Power banks as mini‑platforms

Portable battery makers are adding screens, networking, and proprietary docks to what was once a commodity product, turning chargers into persistent household devices with software, update channels and vendor services. That conversion concentrates control with a few vendors, raises privacy/security risks, and makes simple, cheap alternatives harder to find. — If common across low‑cost consumer hardware, this platformization reduces consumer choice, creates new attack/surveillance surfaces, accelerates electronic waste, and invites regulatory scrutiny on interoperability and disclosure.