RAVPower offers a nice variety of storage options for iOS devices. I recently reviewed some of their standard storage drive and now I’m checking out their storage and power bank hybrid.

Design

At first glance, this device looks like an ordinary power bank with a durable, aluminum exterior. There is a Lightning cable built into the power bank, so it is not necessary to carry your own cable. The end with the connector is larger than a standard iPhone charging cable, so it may not fit if you have a tight case on your phone, such as a LifeProof case.

There is a Micro USB port on the side of the unit that is used for recharging the power bank and retrieving your files of of the flash storage. There is also a full-sized USB port on the other side that is for charging only. You would need to bring your own charging cable for that port, but you could then use it to charge another device such as a Bluetooth speaker or GPS unit.

Pressing the power button will illuminate up to 4 blue LEDs that allow you to quickly check how much power is remaining in the power bank.

Capacity

The power bank has a 5000mAh capacity which is good to recharge an iPhone about 1.5 times.

The unit has 64GB of storage which should be enough for most people. It would hold over 13,000 high resolution photos. However, if you need more storage, you can expand it by inserting a SD card into the unit. The unit can accept SD cards up to 256GB in size.

Features

This flash drive has one unique function over many others: it can charge your iPhone while backing up your photos at the same time.

The app has a convenient “one tap backup” feature that automatically transfers your new photos and videos to the flash drive. This makes it quick and easy to ensure you have a backup copy of your content. In addition, you can back up your phone’s contact list which can help you avoid asking for everyone’s number again on Facebook when you get a new phone.

You can protect your content with a password so other users can not take a peek at the files on your flash drive.

The app’s file browser allow you to view the built-in storage and SD card storage separately. This is handy if you want to import some photos from your camera’s SD card onto your phone.

The app can also play back compatible files stored on the drive. For example, you could load a movie on the unit and then watch it on your phone during a flight or road trip without using your phone’s data plan. Please note that the files must be DRM-free and in a format that your iPhone can play (like MP4, for example).

Compatibility

The Lightning connector on this drive works with iPhone 5 or newer. It also works with iPads with a Lightning connector. The full-sized USB port can output up to 1 amp, which allows it to charge most phones, Bluetooth speaker and other USB-powered accessories.

Our Verdict

9.1

Excellent

This RAVPower hybrid device makes it easy to back up photos and videos from your iPhone without a computer and also recharge your iPhone at the same time. There is also a built-in SD card reader that allows you to expand storage even more or import photos from a separate camera.