Finally ready to pull the trigger on an external battery? Then you must have come across the Anker brand during your search. After all, the company is gaining a lot of ground in the tech world by producing some of the coolest charging gadgets money can buy. Its Anker Zolo model easily fits into the list of TSA-approved power banks you can buy on Amazon for under $50. But why is Anker Zolo so much cheaper than Anker Prime and other Anker-branded gadgets?
Although Anker hasn’t labeled it as such, there’s a good chance that the Zolo line is meant to be more budget-oriented. Introduced in 2024, Anker Zolo primarily prioritizes function. For just $39.99, a Zolo line bank gives you plenty of juice with 20,000 mAh with 22.5 watts of power. You also get a built-in USB-C cable. Naturally, going up in levels unlocks more things. Anker Nano is slightly faster at 45 watts in a more compact form factor with a color display. Then, Anker Prime represents the cream of the crop. Appropriately priced at $92.99, it has a power of 65 watts and comes with a battery mode and a charger mode.
The introduction of the Zolo line was a bit confusing, so much so that it took Redditors a while to solve the puzzle of what was going on. Zolo may not be a completely new product, but rather a rebranding of the previous Series 6 charging banks and chargers. Nano represents the mid-range (Series 5 products), while the flagships are labeled Prime and are a version of Series 7 accessories. Again, Anker itself has neither confirmed nor denied this naming scheme, but is simply comparing a Zolo wireless charger to the Prime version which includes a cooling pad and it is clear that Zolo is more budget oriented.
What is behind Anker’s alleged distance from the numbering system?
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The entire Reddit thread mentioned above shows that most consumers are confused by Anker products – especially the frequent brand changes. The company is no stranger to seismic shifts. A good example of this practice is when Anker apparently got rid of Soundcore. It turns out the products won’t disappear – they’ll just ship under the Anker Sound & Video name in some regions.
While one could argue that Soundcore’s reinvigoration might be overblown, due to the name’s recognizability, if today’s Zolo offerings truly are the rebranded Series 6 line (as users argue), that might be a good thing, as it seems more catchy than just a number. Apple’s nicknames for macOS versions are perhaps the best example of this. Numbers can be difficult to remember, and while Apple kept the numbering system, it gave each version a nickname that was more memorable than just a number. Just ask yourself: do you remember it as Big Sur or macOS 11? Monterey rolls off the tongue easier than macOS 12.
It’s not just Apple. Amazon is really good at naming things. For example, smart displays are labeled Echo Show, while Echo refers to smart speakers. Anker’s Zolo label doesn’t make as much sense as Prime referring to high-end products and Nano being reserved for smaller gadgets, but it’s surely better than having to remember something like 626 or three other numbers, no matter how catchy the number is.
