Power banks are one of the most common tech accessories in modern tech, but Anker’s founder and CEO believes their time may eventually run out.
According to a report from China, Anker founder and CEO, Meng Yang, recently said in an interview that power banks are unlikely to grow into a product category worth hundreds of billions of yuan. In fact, he suggested that they could even “die in a few years.”
Yang compared power banks to older consumer electronics products such as MP3 players, cassette players, and CD players. He argued that many gadgets have a relatively short life cycle before they are replaced by newer technologies.
“Consumer electronics are actually products that come and go quickly,” Yang said. “If you have bought an MP3 player, you have most likely also bought a cassette player or a CD player. The time span between when you first buy these products and when you stop buying them is only about 10 years.”
Anker is known for power banks
The comments are notable because Anker built its reputation on portable chargers. Founded in 2011, the company expanded rapidly in overseas markets with its power bank business. However, the company’s business has changed significantly over the years.
Public financial data shows that Anker generated 30.514 billion yuan in revenue in 2025, up 23.49% year over year. Charging and energy storage products brought in 15.402 billion yuan, accounting for around half of the company’s total revenue. But traditional power banks are no longer the main driver of the business as Anker now offers a wider range of charging accessories, smart devices, and energy storage products.
The company continues to grow in 2026. In the first quarter, Anker reported revenue of 7.608 billion yuan, an increase of 26.93% from the same period last year. However, net profit attributable to shareholders fell 4.87% year over year to 472 million yuan.
Yang’s remarks also come after Anker acknowledged that it had expanded its power bank lineup too aggressively. At the 2025 annual shareholders’ meeting, Anker reportedly admitted it once had too many charging product models on the market. In 2024 alone, the company reportedly sold around 100 different power bank models.
The company admitted that such a large lineup created quality control challenges. “There should never be 100 models,” Anker reportedly told shareholders, adding that no company could realistically maintain the quality of 100 different power bank products.
While the need for powerbanks hasn’t shrunk in this day and age, Yang believes they could eventually follow the same path as other once-essential gadgets that slowly disappeared as technology evolved.
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(Via)
