In my opinion, it’s a terrible design. The bottom of the case should be open so that you can swipe up. As it is, there’s a lip there and it makes it hard to do this. I wish Apple had thought of this before they released it.
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Apple Launches New Smart Battery Cases for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
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So my case just shipped and it will be here Friday. I ordered the back 11 Pro Max case. People are also forgetting this has the wireless charging built in as well you can still use Apple Pay through the case which no other battery case that I’m aware allows that. Last year and I’m sure this years case has passive antennas built into it so it wasn’t to block cell signal. IMO the price is perfect for the amount of features the case has. Heck the Mophie case is $99.
Something to consider with these cases over say cheaper alternatives is using them with 3rd party attachments. For example, many battery packs won’t have audio pass through if attaching an external audio device. They’re usually just meant for charging. So these Apple battery cases should integrate much better.
The other alternative would be to make it all uniformly thick, but that adds some bulk (volume), makes it harder to get on and off, and either puts a reflector around the camera flash, or actually gets into the wide-angle camera's periphery. To make it more "elegant" but less useful.
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The Apple ones also handle charging (case to phone and wall to case) better, because the iPhone is aware of the case. It can use the battery more intelligently. If I were to use a battery case, it would absolutely be Apple's version (regardless of humpback), but I still just use an external battery (Anker) and cable, when needed (I'd rather have the weight on my belt instead of in my hand).
What did you use to make that modification, a chainsaw? 😂Finally getting something that fits my iPhone 11 Pro Max properly, other than my modified Xs Max Smart battery case
Function over form though, I get it
Very much useful if you travel a lot, or sit at swim meets all day with nothing to do
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I used the old case for over a year and never had a problem with that.
Ever been snowboarding or in really cold weather with gloves on?
That's who.
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Takes space and would be another ingress point versus water resistance.
Besides, the volume buttons already are the phone's physical shutter buttons.
This button on the new case is dedicated and would work best for people with gloved hands in cold weather.
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Is it "completely" different? Both are batteries. Both are used to charge electronic devices. Both use lithium-based rechargeable batteries. The "battery case" charges an iPhone 11/11Pro/11ProMax. The power bank charges these devices, and other devices. One is designed to be on your person at all times and conforms to the iPhone's general shape. The other, generic compact shape and generally a travel companion.
I think the price comparison apt.
Given the excellent battery life without this battery case, it will be a low-volume item. Customized product with limited sales potential = relatively high price. But yeah, $129 is hardly cheap.
I like it, at least compared to the more traditional entire back slab designs. It's not like you can put another battery next to the camera modules. I would much rather keep the top part as it is rather than having an empty block to keep the whole back uniform thickness.
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The lip is there so the case can fit in and protect a lightning port and a lightning connector inside the case. The regular Apple cases are open lip because it doesn't need the ports.
I’ve had some issues with last years Apple battery case when using the Lightning EarPods. Audio would stop playing randomly (un- and replugging them would be needed to get things going again) and the remote controls of the EarPods wouldn’t always work.
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I’m wondering how waterproof the combo of phone plus case is, ie, how well protected that ‘internal’ Lightning plug connection, over which electricity has to travel, is?
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It’s wireless vs tethered, same as with head/earphones. Do you also compare the price of EarPods with those of AirPods?
Or if you prefer, compare the ease of use and looks of a battery case vs a powerbank velcroed to the back of a phone and connected via a short cable.
To me, it’s like the difference between the Smart Keyboard for the ipad and a generic third party Bluetooth keyboard (like the K380).
Yes, both let you type on the ipad, but the experience afforded by each is very different. The K380 offers a solid typing experience and that’s pretty much it. It’s a separate piece of equipment that you need to set up and keep away and keep charged and all. Conversely, the Smart Keyboard’s design is integrated with the ipad to make it feel like one cohesive device. It’s both keyboard and folio case, is easy to detach and attach, and there is nothing to switch on / off or keep charged.
I love my Smart Keyboard despite the price and can’t imagine using any other keyboard. This will be an issue when it’s time to upgrade my ipad, but it’s a cost I willingly swallow.
So it ultimately comes down to which experience you prefer. The battery case seems to offer a better integrated experience, but you also have to really value said experience to pay the premium over a power bank which will also work with any other mobile device.
Ultimately, it’s good to have options, no?
I need to say that the Battery Case is a big change for me in the daily mobile life. Just to charge the battery every 3-4 days is really amazing for me. I used it all the time with my XS and now I am happy to get it with my 11 Max Pro. Of course a smaller and better design is always welcome but I used it for my work week and over the weekend if I go out I used the Leather case.
That's exactly the POINT !
A wise solutions would be for the case to let the phone discharge until 80% and then let the phone at 80% while the case is discharging. When almost empty (around 40%) then the case could top again the phone.
I really hope the did something similar.
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you were lucky.
He is right about that. A battery should not stay at 100% for prolonged time.
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what a pointless comment.
That's exactly what they did this year.
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you are right, but since they have the technology, and the battery case is quite expensive, it could be done easily by the smart case itself.
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you are completely right. It could be done and it would avoid the internal battery to stay at 100% for many hours.
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This might result in a battery capacity that is 1% higher after one year but has the downside that when you take your phone out of the battery case, it's never going to be at 100%.
While the battery case adds some protection, its bulk and grippy nature make it more cumbersome to pull the phone out of my pocket and make it a bit harder to handle and operate the phone. I thus, not always but most of the time, do take my phone out of its battery case once the case's battery is completely depleted. I might also take the phone out of battery case when I know that I can get through the rest of my day with whatever charge the internal phone battery has. Though at this point you are deciding whether to run the case or the phone through more charge cycles.
While we are at it, why not add an option to settings to never charge the phone beyond 100% unless the user manually selects a '100% option'. That way your phone's battery will have a theoretical capacity that is 1% higher after one year (or maybe not as it would need to go through more charge cycles if that option leads to a higher plug-in cycle) but a practical capacity that is 20% lower throughout the year.
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a software switch isn't very "Apple style" so I don't think we will ever see one.
I really don't know if in 1 year the difference will be just 1%. Maybe you are wrong and it's 4/5%. Still not much, but over two year (typical life time before upgrade) is more like 10%, that is significant.