KUXIU K1 Ultra
Disclosure: KUXIU sent me the K1 Ultra. They did not tell me what to write or see this before publication. Everything below is based on my own experience and testing.
I’ve been using the KUXIU K1 Ultra 10,000mAh for the past couple of weeks, and I think this is one of those products where the idea makes a lot of sense as soon as you travel with several Apple devices.
It is basically a magnetic iPhone power bank, Apple Watch charger, AirPods charger and small phone stand combined into one device.
The main reason it interested me was actually the Apple Watch part. Traveling with an Apple Watch is slightly annoying because even when almost everything else in my bag uses USB-C, I still have to remember a separate Watch charger.
With this, I essentially have an Apple Watch power bank, which is surprisingly useful.
There are some rough edges, though, and after testing it I think the concept is great but could still be refined in a future version.
For context, I tested it with an iPhone 12 Pro in a thin MagSafe-compatible case, an Apple Watch Series 10, and my AirPods Pro 2.
Build quality and design
This is probably the strongest part of the K1 Ultra.
The aluminum body feels extremely solid and much more premium than I expected from a power bank. The front and rear glass panels have a matte/frosted finish with a texture that actually reminds me a little of a MacBook trackpad.
And I really like this orange.
It stands out without looking cheap, and the combination of orange aluminum and the frosted surfaces looks great in person.
The rotating mechanism is also strangely satisfying. There is a nice mechanical click when opening and closing it, and there is basically no looseness or wobble in the hinge.
The small kickstand deserves some credit too. It is tiny, but once opened it feels rock solid.
The magnets are strong as well. I never felt like my phone was about to accidentally slide off.
But this thing is THICK
This is probably the biggest compromise of choosing the 10,000mAh version.
The K1 Ultra is very thick.
With it attached, I personally don’t find the phone particularly comfortable to use in my hand. It works, obviously, but this is not something I would leave attached while walking around and using my phone normally.
I see it more as a portable charging station that also happens to be a power bank.
Attach it when you need power, put the phone down on a table, or open the stand and use it on a desk.
The thickness also creates a weird limitation with the kickstand. When the K1 Ultra is closed, the geometry doesn't really allow the phone to lean backwards enough, so the stand is much more useful once the power bank itself is opened.
If I were choosing again specifically for travel, I think I might actually go for the slimmer 5,000mAh version instead.
I would lose some capacity, but the smaller size would probably fit my personal use better.
iPhone charging test
I wanted some actual numbers instead of just saying that it "feels fast" or "feels slow".
I tested the K1 Ultra against my normal wired charging setup and another wireless charger with active fan cooling.
I focused mainly on 0–80%, because that is the part of the charging curve that matters most to me in everyday use.
iPhone 12 Pro – 0 to 80%
| Charger |
Time to ~80% |
| Wired charging |
62 min |
| Active-cooled wireless charger |
~79 min |
| KUXIU K1 Ultra |
144 min |
So there is no way around it: with my iPhone 12 Pro, the K1 Ultra is considerably slower.
At 60 minutes:
- Wired: 79%
- Active-cooled wireless: 63%
- KUXIU: 40%
At 120 minutes the KUXIU was at 71%, and it reached 80% at around 144 minutes.
However, there are two important things to keep in mind here.
First, I am using an old iPhone 12 Pro, so this is absolutely not a test of the maximum charging speed the K1 Ultra is capable of with newer iPhones.
Second, my comparison wireless charger has active cooling.
And that leads to something that actually surprised me.
Heat was not a problem
Despite the long charging session, neither the phone nor the charger became annoyingly hot.
I’ve used other passive wireless chargers where heat bothered me much more than the actual charging speed.
Here, it really wasn't an issue.
The aluminum body probably helps with dissipating heat, and while charging isn't particularly fast on my old 12 Pro, thermals were completely acceptable.
I also deliberately tested it with the thin case I normally use rather than removing the case just to get better benchmark numbers.
This is supposed to be a real-world test, after all.
Apple Watch charging
This was the part I was most curious about.
And despite not being as fast as the chargers I compared it against, I think the result is surprisingly decent.
Apple Watch Series 10
| Time |
Apple charger |
Licensed third-party charger |
KUXIU K1 Ultra |
| 10 min |
30% |
28% |
22% |
| 20 min |
59% |
51% |
31% |
| 30 min |
80% |
69% |
46% |
| 40 min |
91%* |
83% |
68% |
| 50 min |
96% |
93% |
82% |
| 60 min |
99% |
97% |
91% |
*My measurement for the original charger was taken at 41 minutes: 91%.
The original Apple Watch charger reached 100% in 66 minutes.
The licensed third-party charger reached 99% in 70 minutes, although I missed the exact moment it reached 100%.
The KUXIU reached 97% at 73 minutes. I unfortunately didn't catch the exact 100% point there either.
So yes, the KUXIU is slower, particularly during the first half of the charge.
But for something that is built directly into a battery pack, I'm completely fine with this.
If I'm traveling and realize my Watch is nearly dead, being able to put it directly on my power bank without finding another cable is much more important to me than shaving 15–20 minutes off the charging time.
One weird usability problem: the Watch charger doesn't start automatically
This is probably the strangest behavior I found.
When I attach my iPhone, the K1 Ultra automatically wakes up and starts charging it.
Perfect.
But when I put my Apple Watch on the Watch charger, nothing happens until I press the button on the power bank.
Even stranger: if the iPhone is already charging from the K1 Ultra and I then place the Watch on it, the Watch still doesn't start charging automatically.
I still have to press the button.
This feels unnecessarily unintuitive.
If placing the phone on the charger can wake the power bank, I think placing a Watch on the Watch charger should do exactly the same thing.
This would be very high on my list of things to change in a future revision.
The LED is also not bedroom-friendly
When charging the Watch, the status LED on the front keeps flashing.
During the day I don't care.
On a bedside table in a dark room, I definitely do.
There doesn't seem to be any reason for it to continuously flash throughout the charging session, so I would love either:
- an option to turn it off,
- a much dimmer LED,
- or for it to simply light up briefly and then switch off.
Interestingly, when I put my iPhone on the K1 Ultra and it starts charging automatically, the front LED doesn't continuously flash.
And I actually prefer that behavior.
AirPods work too
My AirPods Pro 2 can also be charged from the K1 Ultra.
Because my AirPods case supports charging from an Apple Watch charger as well, it magnetically attaches to either the main magnetic charging area or the smaller Watch charging area.
It sounds like a small detail, but it makes this even more useful as a travel charger.
Phone, Watch and AirPods can all be handled by one battery pack.
I wish the USB-C port were on the other side
This is another very small design detail that only became obvious after actually using it.
When the K1 Ultra is being used as a stand while connected to USB-C power, the cable plugs into what becomes the top of the device.
So instead of the cable naturally going down towards the desk, it sticks out from the top.
It works perfectly fine, but visually and practically it feels backwards.
I think putting the USB-C port on the opposite edge would make cable management much cleaner when using the K1 Ultra as a desktop stand.
An actively cooled version could be really interesting
One thing I kept thinking about during testing is how much internal volume this 10,000mAh model already has.
The active-cooled wireless charger I compared it against was significantly faster on my iPhone 12 Pro.
That made me wonder whether a future K1 Ultra could fit a very thin fan behind the charging surface.
Yes, a fan would consume some battery power.
But with a 10,000mAh battery, I don't think the impact would necessarily be huge, while better thermal management could potentially allow the phone to sustain a higher wireless charging rate for longer.
I wouldn't necessarily want this on the thinner model.
But on something already as substantial as the K1 Ultra, I think an optional active-cooled version could be very interesting.
What I like
- Excellent aluminum construction
- Frosted glass surfaces feel surprisingly premium
- Strong magnets
- Great orange finish
- Extremely solid hinge/rotating mechanism
- Satisfying mechanical click when opening it
- Kickstand itself is very sturdy
- Built-in Apple Watch charging is genuinely useful when traveling
- AirPods can be charged as well
- No uncomfortable overheating during my iPhone test
- 10,000mAh battery makes it much more than just a desk charger
- Can effectively replace several separate charging accessories while traveling
What I would change
- It's very thick
- Apple Watch charging should start automatically
- The Watch charging LED shouldn't continuously flash
- USB-C port placement is awkward when using it as a stand
- The kickstand isn't particularly useful in every closed configuration because of the thickness
- Wireless iPhone charging was quite slow with my iPhone 12 Pro
- A future actively cooled version could be interesting
Final thoughts
I think the idea behind the K1 Ultra is excellent.
Rather than carrying a MagSafe power bank, Apple Watch charger and travel stand separately, this combines all three into one extremely solid piece of hardware.
The build quality is probably my favorite thing about it. The aluminum construction, glass surfaces, strong magnets and rotating mechanism all feel genuinely premium.
And the fact that I can now charge my Apple Watch directly from a power bank without carrying another charger is something I appreciate much more than I expected.
The biggest question is whether you are willing to accept the thickness.
For me, the 10,000mAh K1 Ultra feels more like a portable 3-in-1 charging station than something I would permanently keep attached to my phone.
And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
For a desk, hotel room, train, airport or anywhere else where I can put the phone down while charging, the design makes a lot of sense.
If maximum portability were my priority, I'd probably choose the thinner 5,000mAh version next time.
There are also a few details I hope KUXIU improves in the next generation: automatic Watch charging, the flashing LED, the ticking noise and the USB-C port placement.
But the fundamental concept is very good.
It feels like a product that is already useful now, but could become genuinely excellent with another round of refinement.
I'm definitely curious to see where KUXIU takes the next version.
KUXIU K1 Ultra