Gidues Mini1 Review: A $20 power bank that gets the small things right
At Gadget Flow we test a lot of power banks, and most of them follow the same pattern. They look good on paper, then end up in a drawer. Usually the battery isn’t the reason. They’re too heavy for a jacket pocket, or they need a cable nobody remembered to pack, or there’s no way to tell how much charge is left until the phone stops charging.
So when the Gidues Mini1 (model M101, listed on the Gidues site as the M1) arrived, one of our editors took it on as a daily carry to see if it would avoid that fate. It costs $19.99. It isn’t the fastest power bank on the market, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It’s a 10,000mAh pocket charger made for ordinary days, and in our testing that turned out to be its strength.
Light enough that our editor stopped noticing it
The weight was the first thing our tester mentioned, or more accurately how little of it there is. The Mini1 weighs 158 grams and measures 58 × 28.9 × 69.7 mm. That’s shorter than most phones and a little narrower than many current flagships. In the hand it feels about the size of half a deck of cards.
That’s the main reason it stayed in rotation. Our editor has owned bulkier banks with bigger numbers on the box and stopped carrying them because they weighed down every bag. The Mini1 went into a jeans pocket, a small crossbody and the zip pocket of a laptop sleeve without any trouble. On busy days of errands, school runs and a coffee stop or two, it was comfortable to carry, and for a pocket charger that counts for more than a few extra watts.
The finish is a flat matte that resists fingerprints better than glossy plastic. It comes in purple, pink and white. Our tester also noticed the color made it easy to find at the bottom of a bag, which no black brick has managed.
The digital display was the standout
Most budget power banks use four small LEDs. Three lit dots could mean 55 percent or 74 percent, and you only find out which when the bank dies earlier than you expected.
The Mini1 has a small digital readout that shows the exact remaining percentage, and it ended up being our editor’s favorite feature. A quick glance before heading out showed whether the bank needed a top-up first. Partway through the day, it showed how much a phone charge had used, which made it easy to decide whether to save the rest for later. Carrying backup power stopped involving guesswork.
The screen is small and plain. It shows the number you need and nothing else, which is how it should be.
One built-in cable that goes both ways
Our tester also liked the built-in USB-C cable right away. It’s attached to the body, so there’s no separate cord to pack, lose or untangle from earbuds.
What makes it more useful is that it works in both directions. Plug it into a phone and it charges the phone. When the bank runs low, plug the same cable into a wall adapter and it recharges the bank. During testing, that meant one less item in the travel pouch and one less thing to look for when packing up.
There’s also a USB-A port for anyone who wants to use their own cable. Gidues rates it at up to 22.5W, the same as the USB-C side, so two devices can charge at once. Our editor regularly charged a phone on the built-in cable and earbuds on the USB-A port at the same time.
Charging speed: fine for a phone, not built for a laptop
The Mini1 outputs up to 22.5W from either port. For phones that’s a sensible rating. A quick top-up over lunch made a noticeable difference, and the bank supports the 9V and 10V modes many phones use for faster charging.
It’s worth being clear about what that number means. This isn’t a laptop power bank. If you need to keep a MacBook running or fast-charge a tablet at 30W or more, you’ll want something larger, which will also cost more and weigh more. GadgetReview notes that higher-wattage chargers save only a few minutes on a phone, and that matched our experience. For a pocket bank, 22.5W is the right call.
Recharging the bank itself tops out at 18W PD over USB-C, slower than the output. Our editor got into the habit of plugging it in overnight or during the workday, so the speed was never a problem. Just don’t expect a full refill in a short window before you leave.
How much charge you actually get
The cell is 10,000mAh, rated at 38.5Wh. As with every power bank, you won’t get the full label capacity out of it, since some energy is lost as heat and in voltage conversion. That’s true across the category and isn’t specific to Gidues.
Gidues doesn’t publish a per-phone charge count, which is reasonable because it depends on the model and how the phone is being used. GadgetReview estimates a full charge on a recent iPhone Pro plus a good part of a second one. In our testing, it comfortably got a phone through a long day out with some charge left over.
At 38.5Wh, it’s also well under the common 100Wh airline limit for carry-on batteries. Gidues notes that rules vary by carrier, so check with your airline before you fly, but most travelers shouldn’t have any issues.
A few things worth knowing
Nothing here is a deal-breaker, but our tester flagged a few points:
- The cable is fixed. That’s what makes it convenient, but it also means the cable can’t be replaced like a loose cord if it ever gets damaged.
- It’s not the slimmest option. It’s compact and light, but at about 29 mm thick it’s a small block rather than a card-thin slab. You’ll feel it in a tight trouser pocket.
- Explore from the website. When we checked, the colors were also listed on the Gidues site in a pretty elaborate way. The Mini1 is also sold on Amazon, where it holds a 4.4 rating from more than 400 reviews, so check there too.
Who it’s for
The Mini1 suits people who want backup power without having to think about it. Most importantly, the fashionable design is what makes this entire product such a cool product to have in your everyday carry. That includes commuters, students, parents running around with a phone at 20 percent, and anyone who stopped carrying a heavier bank. If you mostly charge a phone, earbuds or a smartwatch, it covers a full day.
It isn’t for laptop users, people who want the fastest possible recharge, or anyone who needs several days of power off-grid. Those buyers should look at a larger, pricier bank.
Final Thoughts
After our testing period with the Gidues Mini1, it’s clear why it works: it doesn’t ask anything of you. It goes in a pocket and stays there without getting in the way, and when a phone runs low it’s ready.
Three features stood out for our editor. It’s light and compact enough that carrying it never felt like a chore. The digital display shows the exact percentage left, so there was no guessing from a row of dots. And the built-in USB-C cable charges a phone and recharges the bank, so there was no extra cord to pack.
It has limits. The 22.5W output is meant for phones and small devices, not laptops, and the 18W recharge is better done overnight than in a rush before leaving. For what most people need from a pocket power bank, though, those aren’t real compromises. They’re what you get with something this small and affordable.
At $19.99, the Mini1 is easy to recommend to commuters, students, travelers and busy parents who want dependable backup power without the bulk. It isn’t the most powerful charger you can buy, but it’s practical, and it’s the kind our team kept using instead of putting in a drawer.
Specs at a glance
- Model: Gidues Mini1 (M101)
- Price: $19.99
- Capacity: 10,000mAh / 38.5Wh
- Output: Up to 22.5W (built-in USB-C cable and USB-A)
- Input: Up to 18W PD via the built-in USB-C cable
- Display: Digital percentage readout
- Size: 58 × 28.9 × 69.7 mm
- Weight: 158 g
- Colors: Purple, Pink, White
