What Makes Anker's 'Zolo' Series So Much Cheaper?

Finally ready to pull the trigger on a power bank? Then you must have run across the Anker brand during your search. The company is, after all, making quite a lot of traction in the tech world by producing some of the most interesting charging gadgets money can buy. Its Anker Zolo model easily fits into the list of TSA-approved power banks you can snag on Amazon for under $50. But why is Anker Zolo so much cheaper than Anker Prime and other Anker-labeled gadgets?

Though Anker hasn't labeled it as such, there's quite a high probability that the Zolo line is supposed to be more budget oriented. Introduced in 2024, Anker Zolo mainly prioritizes function. For just $39.99, a Zolo line bank gives you plenty of juice at 20,000 mAh with a 22.5-watt output. You also get a built-in USB-C cable. Naturally, moving up the tiers unlocks more stuff. 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 an output of 65 watts and comes with both a battery and a charger mode.

The introduction of the Zolo line was a bit confusing, so much so that it took some time for Redditors to crack the puzzle on what's what. Zolo may not be a completely new product, but rather, a rebrand of the previous 6-series charging banks and chargers. Nano represents the midrange stuff (5-series products), while the flagship products are labeled Prime and are a version of 7-series accessories. Again, Anker itself didn't confirm nor deny this naming scheme, but just compare a Zolo wireless charger to the Prime version that includes a cooling pad and it's clear that Zolo is more budget-oriented.

The entire Reddit thread mentioned above shows that most consumers are confused by Anker's products — in particular, it's frequent rebrands. The company isn't a stranger to making seismic shifts. A good example of this practice is when Anker seemingly got rid of Soundcore. It turned out that the products aren't going away — rather, they will just ship under the Anker Sound & Video moniker in certain regions.

Though one could argue that the Soundcore reinvigoration could be overkill, due to the recognizability of the name, if today's Zolo offerings truly are the rebranded 6-series lineup (as users argue), it could be a good thing, as it does seem more catchy than just a number. Apple's nicknames for macOS versions are perhaps the best example. Numbers may be hard to remember, and even though Apple did retain the numbering system, it assigned each version a nickname that's more memorable than just a number. Just ask yourself: do you remember it as Big Sur or macOS 11? Monterey just rolls off the tongue easier than macOS 12.

It's not just Apple. Amazon is really amazing at naming things. For example, smart displays are labeled as Echo Show, while Echo refers to smart speakers. Anker's Zolo tag 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 any other three digits — no matter how catchy the number may be.