When I saw this new release by Apple yesterday I truly couldn’t believe it.
They’ve only gone and made their own battery case for the iPhone 6 and 6s!
What does this tell us about their own view of the battery on their flagship phone?
That they know it won’t last long enough?
Or am I being too harsh?
Then again, they did kinda sneak this out which isn’t the way that Apple does product launches!
Apple Smart Battery Case
Before we delve more into why Apple has decided to release its own battery case, let’s have a brief look at it.
The Smart Battery Case, as Apple are calling their new product, is a soft shelled plastic case for an iPhone 6 or 6S that houses an additional battery to back up the battery in your iPhone.
The additional power reserve, when fully charged and combined with the capacity of your iPhone battery, will extend the power at your disposal to give you up to 25 hours talk time, and up to 18 hours of internet activity.
So, the extra power reserve is not to be sniffed at.
And, because this is an Apple add-on for Apple Devices, they do get to do something that no third party battery pack can do. Since they can access the iOS on your iPhone, they are able to integrate this battery case into the settings that you can see on your device.
That means that you get a nifty little icon and read out for the battery power in both your iPhone and the case on your Lock Screen and in a new widget that displays in Notification Center.
No other battery pack can do that as no other manufacturer has access to iOS. They may make an app that is similar to the widget but no way is Apple letting anyone except Apple put this info right on the Lock Screen!
The other feature that most other battery cases don’t offer is a fully featured lightning port in the case. This is a simple but useful advantage for Apple since it means that you don’t need another cable. Many competitors use a microUSB port for charging the case and your iPhone via the case so you need another cable and you have to remember it. At least Apple have kept this simple for you.
It’s also been reported that the methods used to construct this case will not decrease the antenna performance of your iPhone 6 or 6S.
So, if you’re in the market for a battery case, this all seems good news.
Why Is Everyone So Down On It?
Then why has there been such a storm of complaints since this new product surfaced yesterday?
In part it comes down to the fact that so many of us are fed up with poor battery performance from our iPhone (more on that in a minute but you know we have the answer in our guide here).
But, another factor seems to be that many people see it as a signal that Apple is losing its touch.
If they chose to make the iPhone 6 with a smaller battery (which they have admitted they did to keep it so slim), then was that the right decision? If they need to make a battery pack to enable their flagship to keep pace with our busy lives, then why didn’t they just make a slightly fatter iPhone in the first place?
Then there’s the complaints about the way this case looks.
What’s with that ‘hump’?
The case has a very pronounced raised section through two-thirds of its length that has been unflatteringly described as a ‘hump’.
Tim Cook had to make a statement defending the look and claiming it is a design feature.
To be fair to him, he adds an explanation that having the battery area itself not take up the whole length of your iPhone allows the case to be flexible and makes it easy to get on and off your iPhone.
That’s fine but it hasn’t stopped many Apple fans branding it ‘hideous’!
And many diehard Apple fans just get riled up when they see the purity of Apple design messed up – and they see this as one of those times.
Different to Other Battery Cases?
And, what about that price?
We’ve seen above how there are definite design advantages in this own brand Apple battery case and that it’s well made, but at $99 it’s not cheap.
In our best selling battery guide (get yours at the lowest ever $5 price here), we look at ALL the leading battery cases for iPhones. And, some of them are very good.
But, all of them are cheaper than this one from Apple! Some are excellent and even less than half this price.
Do you really want to spend $99 just to have the odd looking Apple battery case?
The Real Battery Issue!
And then we return to the big issue.
Why is your iPhone battery notorious for running out in less than a day?
And why has that not been improved in the latest iPhone 6S?
And what should you really be doing to get the most out of your iPhone battery?
Why does Apple need to offer a battery case to fix the issue?
Well, we have all the answers, and as this such a hot potato right now, we’ll let you pick up our best-selling and 5 star reviewed ‘Double Your iPhone Battery’ Guide for $5, so that you can get all the info you need.
The fix to your iPhone battery woes is to learn about how your iPhone works and uses up battery power and to learn how you can set up your iPhone and your use of it to get the very most out of it every day.
And, yes, we do say that buying a battery case can be a good idea. But, if you pick up the guide for $5, and buy a case we recommend, you’ll still be as much as $55 better off than if you were to buy this latest Apple foible!
