iPhone XS-Like Smart Battery Case Icon Spotted in Action on iOS 12.1.2

[Tozovac]

There are tons of battery products from tons of companies at tons of price points.

And even I, who own 2 different exteranl batteries, only use them on 2 specific trips per year.

If Apple offered a thicker phone even I wouldn't choose to buy it. And I own 2 batteries!

The market for such a phone would surely be abysmal.

Really? Even .5mm thicker for 50% more battery life? (as a hypothetical question)

My point is more: how thick is too thick. Who wouldn't consider more battery life, if the thickness increase is barely noticeable.

Sure, an iPhone double its current thickness might be too thick only by today's standards (even though an iPhone in 2005 2x as thick as today's iPhone 8 would have been hailed as a freaking miracle). But one with double today's battery life but say, 10% or 20% thicker...that can't not sound compelling to at least consider.

How thick would something have to get before you say no way (focusing on the form first and only), regardless of battery life (function) improvement.


Being so closed-minded and rigid about prioritizing form while largely hamstringing functional advantages as a result is AAPL's biggest downfall since Tim & co unfortunately increased Jony Ive's power.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

So people complain when they release non-modular non-upgradable computers, but when they release a module that lets you upgrade your phone, people complain?

Upgrade happens IN the Computer, not on top, haha
Nice try!

 

[killr_b]

How can it have no chin? Can someone explain this to me? Isn't the double lightning connector stack taller than zero?

There are already cases for the Xs with no chin.

Is it possible because the battery case is using the inductive charging instead of going through the lightning port?

 

[Ebok]

Okay...

Lemme get this straight.

Apple makes the iPhones super thin, removing battery capacity...

...and then wants you to buy a case to get your battery capacity back.

?

Yup.

Bring back the thickness of the 4 and I’ll gladly take double battery life.

Oh and it won’t feel like holding a sheet of glass.

 

[tl01]

Just release the darn case please!!! I need it for Disneyland this coming week. Lol!
[doublepost=1546549116][/doublepost]

Don't forget, it also adds the extra bulk back to the phone.
[doublepost=1546535152][/doublepost]Honestly, Who's using their phone so much that a full charge isn't lasting the day? Some people need to take a look at their lives.

I do! When I go to Disneyland! You need the use the Disneyland app for await times, you take photos, you use your phone to order and pick up food throughout the park. I bring a battery back up buy would prefer to have a battery case! Also, when you travel and are sightseeing on foot and are using your phone for navigation all day....

 

[martyjmclean]

The real focus here is, why is Thomas using someone else’s Watch?

 

[Enclavean]

How can it have no chin? Can someone explain this to me? Isn't the double lightning connector stack taller than zero?

3rd parties have accomplished this ages ago. There are also cases that adds wireless charging with no chin whatsoever, i had one for my old 6. If Apple manages to make a slim case with wireless charging, no chin and iOS integration its an instant buy for me.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/NEW...Back-Clip-Charger-for-iphone/32869919048.html

 

[jonblatho]

Okay...

Lemme get this straight.

Apple makes the iPhones super thin, removing battery capacity...

...and then wants you to buy a case to get your battery capacity back.

?

No iPhone has ever both gotten thinner and had a smaller battery than the comparable previous-year model.

 

[callea]

Okay...

Lemme get this straight.

Apple makes the iPhones super thin, removing battery capacity...

...and then wants you to buy a case to get your battery capacity back.

?

Last iPhones have already great battery life.
Smartbattery case would just give even more.

 

[xxray]

Okay...

Lemme get this straight.

Apple makes the iPhones super thin, removing battery capacity...

...and then wants you to buy a case to get your battery capacity back.

?

Except Apple has been making phones thicker and each iPhone has had the same or longer battery life with each iteration since the iPhone 6. Stop spewing BS out of your arse.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Pro-tip: The 7 case fits the 6/6s. The 7 has a bigger battery than the old case. Only difference is the bigger camera cutout which doesn’t alter camera performance. (Also, If you later get a 7, you are set!)

 

[MrUNIMOG]

Okay...

Lemme get this straight.

Apple makes the iPhones super thin, removing battery capacity...

...and then wants you to buy a case to get your battery capacity back.

?

No. Just no.

No iPhone has ever both gotten thinner and had a smaller battery than the comparable previous-year model.

This!

Every single time iPhone has got thinner, the battery in fact got bigger over the previous model. Namely, that has been the case with iPhone 4, 5 and 6.

Conversely, whenever battery capacity was actually reduced, the phones got thicker at the same time. That happened with iPhone 3G, 6s and 8 (Only exception is the XS, which is just as thick as the X and has slightly less capacity).
[doublepost=1546600105][/doublepost]

I'm assuming that the new iPhone XS case will not have a female Lightning port to charge the case/phone through, but rather will charge via a wireless standard. This makes the only thing you need to accomodate within the cross section of the case wall thickness the cable ribbon for the male Lightning connector. No need to have extra depth for the female connector as well. At a minimum it will be Qi compatible, and hopefully there would be some added benefit when using it with an eventual AirPower device. Since there have been whispers in the last week that AirPower is still a go, they may release this case, the AirPods wireless charging case, and the AirPower pad at one time.
[doublepost=1546544660][/doublepost]

My guess is that the lack of a chin on the case indicates that the battery case will ONLY charge via wireless. Conceptually you would charge the case and phone together overnight so they're both full at the start of the day, and the extra case capacity makes the eliminates the need for a quick wired charge.

Only issue is that no female Lightning port would block even Lightning EarPods and the Lightning to headphone jack adapted, forcing purely wireless audio usage when the case is on. But, the goal may be to make this case, the wireless AirPod case and the AirPower mat a wireless charging ecosystem with added benefits inherent to the AirPower standard over regular Qi.

I could imagine the case having its Lightning port on the "hump" which now seems to extend all the way to the bottom, behind the phones lightning connector. We'll see.

 

[bambooshots]

Okay...

Lemme get this straight.

Apple makes the iPhones super thin, removing battery capacity...

...and then wants you to buy a case to get your battery capacity back.

?

That’s a very myopic way of looking at the situation.

Apple made the battery life decent and the device smaller, and which according to people here on MR, is what people want. Smaller phones.

And then there’s a case with embedded battery for the situations or the heavy users that spend a lot of time away from an electrical outlet.

Don’t confuse your cynicism with intelligence.

 

[akidokraja]

It's pretty sad you've been trained to believe a battery pack is an "upgrade."

Other phones support Nano Memory or MicroSD, external storage, displays, and keyboards.

Call it whatever you want but it’s a nice way of extending the battery life when traveling.

iOS does support external displays and keyboards. It also supports external storage (although somewhat limited).

 

[kironin]

You are nothing more than a single data point out of the millions. Just because you don’t does not mean it is not affecting anyone else.
I will give you a counter data point by stating that I work in a shielded room and the battery drains inside due to lack of network and the phone constantly tries to search for it.

If you work in a shielded room, why would not put your phone in Airplane mode so you stop your phone from trying to find a network that is not there ?

And if you have need to use bluetooth or wifi for device or network inside that shielded room, you can always turn on bluetooth or wifi in Airplane mode.

There is absolutely no need for you to be draining your battery because you are working in a shielded room. You don't need more battery capacity to solve your problem, just a simple change in what you are doing.

 

[B4U]

If you work in a shielded room, why would not put your phone in Airplane mode so you stop your phone from trying to find a network that is not there ?

And if you have need to use bluetooth or wifi for device or network inside that shielded room, you can always turn on bluetooth or wifi in Airplane mode.

There is absolutely no need for you to be draining your battery because you are working in a shielded room. You don't need more battery capacity to solve your problem, just a simple change in what you are doing.

Fact, I do not stay inside said shield room all bloody day.
Adding that extra step could potentially make it life threatening issue (for example, forgot to turn off airplane mode and then drive back home but gets into accident).

 

[Mac 128]

I'm assuming that the new iPhone XS case will not have a female Lightning port to charge the case/phone through, but rather will charge via a wireless standard. This makes the only thing you need to accomodate within the cross section of the case wall thickness the cable ribbon for the male Lightning connector. No need to have extra depth for the female connector as well. At a minimum it will be Qi compatible, and hopefully there would be some added benefit when using it with an eventual AirPower device. Since there have been whispers in the last week that AirPower is still a go, they may release this case, the AirPods wireless charging case, and the AirPower pad at one time.
[doublepost=1546544660][/doublepost]

My guess is that the lack of a chin on the case indicates that the battery case will ONLY charge via wireless. Conceptually you would charge the case and phone together overnight so they're both full at the start of the day, and the extra case capacity makes the eliminates the need for a quick wired charge.

Only issue is that no female Lightning port would block even Lightning EarPods and the Lightning to headphone jack adapted, forcing purely wireless audio usage when the case is on. But, the goal may be to make this case, the wireless AirPod case and the AirPower mat a wireless charging ecosystem with added benefits inherent to the AirPower standard over regular Qi.

It’s unlikely that Apple would offer a battery case that’s wireless charging only at this point.

That said, I do expect Apple to eventually get rid of the Lightning port, and the battery pack may be a way to introduce the concept. There will still need to be an alternative wired way to connect the phone. I’m thinking the SmartConnector, with a new adapter. But it’s hard to imagine introducing something the phone itself doesn’t support. But I doubt this battery pack waits until the next phone is released to introduce this technology. So I would expect a different placement of the Lightning port, further back on the battery pack itself.

At some point though, the SmartConnector, or something like it, solves all these problems.
[doublepost=1546800633][/doublepost]

3rd parties have accomplished this ages ago. There are also cases that adds wireless charging with no chin whatsoever, i had one for my old 6. If Apple manages to make a slim case with wireless charging, no chin and iOS integration its an instant buy for me.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/NEW...Back-Clip-Charger-for-iphone/32869919048.html

It’s interesting that putting the Lightning port on the back hump, is exactly the solution here. It’s also worth noting that this battery pack does not support Lightning audio, and likely it doesn’t support data pass through.

I could imagine the case having its Lightning port on the "hump" which now seems to extend all the way to the bottom, behind the phones lightning connector. We'll see.

It’s also worth noting that if Apple goes this direction, they could just as easily add a headphone jack to the pack, and if not Apple, a third party.

 

[MrUNIMOG]

It’s unlikely that Apple would offer a battery case that’s wireless charging only at this point.

That said, I do expect Apple to eventually get rid of the Lightning port, and the battery pack may be a way to introduce the concept. There will still need to be an alternative wired way to connect the phone. I’m thinking the SmartConnector, with a new adapter. But it’s hard to imagine introducing something the phone itself doesn’t support. But I doubt this battery pack waits until the next phone is released to introduce this technology. So I would expect a different placement of the Lightning port, further back on the battery pack itself.

At some point though, the SmartConnector, or something like it, solves all these problems.
[doublepost=1546800633][/doublepost]

It’s interesting that putting the Lightning port on the back hump, is exactly the solution here. It’s also worth noting that this battery pack does not support Lightning audio, and likely it doesn’t support data pass through.

It’s also worth noting that if Apple goes this direction, they could just as easily add a headphone jack to the pack, and if not Apple, a third party.

If that leaked picture on the right is legit, Lightning Port on the back/"hump" (behind the phone) seems confirmed.

 

[I7guy]

...Being so closed-minded and rigid about prioritizing form while largely hamstringing functional advantages as a result is AAPL's biggest downfall since Tim & co unfortunately increased Jony Ive's power.

What downfall is that being discussed?

 

[k0bayashi]

Okay...

Lemme get this straight.

Apple makes the iPhones super thin, removing battery capacity...

...and then wants you to buy a case to get your battery capacity back.

?

That's their plan.