Cutting through marketing slogans and tech jargon can feel like a full-time job when you're shopping for gadgets, but it's worth knowing exactly what you're getting with your new electronics. That's especially true of chargers and batteries, where making the wrong choice can leave you without power when you need it or even damage your devices. The PowerIQ label has appeared on Anker chargers for years now, and it's actually worth knowing what it means before picking one up.

Chargers and electronics use multiple different charging standards for delivering and receiving power. You may have seen other terms like QC (Quick Charge) or PD (Power Delivery), depending on which manufacturer's products you're using. PowerIQ, or PIQ, is Anker's proprietary tech that governs how quickly chargers with the technology send power to a connected device's battery.

According to Anker, PowerIQ chargers are able to detect what device they're connected to and adjust their power output based on what voltage is best for the connected battery. In theory, that allows PowerIQ chargers to charge devices quickly without delivering too much power and damaging the connected device. PowerIQ chargers are generally considered safe for that reason. Fast-charging devices always carries some risk of diminishing their battery life in the long term, and while PowerIQ chargers might offset that risk somewhat, there's no way of eliminating it completely.

PowerIQ chargers aren't necessarily any faster than those using other standards. Charging speed is determined by the device being charged as much as by the charger, so pure power output doesn't mean as much as it might seem.

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