Smartphone battery pack sales have doubled thanks to Pokémon Go

There’s no doubt about it. Pokémon Go has for many people brought an end to their sofa-based slackness, the addictive augmented reality game prompting mobile gamers to leave their home and explore the outside world, albeit through the window of a smartphone.

And it seems that its creator, Niantic, isn’t the only company delighted at the game’s astonishing success. Makers of smartphone battery packs, too, are evidently making a killing, with U.S. sales of the device mushrooming as millions of Pokémon Go players dash around the great outdoors catching digital monsters as they go.

Recently published data from market research firm NPD suggests sales of the packs reached 1.2 million units for the two-week period starting July 10, just over double that of the same period a year earlier.

NPD noted that in the six weeks leading up to Pokémon Go’s launch, sales of the packs were slowing and stood at just 4 percent above last year’s figure. And then along came Pokémon Go.

The game has a habit of draining a handset’s juice as it utilizes potentially demanding features such as GPS, motion sensors, and augmented reality. Plus if you’re out for hours on end trying to catch ’em all, of course your battery’s going to burn out.

Pokémon Go includes a power-saving mode that turns off your handset’s display when it’s in your pocket, a feature that still ensures you receive an alert when a Pokémon is close by. However, for many players, any savings it offers clearly aren’t enough for a marathon Pokémon Go session.

If you’re a Pokémon Go player with a battery problem, or simply an avid smartphone user fed up with its lousy battery, then be sure to check out DT’s pick of some of the best chargers on the market today.