The chargers were shipped quickly and arrived in nice packaging the next day.<\/p>\n
The build quality of the cheaper panel is fair and is a bit larger than expected. It has a built-in stand to set it up at an angle with a long USB A cable.<\/p>\n It also includes a splitter cable with other ports, including USB C, mini-USB, micro-USB, and two DC jacks.<\/p>\n The more expensive unit is more robust with tough fabric construction. The USB port is attached to the rear alongside a pocket to store your phone while charging.<\/p>\n It is slightly smaller than half the size of the cheap panel when folded up. When unfolded, it is more than double the length.<\/p>\n The more expensive panel did not include a USB cable. However, this should not be a problem as any charging cable can be used with the panel.<\/p>\n We tested the panels around 14:00 on a sunny day to gauge their real-world performance and maximum power output.<\/p>\n The panels provided stable power, which should be safe to use with any USB device.<\/p>\n The cheap panel was very easy to set up to point directly at the sun. It provided a maximum power of around 6W into the USB load.<\/p>\n When connecting the panel to a Samsung S22+, it immediately indicated incoming charge and measured around 4.5W (through an app called Ampere) while the phone was at 50% charge.<\/p>\n The folding panel was more difficult to set up in an optimal direction, as it seems to be designed to drape over the side of a tent.<\/p>\n Setting it up on a flat surface in direct sunlight only provided 8W into the USB load and charged the phone at just over 5W, according to Ampere.<\/p>\n A full charge in direct sunlight should take less than four hours for most phones with either of the panels.<\/p>\n The cheap solar charger is a good option to charge your phone during the day, assuming you have access to direct sunlight.<\/p>\n The superior construction and portability of the more expensive unit makes it a better option to throw in a backpack for camping or hiking.<\/p>\n Apart from the option to charge your phone, you can also use these solar panels to charge a power bank during the day and then your phone during the evening.<\/p>\n The test showed that solar panels are definitely a great addition for people who spend time in areas without electricity.<\/p>\n MyBroadband tested two solar smartphone chargers, and the results were better than we expected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341074,"featured_media":437678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17934],"tags":[35,77248,77250],"class_list":["post-437676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smartphones","tag-headline","tag-solar-chargers","tag-solar-smartphone-charger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341074"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437676"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437720,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437676\/revisions\/437720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Solar-panel.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nNow read: Amazon\u2019s new 10-megawatt solar plant in South Africa up and running<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"