‘Turbo-Boosting’ Energy Station Stacks for Additional Juice: emoose Giga X1500 Energy Station Evaluate

Just when we thought the portable power station market was starting to get a little stale and iterative, along comes the emoose Giga X1500. This new model offers everything you would expect from a device of this kind, plus a few clever features that give it a personality of its own.

But in this increasingly crowded and competitive space, will that be enough for this innovative new brand to stand out? 

In short: The emoose Giga X1500 is a fantastic portable power station that delivers excellent battery life, outstanding power output, and plenty of charging ports in an easy-to-carry form factor. Standout features include a touchscreen interface, fast-charging capabilities, and the ability to double capacity by daisy-chaining two power stations together.

emoose Giga X1500 Portable Power Station Review

Overview: emoose Giga X1500

If you want to leave your mark in today’s competitive portable power station market, you’d better deliver a compelling product.

That seems to be the driving force for emoose, an ambitious new startup looking to make waves in the industry, with its first two devices — the Giga X1500 and X1200. These models deliver all the features you would expect from a modern power station and some interesting new additions to help them stand out from the crowd.

Both the X1500 and X1200, which are available to preorder on Indiegogo, combine striking good looks, forward-thinking technology, and a rugged design. Both also offer the ability to connect two power stations to double capacity and output, making it easy to expand their capabilities should the need arise.

We had the chance to check out the Giga X1500 prior to its release and came away mostly impressed. After spending a few weeks testing the power station, here’s what you need to know.

Excellent Portability and Power

When designing the X1500, emoose was clearly looking to create a product that doesn’t resemble any other power station on the market. The unit’s shockproof and water-resistant case is durable. Yet at 32 pounds, it still manages to remain fairly lightweight.

The form factor includes two easy-to-grip handles that make hauling the device around as painless as possible, ensuring that you’ll have few problems carrying it to the backyard, cabin, or campsite. 

Internally, the X1500 has a 1,512Wh battery and can produce 2,400 W of power. That’s enough to run most small electronic devices and appliances, including recharging a smartphone more than 60 times or a laptop over 20 times.

It can also power a portable refrigerator for 10 hours, a TV for 17 hours, and an electric fan for a day. (Note: The smaller Giga X1200 power station has a battery capacity of 1,167Wh.)

Emoose has given the X1500 plenty of charging ports too. In addition to three 120-volt AC outlets, it also comes with a 12V DC vehicle port, two 100W DC barrel ports, and two standard USB-A ports.

Best of all, it features four USB-C ports, two of which are of the 100W Power Delivery variety. That gives this power station a level of future-proofing not found in most other models. 

Duo and Turbo Modes

One of the major features that emoose is touting with its line of power stations is the ability to link two units together to double battery capacity and output. The company calls this “Duo Mode,” which for the X1500 means 3,024Wh of electricity and up to 4,800W of power. We only received a single unit, so we were unable to test how well this works. But considering that other brands have offered similar features in the past, this should be reasonably straightforward in terms of performance and setup.

Duo Mode does give X1500 owners more flexibility and versatility when it comes to expanding their power needs. Having this functionality baked into the product allows customers to purchase a single unit now and add another when it is warranted. The power stations are even designed to stack nicely on top of one another, maintaining stability and making them easier to store.

The X1500 also has a Turbo Boost mode that supplies additional power to high-capacity appliances. Devices like space heaters or portable air conditioners often require more juice when initially starting up than during normal operation.

The power station can supply up to 3,000 W on a temporary basis to account for those demands. Built-in surge protection ensures that the unit won’t overload during those situations.

Fast Charging

The three most common options for charging a power station — 120V AC outlet, 12V DC vehicle port, and solar — are all available with the X1500. That said, emoose has equipped the device with quick-charging circuitry that replenishes the batteries quickly and efficiently.

During our testing, the X1500 went from a completely depleted battery to an 80% charge in about 52 minutes using a home wall outlet. That’s as quick as anything we’ve seen from the more established brands in the industry and is faster than the vast majority of other power stations.

Charging the power station may be fast and efficient. But it certainly isn’t a quiet affair. An internal fan runs at all times throughout the process, creating a noise somewhat akin to a jet engine at takeoff. The loud whirring continues until the battery is completely full. But then it would occasionally start up again while the device remained plugged into the wall outlet.

Considering how silent the X1500 is at all other times, it was somewhat jarring to hear it rev up so loudly. Thankfully, the X1500 wasn’t nearly as loud when charging via solar. Emoose says the power station can access up to 600 W of solar power when replenishing its batteries. We hooked up a 200W third-party solar panel during our testing and were impressed with how well it performed.

In direct sunlight, the device collected energy at a rapid pace, going from a 20% charge to 80% in about 4.5 hours. When taking into account cloud cover, shade, and the position of the sun, these results were actually quite good. That bodes well for using the unit as a solar generator in the field.

Touchscreen Interface and Wireless Control

All power stations come with an LCD screen these days, allowing users to monitor performance and current battery levels. In most cases, these displays are simple and functional but not especially noteworthy. This isn’t the case with the X1500, which has a vibrant and colorful screen, providing a solid amount of information at a glance.

But what really makes this LCD stand out is that it is a touchscreen, something that is surprisingly rare in the power station market. While not as fast and responsive as the touchscreen on your smartphone, users can interact with the device by swiping and tapping on the display. This makes adjusting settings and checking usage much easier. I’d like to see some other manufacturers adopt a similar feature. 

X1500 users will also be able to connect to the device from their smartphone via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. This feature also makes it easy to adjust settings and monitor the power station remotely.

Unfortunately, the emoose smart app wasn’t available during our testing phase. So, we don’t know how valuable those features are just yet. We’re told the app will launch when the device starts shipping to customers in May.

emoose Giga X1500 Portable Power Station: Conclusion

Built for anyone who needs portable power at the campsite, job site, or just the backyard, the emoose Giga X1500 offers a lot of features in a well-designed package. Its large battery can run mobile devices and most small appliances for days, with the option to easily expand that capacity as needed. A novel touchscreen interface, remote control via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and fast-charging capabilities round out this impressive new model.

The Giga X1500, and the smaller X1200, are available to preorder on Indiegogo now at 42% off their $1,599 and $1,299 MRSPs, respectively. Emoose says the power stations will begin shipping in May and will be available from the company’s website and Amazon.