What does mAh mean for external batteries and smartphones? What does mAh stand for?

mAh Meaning: What Does “15000mAh”, “1000mAh” or “3000mAh” Mean?

When researching about external batteries or about the battery life or your smartphone, you may come across a measurement called “mAh”. For example, I reviewed an external battery called the Anker Astro3E 10000mAh external battery.

The Basics About mAh, and What mAh Stands For:

• mAh is an acronym for ‘milliampere-hours’.
• mAh is a measurement to measure battery capacity
• mAh is frequently used to measure the battery capacity of smartphones, external batteries and tablets
• The more mAh, the longer the battery life

mAh Capacities of iPhones, iPads and Samsung Galaxies:

iPhone generation capacities: 

• iPhone 6s Plus has a battery capacity of 2,750 mAh
• iPhone 6s has a battery capacity of 1,715 mAh

(The battery capacity in the iPhone 6s went down compared to the iPhone 6.)

• The iPhone 6 Plus has a battery capacity of 2,915 mAh
• The iPhone 6 has a battery capacity of 1,810 mAh

• The iPhone 5S has a battery capacity of 1,560mAh
• The iPhone 5C has a battery capacity of 1,510mAh
• The iPhone 5 has a battery capacity of 1,440mAh
• The iPhone 4S has a battery capacity of 1,432mAh

iPad generation capacities:

• The iPad Air 2 has a battery capacity of 7,340 mAh
• The iPad Air has a battery capacity of 8,820mAh

• The iPad 4 has a battery capacity of 11,560mAh
• The iPad 3 has a battery capacity of 11,560mAh
• The iPad 2 has a battery capacity of 6,930mAh

• The iPad Mini 4 has a battery capacity of 5,124mAh
• The iPad Mini 3 has a battery capacity of 6,471 mAh

Samsung Galaxy generation capacities:

• The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a battery capacity of 2550 mAh
• The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a battery capacity of 2,800mAh
• The Samsung Galaxy S4 has a battery capacity of 2,600mAh
• The Samsung Galaxy S3 has a battery capacity of 2,100mAh

Determining an external battery’s ability to recharge your smartphone or tablet:

Now that we know the basic mAh battery capacities of some of the most popular smartphones and tablets, we can now try to determine the amount of times an external battery can recharge an electronic device.

Anker® Astro E5 15000mAh: This is an extremely popular external battery/power bank, which has a capacity of 15,000mAh.

• Since the iPhone 5 has a battery capacity of 1,560mAh, the Anker Astro E5 should be able to recharge the iPhone 5 approximately 10 times
• 15,000 ÷ 1,560 = about 10
• The Anker Astro E5 can recharge the iPhone 5 about 10 times

Poweradd™ Pilot 2GS 10000mAh Dual USB Portable Charger: This is another popular external battery, which holds 10,000mAh of power.

• This battery has 10,000mAh of power, and the iPhone 5 has a capacity of 1,560mAh
• 10,000 ÷ 1,560 = about 6 recharges
• The Poweradd Pilot 2GS can recharge the iPhone 5 approximately 6 times

Anker® Astro Mini 3000mAh external battery: This is another external battery that is extremely small and portable, yet holds 3,000mAh.

• This battery has 3,000mAh of power, and the iPhone 5 has a capacity of 1,560mAh
• 3,000 ÷ 1,560 = about 2 recharges
• The Anker Astro Mini can charge the iPhone 5 a bit less than 2 times

Anker Astro E3 10000mAh External Battery: The Anker Astro3E is one of the best external batteries and holds 10,000mAh. I wrote a review of the Anker Astro E3 here.

• The Anker Astro E3 has a capacity of 10,000mAh and the iPhone 5 has a capacity of 1,560mAh
• 10,000 ÷ 1,560 = about 6
• The Anker Astro E3 can recharge the iPhone a bit more than 6 times

What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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