$52, the Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10,000mAh is an excellent buy.

Being relatively inexpensive while providing decent charging speeds is already a plus point for this price. It even comes with the added exclusivity of charging some Xiaomi devices at their maximum 120W. Those are enough reasons to overlook its strange user interface.

One thing you should consider is whether the 10,000mAh capacity is sufficient since that's only roughly enough to charge a large phone twice. The other issue is its short, 15cm integrated cable, which makes it hard to use the power bank without it hovering near you.

On the flip side, the modest battery capacity also means a lighter weight. I've previously stopped bringing my 26,000mAh power bank out because it’s just too cumbersome. This Xiaomi power bank earned its spot because it's far lighter.

And let's be real, for most people, a 10,000mAh power bank is more than enough to keep your phone and any other device you might have charged for an entire day.

The Xiaomi 165W Power Bank 10,000mAh is officially retailing at S$52 on mi.com, Xiaomi's official channels and authorised retailers.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.