Smartphone battery pack sales have doubled thanks to Pokémon Go

By Trevor Mogg Published August 8, 2016

milwaukee pokemon go first amendment app 1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s no doubt about it. Pokémon Go has for many people brought an end to their sofa-based slackness, the addictive augmented reality game prompting mobile gamers to leave their home and explore the outside world, albeit through the window of a smartphone.

And it seems that its creator, Niantic, isn’t the only company delighted at the game’s astonishing success. Makers of smartphone battery packs, too, are evidently making a killing, with U.S. sales of the device mushrooming as millions of Pokémon Go players dash around the great outdoors catching digital monsters as they go.

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Recently published data from market research firm NPD suggests sales of the packs reached 1.2 million units for the two-week period starting July 10, just over double that of the same period a year earlier.

NPD noted that in the six weeks leading up to Pokémon Go’s launch, sales of the packs were slowing and stood at just 4 percent above last year’s figure. And then along came Pokémon Go.

The game has a habit of draining a handset’s juice as it utilizes potentially demanding features such as GPS, motion sensors, and augmented reality. Plus if you’re out for hours on end trying to catch ’em all, of course your battery’s going to burn out.

Pokémon Go includes a power-saving mode that turns off your handset’s display when it’s in your pocket, a feature that still ensures you receive an alert when a Pokémon is close by. However, for many players, any savings it offers clearly aren’t enough for a marathon Pokémon Go session.

If you’re a Pokémon Go player with a battery problem, or simply an avid smartphone user fed up with its lousy battery, then be sure to check out DT’s pick of some of the best chargers on the market today.

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Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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Four character run in different direction in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are among 2022's glitchier video game releases due to issues with constant pop-in, camera clipping, multiplayer, Koraidon getting stuck in a handstand, and more. Now, players have found a glitch that allows the player character to walk around much faster than intended. If you're not riding or dashing on the back of Koraidon, walking around in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is pretty slow. Reddit user hamsterhead64 discovered a strange glitch that will speed up the player's exploration, though. By simply connecting a second controller to the Nintendo Switch while playing Pokémon Scarlet or Violet and pointing both left control sticks at an angle, the player character will move faster in that direction. You can see this glitch in action in the video below, which was reposted to Twitter by @Munosnail.
https://twitter.com/munosnail/status/1594292538898321414
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The Runhood Rallye 600 power station set on a table outdoors having a battery pack removed.

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Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC backup battery stored in backpack, charging a phone.

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