Anker's betting $500 on proving its 35-hour battery claim live on YouTube

Summary

• Anker will livestream a real-world test of the SOLIX S2000's 35-hour fridge runtime claims.
• It packs 2,010Wh but leans on OptiSave efficiency to cut idle draw and extend real-world runtime.
• Launch price discounted to $679.99 (regular $1,199.99). The test will start at 5PM PST and could be the first live‑proven home backup.

Power stations are supposed to give you peace of mind during an outage, but there's one problem: most buyers have no way to know whether the runtime claims on the box actually hold up in the real world. With the release of its latest home backup, the SOLIX S2000, Anker SOLIX is looking to change the rules by proving itself live on the internet.

Testing its claims in the wild

You can tune in to see how the Anker SOLIX S2000 actually holds up

There are a lot of benefits to using a home battery backup. But if you've ever shopped for one, then you've probably noticed that most manufacturers promise impressive runtimes. The problem is that those figures are often based on controlled testing conditions that don't always reflect how people actually use backup power at home. With the Anker SOLIX S2000, the company claims that the backup can power a home refrigerator for up to 35 hours during a blackout. Instead of just blindly asking you to trust it, the company wants to prove its claims.

Now, I know what you're thinking. How can Anker SOLIX possibly prove these claims? Well, there is, obviously, going to be some skepticism around it, and the environment will still be controlled in a way. However, the company says it will host a livestream on YouTube, where it will continually test how the SOLIX S2000 holds up at keeping a home refrigerator running. So, rather than just saying here's the spec sheet, make of it what you will — or forcing you to wait for others to test it — the company wants to nix any potential concerns right out of the gate.

It's an interesting approach, and one that could ideally play out well for Anker. That 35-hour claim is pretty impressive in its own right, so if the company can prove it, then it will go a long way toward making the SOLIX S2000 stand out even more against other home backup systems out there.

A lot of power in a small package

But not as much power as you might expect

Now, with a 35-hour runtime, you might expect the SOLIX S2000 to pack a ton of juice into the battery. However, Anker SOLIX says that it only holds around 2,010Wh in the battery itself. The reason for this is the company wanted to focus on actually optimizing how the power backup runs, thus leaning on its overall efficiency instead of just broad charge space. Anker says that most blackout needs fall below 200W, so having anything larger isn't exactly necessary. Instead, optimizing to keep the battery running as long as possible should be the goal.

To make this work, the Anker SOLIX S2000 uses a special proprietary system called OptiSave Technology, which the company claims allows for a system-level approach to managing power consumption. Overall, Anker claims that OptiSave can reduce the idle consumption of a backups power consumption from 70 percent to as low as 40 percent. The goal here, obviously, is to prove that smaller battery backups can still be extremely useful, and that you don't have to go big on battery capacity to get the most out of your backup.

Whether the Anker SOLIX S2000 survives its livestream test remains to be seen. But, with the backup launching on Amazon today for a special discounted launch price of $679.99 (compared to its regular retail price of $1,199.99), and the test kicking off at 5PM PST, Anker seems focused on trying to win over as many potential customers early on as possible.

If it does surpass the test's goal, then the Anker SOLIX S2000 will become the first live-proven battery backup of its kind. Of course, if it doesn't pass the test for some reason, then even the company's bet on a $520 discount might not be enough to convince you to give it a try. In that case, you could always just build your own portable power station.