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Apple's iPhone 6s Battery Case: iOS Integration Is Nice, but Better Options Exist

Stop. Stand back and have another look at this.

If that didn't have an Apple logo on the back, I think we'd all be commenting on how incredibly ugly it is. How it isn't sympathetic to Apple's design language. How it looks like an extra battery vac-formed onto a cheap case.

So... how did this design actually make it to the production process?? Who in Apple thought this looked good?
 
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rdlink said:
"Best iPhone case you can get for the price" is a very subjective qualifier. And the Verge's review mistakenly says it isn't when they can't authoritatively back it up. Is it pretty. Not IMO. But others might think it's nice. Does it provide the most charge? Again, no. But what if you don't need "the most charge?"

Here's something that it provides that nobody else's battery case does: A Lightning plug. This is something that I have wanted in a battery case for years. So, if I were to buy a battery case I would determine that this case is the best one out there. For me.
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there are a couple I have seen that have the female lightning like this one make sure u shop around
 
Digital Skunk said:
It really is nice of Apple to try, but yes, there are better options out there. The title of the thread is the understatement of the century.



Such truth. Steve would've never made the case for a case like this . . . . . questionable.

I have a good feeling he would've at the very least, made the case to be one solid battery all around like the Mophie options. The wart in the back is a bit odd and unsettling.
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A battery case would not exist under SJ. They'd be forced to improve the product so a battery case isn't necessary.
 
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Digital Skunk said:
It really is nice of Apple to try, but yes, there are better options out there. The title of the thread is the understatement of the century.



Such truth. Steve would've never made the case for a case like this . . . . . questionable.

I have a good feeling he would've at the very least, made the case to be one solid battery all around like the Mophie options. The wart in the back is a bit odd and unsettling.
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I believe that the camera and flash were the main considerations in making the shape of this battery, not to mention add-on lenses. As for the bottom of it, that might be so that there's a nice place to use one's fingers to hold up the phone.
 
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That thing is absolutely hideous. I don't know what they were thinking. No one is going to buy that when there are better looking and cheaper battery cases. They should be ashamed of themselves.

I want to see if anyone is going to defend this case.
 
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allenvanhellen said:
I believe that the camera and flash were the main considerations in making the shape of this battery, not to mention add-on lenses. As for the bottom of it, that might be so that there's a nice place to use one's fingers to hold up the phone.
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Now that you mention it, those two are the only solid reasons I could think of for the design.

There was similar talk about the new dock and how it's just a protruding Lightning connector so you don't have to take off your case, as you had to in the past with other iPhone docks.
 
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Would it KILL Apple to offer extended (-ex) battery versions of its phones? I would pay ex-tra for a 3mm thicker version of the 6S (6Sex) with a 3 day battery life and wireless charging. They can still offer an extremely thin version so they can say they have the thinnest and sexiest phone, but I know many customers would chose a slightly thicker phone if it had significantly better battery life. To be able to get through a weekend in the wild without a dead phone would be a huge plus. Apple has been far too worried that any range of choices will completely fuggle up their customers. Come on, we're not that stupid.
 
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So if we get no headphone jack due to a thinner iphone and cases that make iphones really thick to make up for thin iphone performance we'll end up with a thick iphone with no headphone jack. Someone does not have priorities straight here or just can't lose.
 
jony-ive-10-20-09.jpg "As you can see...my long-term goal was to make sure everyone gets a good amount of battery life by making each generation of iphones smaller and smaller and have them buy accessories. Regardless of how anyone sees it...people will come to terms and accept this abusive design. It's incredible how we shaped the battery pack to make it look like iphone had a beer belly. With our lack of team effort a,poor QA staffs, our lack of motivations but greed, and my upcoming retirement, I will say this will change everything. People will buy whatever we give them...like a doggy biscuit. And you know what? They will take one for the team. They will keep getting abused by our BDSM lifestyle." - Jonathan Ive, Poorly skilled designer.
 
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Vicrooloo said:
At first glance I laughed. But after reading the review the design really grew on me. The corners and the smooth surface of the case matches exactly with the phone. One of the strongest reasons why I'm using an iPhone now is how sleek the body of the phones are and how rounded the corners are to the touch.

This case looks bad to the eye but if you keep looking you'll simply want to touch it and that's amazing. Cases are supposed to protect and feel nice to the touch.

The case respects all the time spent on designing the phone while providing more function. Because we all have commented on how Otterboxes or other cases throws off the size and shape of the phone it surrounds.
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You are right. I did laugh a bit when I saw it, but after analyzing it from different reviews and the physical specs, I conclude nothing is as simple as it seems in Apple world. Lots of thoughts and purposes have been put into designing this. Subtle. I am glad someone seeing the same thing. Looks like this is going to be another product of "I hate it so much until I start using it".
 
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I'm generally not that picky when it comes to design, but honestly this is kinda ugly.

I am happy that Apple is starting to realize that iPhone users want better battery life though. Perhaps the 7 will come with a bigger battery, or at least a more "elegant" form of external battery.
 
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who cares - have had all iphones beginning with the original - used Android, switched to the samsung s6 edge and now couldn't resist to buy the Microsoft Lumia 950xl
beside smaller bezels, larger screen, pc-like usability ... I can exchange the batterie (when needed), no need for any kind of batterie-case
from timt to time I update the iOS Apps in iTunes -- nostalgia -- but I don't see any real reason to come back
 
My guess is the only good thing coming from this will be Mophie, et al., getting pressure to support lightning cable charging of their battery.

Separately, this product doesn't feel like Apple of old. It feels like a spreadsheet market analysis of accessories that Apple is jumping on to capture more revenue. Feels very MBA, not the Apple of old which was highly focused and understood it's good for an ecosystem to make money.

There didn't NEED to be an Apple external battery case—playing on the company's strengths to bring something unique to market—and the fact that it is sub-par and over-priced for the market really proves this point.
 
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Reminds me of the Dell Axim Battery Extension Pack: http://tuxtops.com/node/738

Apart from this: Why should I pay 100$ for this crap to get more battery and a bigger phone, if I could get this by spending 100$ more on the PLUS version of the iPhone?

Also, Apple could have added wireless charging while they're at it.
 
Mildredop said:
SOOOO true. This just seems like a massive slap in the face of all Apple lovers.
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Apple making a thicker device for more battery is not what Apple has done with the iPhone. Steve Jobs certainly didn't do it.

Trius said:
A battery case would not exist under SJ. They'd be forced to improve the product so a battery case isn't necessary.
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No, you'd just be told you should charge it. Battery life is better now on the iPhone 6/s (rated, at least) than any phone before it. Battery cases used to be something they didn't make, sure, but not because the iPhone had better battery life.
 
Hey look everyone! Your long sought after small iPhone is secretly hidden under the silicone! You see Apple had so many unwanted 4 and 4S iPhones that they secretly slid one of those guys under the silicone and spliced in the battery and lightening port and voila battery case!
 
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