Solid-state battery packs are on the rise – and this early contender has two key benefits over its traditional rivals

• The Kuxia S3 is one of the first semi-solid-state power banks
• That makes it safer than lithium-ion ones, and means it should wear out slower
• It also has a kickstand, a screen, and supports Qi2.2

Kuxia might not be a company you’re familiar with, but if you’re in the market for one of the best power banks then its latest product could be exactly what you’re looking for.

The company has just announced the Kuxia S3 – a 10,000mAh power bank, which the company claims has enough capacity to almost double an iPhone’s battery life. But beyond being high capacity, this model has several other things going for it.

The big one is that it uses semi-solid-state batteries, which are theoretically much safer than the lithium-ion ones you’ll find in other power banks. We've recently seen some power banks, like certain Anker models, recalled for being fire hazards, so that's certainly a big potential bonus.

Unlike traditional batteries, semi-solid-state batteries sit between a liquid and solid, instead using a gel-like electrolite substance. This means they also typically last a lot longer before starting to degrade – a typical power bank’s battery will start to degrade after around 300-500 charging cycles, but Kuxia's should be able to keep over 80% of its capacity until at least 1,000 charges.

Charges your phone fast

Beyond its semi-solid-state credentials, another perk of the Kuxia S3 is that it supports Qi2.2, meaning that it can charge your phone wirelessly at up to 25W, rather than the 15W of Qi2.

Plus, it’s MagSafe compatible, and it packs in a kickstand, a small screen to show the remaining battery level and charging status, and a built-in cable for charging other devices via USB-C (at up to 35W).

All of this does make the Kuxia S3 fairly heavy at 245g, but it has 18 magnets built in, to at least ensure it should firmly stick to your phone. For reference, the previous model (the Kuxia S2) is only 145g, but that’s also only 5,000mAh, doesn’t have a kickstand, and is limited to Qi2.

In any case, the Kuxia S3 is quite expensive compared to lithium-ion rivals, coming in at $149.98 / £116 / AU$230, but there’s a hefty launch discount, temporarily bringing it down to $68.99 / £54 / AU$106. So if you like the sound of the Kuxia S3, you might want to snap one up soon.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.