Only 11 people wanted Energizer to make its 18,000mAh-toting Max Power 18K Pop phone

Energizer’s 18,000mAh-toting Max Power 18K Pop phone was undoubtedly one of the most talked about gadgets at MWC 2019. The massive battery pack that doubled as a smartphone with some interesting specs wasn’t ready for prime-time though. Avenir Telecom, the company behind the ambitious phone, put it up on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo to gauge buyer interest – promising an October 2019 shipping timeline and a $549 price tag for early-bird backers. Not many people showed interest, however. 

Avenir Telecom had set itself a goal of $1.2 million – this means, the Max Power 18K Pop phone needed a funding or backing of $1.2 million in order to be ready for mass production. The phone was able to generate only $15,005 in pledged support – only a total of a 11 people wanted Energizer to make its 18,000mAh-toting Max Power 18K Pop phone. Call it an epic fail.  

The Max Power 18K Pop phone was by no means an incapable smartphone – it was announced with a MediaTek Helio P70 processor paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. There were also elevating or pop-up dual selfie cameras on this one. But it was also almost an inch thick – which means it wasn’t very practical as a smartphone. Sure, one could argue, you wouldn’t need a power bank with its massive 18,000 battery pack, so it would save you a lot of trouble, but numbers seem to indicate not many bought into the idea of a battery pack masquerading as a smartphone.  

Regardless, Avenir Telecom was able to generate a lot of hype with the Max Power 18K Pop and even though it is seemingly a flop, people are talking about it – which is a big win for the company in question.  

Avenir Telecom now says that it will continue to work on the phone’s design so possibly we can expect a slimmer, more toned-down version in the days to come. This is because, the company feels that “there is a rising interest for smartphones with incredible battery life, which can also be used as power banks.” Energizer phones have had a history of being battery-focused, so looks like battery will continue to be the focus in future as well.