I’m always on the lookout for new pocket-friendly portable chargers that are slim and lightweight, and Baseus’ recently released 5,000-mAh PicoGo Air AM71 is easily among the thinnest and lightest power banks I’ve ever tested. Only 0.27 inches (6.9mm) thick and weighing about 3.7 ounces (105 grams), it’s a little slimmer and lighter than Baseus’ earlier PicoGo Ultra-Slim Magnetic Power Bank and Anker’s Nano MagSafe ($55) portable charger, both of which are 0.3 inches thick and house 5,000-mAh batteries.
But is the PicoGo Air better than the Anker? The short answer is: in some ways, yes; in a few ways, no.
Read more: Best Power Banks for iPhones in 2026
The Baseus PicoGo Air AM71 is slightly thinner and lighter than the Anker Nano MagSafe.
What makes the Pico Air AM71 better
- Price: While the PicoGo Air AM71 lists for $70, applying the code EHYGXRMR at checkout on Amazon brings the price down to $40, $15 less expensive than the Anker Nano MagSafe. The code is good through July 31.
- Size and weight: The PicoGo Air AM71 is a little slimmer than the Nano MagSafe and definitely feels lighter in your hand. They have about the same overall footprint, however.
- Slightly faster wired charging: The PicoGo Air AM71 offers 22.5-watt wired fast charging, compared to 20 watts for the Nano MagSafe.
- Braided mini USB-C cable included: You get a nicely designed short cable for wired charging that seems durable.
- NFC PowerSense feature: When logged into the Baseus app, hold the PicoGo Air AM71 up to your phone and tap to link via short-range NFC to view the battery status.
The PicoGo Air comes with a short braided USB-C cable for faster wired charging.
What makes it not quite as good
- Wireless charging speed: The PicoGo Air AM71 doesn’t support Qi2 wireless charging and only charges at 7.5-watt speeds in wireless charging mode. (Baseus’ earlier PicoGo Ultra-Slim Magnetic Power Bank offers the same 7.5-watt wireless charging speed.)
- The battery heats up slightly more: While the PicoGo Air AM71 has graphene and aerogel insulation layers and has been engineered with a “proprietary thermal management system, featuring a micro-structured heat dissipation design that increases cooling surface area by 50%,” according to the company, it does get a little warm, particularly in wired charging mode. It stayed pretty cool in wireless charging mode, though.
- The NFC PowerSense feature is finicky: The battery monitoring feature provides only a snapshot of the battery’s status, not real-time data. It also didn’t display the output power for me; only the input power.
- Magnet doesn’t seem quite as strong: The PicoGo Air AM71 adhered just fine to the back of my iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 (I tried it with a few cases), but I would say that Anker’s magnet seems a touch stronger. No ring is included for Android devices — I tried it with a Google Pixel 9 — but some people like me have already stuck a metal ring on the back of their Android phone to mimic MagSafe.
The NFC battery monitoring feature.
Baseus PicoGo Air AM71 final conclusions
The Baseus PicoGo Air AM71 is a very slim, lightweight power bank that’s highly pocketable and easy to recommend, though it does have a few drawbacks. I ended up sticking it on the back of my iPhone 16 Pro, but used it more in wired mode (with the included short braided cable) than in wireless mode, since the phone charged much faster via a cable. Note that while a 5,000-mAh battery should be capable of fully charging an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 17, it can fall a little short due to capacity loss from heat and voltage conversion.
The Pico Go Air AM71 offers small advantages over the earlier PicoGo Ultra-Slim Magnetic Power Bank, including a slimmer design, faster wired charging and better cooling. But the older model sells for around $25.
The Baseus PicoGo AM52 is about twice the size and weight of the PicoGo AM71, but it’s slim for a 10,000-mAh battery and has an integrated USB-C cable for wireless charging.
For those looking for a higher-capacity charger, Baseus also recently released its PicoGo AM52 10,000-mAh battery (around $55), which is Qi2-certified and offers up to 25-watt wireless charging speeds and has a built-in cable for wired charging at up to 45 watts. Note that you’ll only get short bursts of 25-watt wireless charging speeds as the battery throttles down to avoid overheating.
As long as you’re fine with the added size and weight — the PicoGo AM52 is about twice as thick as the PicoGo Air AM71 at 0.6 inches, and weighs about twice as much at 6.95 ounces — it may be the better choice. Apply the code UTYJDF7V at checkout on Amazon to bring its price down to $43.
All that said, I personally prefer a very light and slim power bank. But that’s just me.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
