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Apple Launches New Smart Battery Cases for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max

FlyingDutch said:
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.
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My iPhone battery went down by 14% over two years with about 500 dis/charge cycles. Do you really think if it hadn't sat at 100% for maybe six hours every night (and in my usage also a couple of hours during the day as I often leave it plugged in while using Bluetooth headphones), it would have gone down only by 4%?

It has been known for a long time that if you don't use a rechargeable battery at all for a while, it's best to store it at maybe 70 to 80% instead of 100%. But before iOS 13 nobody had reported that not fully charging your battery makes a significant impact on battery life. If that 80% rule really helped significantly, wouldn't we have heard about it before? Why are there zero reports from actual experts and actual tests that this 80% approach really helps in a substantial way? If the effect were really as large as you suggest why are no other reports about it (besides Apple's feature in iOS 13)?
 
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manu chao said:
My iPhone battery went down by 14% over two years with about 500 dis/charge cycles. Do you really think if it hadn't sat at 100% for maybe six hours every night (and in my usage also a couple of hours during the day as I often leave it plugged in while using Bluetooth headphones), it would have gone down only by 4%?

It has been known for a long time that if you don't use a rechargeable battery at all for a while, it's best to store it at maybe 70 to 80% instead of 100%. But before iOS 13 nobody had reported that not fully charging your battery makes a significant impact on battery life. If that 80% rule really helped significantly, wouldn't we have heard about it before? Why are there zero reports from actual experts and actual tests that this 80% approach really helps in a substantial way? If the effect were really as large as you suggest why are no other reports about it (besides Apple's feature in iOS 13)?
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I really don't know the maths, but I do know the chemistry behind that.
So I can't tell you for sure HOW MUCH it could have improved your battery life, but for sure it could have improved it.
Now Apple has the opportunity to fine tune the charging procedure. It would be wonderful.
 
Steve686 said:
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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Related, I still wish the iPhone had a third button between the volume up/down buttons, operating precisely like the middle button on Apple earphone remotes (single press play/pause, double press skip forward, triple press skip back, hold for Siri).
 
One post said that Apple Pay works with it but no other mention, and it isn’t mentioned on the product page. Is this. Correct? I would think that it is being Apple.
 
MichaelMidnight said:
Weird. All of the LA Apple Stores were to have them in-store for pick-up on Friday. Even saw some could be delivered. Now all the stores are set to Monday. Weird.
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South Florida stores were set for Monday stock and deliveries, but changed to Tuesday probably half a day after launch.

Hard to tell if it’s actual high demand, low supply, or just logistics with where the cases are coming from the way each coast has adjusted availability.

Not too often we see this difference related to distance.
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manu chao said:
My iPhone battery went down by 14% over two years with about 500 dis/charge cycles. Do you really think if it hadn't sat at 100% for maybe six hours every night (and in my usage also a couple of hours during the day as I often leave it plugged in while using Bluetooth headphones), it would have gone down only by 4%?

It has been known for a long time that if you don't use a rechargeable battery at all for a while, it's best to store it at maybe 70 to 80% instead of 100%. But before iOS 13 nobody had reported that not fully charging your battery makes a significant impact on battery life. If that 80% rule really helped significantly, wouldn't we have heard about it before? Why are there zero reports from actual experts and actual tests that this 80% approach really helps in a substantial way? If the effect were really as large as you suggest why are no other reports about it (besides Apple's feature in iOS 13)?
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Here is a simple reply directly from the phone’s settings regarding battery health.


EEE2C776-F927-407F-82E8-CDBA0E453571.jpeg
 
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Relentless Power said:
They did. Plus, that’s not the answer necessarily to make the ‘battery bigger’, the efficiency of the A13 processor also helps contribute to the longevity of the battery life. There’s far more other contributors here than just a ‘thicker/bigger’ battery.
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You missed the point. Yes they made it slightly bigger, however if they made the phone a bit thicker they’d be able to fit an even bigger battery. Therefore helping with battery life without the need for a case with a battery pack. Yes, the improved processor helped with this latest release.

My point was a slightly thicker phone would help create an even bigger battery and hopefully reduce the need for a battery pack case.
 
krfr said:
You missed the point. Yes they made it slightly bigger, however if they made the phone a bit thicker they’d be able to fit an even bigger battery. Therefore helping with battery life without the need for a case with a battery pack. Yes, the improved processor helped with this latest release.

My point was a slightly thicker phone would help create an even bigger battery and hopefully reduce the need for a battery pack case.
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I didn’t miss anything. But since you’re on a tangent bought a thicker phone, let me reiterate for you, It’s not about a ‘thicker battery/phone’ to reduce the need for a battery pack. A battery pack is nothing more than an accessory for those who find the actual use for it, your assumption was that it needs to be thicker to reduce the need for a battery pack, nobody ‘needs’ a battery pack, it’s entirely optional. I’m also willing to wager a lot of consumers have no idea that the battery pack even exists, when the battery life on the iPhone is more than sufficient probably for the majority of consumers.

A battery pack just offers those are heavy users, but how many consumers are willing to spend this amount of money for a battery pack given we all have access to chargers throughout our day? This accessory is targeted for a very small demographic.
 
krfr said:
You missed the point. Yes they made it slightly bigger, however if they made the phone a bit thicker they’d be able to fit an even bigger battery. Therefore helping with battery life without the need for a case with a battery pack. Yes, the improved processor helped with this latest release.

My point was a slightly thicker phone would help create an even bigger battery and hopefully reduce the need for a battery pack case.
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Where does one draw the line though? A larger battery also means a thicker and heavier iPhone, which can be a drawback to users who don’t need that much battery life to start with.

I think it makes sense to design a product to meet the majority (say 80%) of users, then use accessories to handle the remainder. That’s likely where Apple is going here. The pro max is probably more than enough juice for the majority of users. The battery case is there for the edge user who needs even more battery life and appreciates an integrated solution over an external power bank.
 
MichaelMidnight said:
Weird. All of the LA Apple Stores were to have them in-store for pick-up on Friday. Even saw some could be delivered. Now all the stores are set to Monday. Weird.
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It's not weird. They had X number of them inbound, listed as available to pick-up. Then X number of people (possibly more tried) went to Apple's site and purchased them for pickup - so now they're inbound-but-spoken-for. Next shipment arrives Monday, so now they're listing as available for Monday pick-up. If X or more people want those, then it would behoove you to buy one online now, for Monday pick-up.

I frequently use the "available to pick-up" test to check whether something is in stock, before driving to the Apple store. But it's a test that can fail in times of high demand.
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Azathoth123 said:
One post said that Apple Pay works with it but no other mention, and it isn’t mentioned on the product page. Is this. Correct? I would think that it is being Apple.
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I have no proof either way, but it certainly seems like the NFC antenna is mounted in the top part of the phone (waving that part over an NFC terminal generally works), and Apple went out of their way to make there be nothing more than "regular" case on the upper bit of the back of the phone, when using their battery case (and NFC definitely works through a normal Apple silicone or leather case), so it certainly ought to work.

This may be one of the other reasons behind Apple's "humpback" design for the case - nothing excessive between the NFC antenna and the rest of the world.
 
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I received three of these today. I must say I’m not a fan of the new camera button. It’s in a very awkward location to press as it’s almost on the rear of the phone. It’s easier to use the volume button to take the photo after launching the camera, as this is on the actual edge of the phone as opposed to the underside. The case also looked cleaner without the camera button. Oh well, at least it’s finally here.

As for everyone arguing about whether or not extra battery life is needed, I don’t use my case to get longer battery life per se. I keep one charging on each dock around the house and can slap them on my phone if the battery ever dies, that way I don’t have to be stuck near a charger while trying to use my phone. Especially handy to have them charged and ready if I’m running out the door with a near dead battery, or if I doze off using my phone and forget to charge overnight.
 
Maaz said:
My
Camera button doesn’t do anything at all.
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If the screen is looked and not opened by FaceID, press and hold the button and it will launch the camera (slight delay is what I noticed with a locked screen) vs. unlocked, Of course you can always try rebooting the phone with the case on and try it again.
 
CarlJ said:
It's not weird. They had X number of them inbound, listed as available to pick-up. Then X number of people (possibly more tried) went to Apple's site and purchased them for pickup - so now they're inbound-but-spoken-for. Next shipment arrives Monday, so now they're listing as available for Monday pick-up. If X or more people want those, then it would behoove you to buy one online now, for Monday pick-up.

I frequently use the "available to pick-up" test to check whether something is in stock, before driving to the Apple store. But it's a test that can fail in times of high demand.
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I have no proof either way, but it certainly seems like the NFC antenna is mounted in the top part of the phone (waving that part over an NFC terminal generally works), and Apple went out of their way to make there be nothing more than "regular" case on the upper bit of the back of the phone, when using their battery case (and NFC definitely works through a normal Apple silicone or leather case), so it certainly ought to work.

This may be one of the other reasons behind Apple's "humpback" design for the case - nothing excessive between the NFC antenna and the rest of the world.
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so what you're saying is that there's a chance there's some in-store for those that didn't pick it up :p
 
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Apple Store happened to have the 11 Pro Max battery cases in stock today so I got one. I wonder how that camera button works?
 
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