Apple introduces a new battery case for their new iPhones.

[XR6]

Apple have introduced a new phone case for the iPhone XR/XS/XS Max.

This seems to be Apple's solution to the battery problems they had last year, in which they replaced 11 million batteries with the $29 replacement plan.

 

The features

The cases are compatible with Qi-certified wireless chargers, and with that can charge both the phone and the battery at the same time.

The case is made out of silicone, and still features the battery hump.

It comes in two colours: black and white.

Apple have yet to reveal how much battery power the case can hold, but if I had to guess I would say anywhere from 3500 to 4200 mAh.

 

The price

If you want this case (and you probably don't) then you'll have to shell out for it, since it's $129/£129. 

It's a ridiculous price but hey, that's Apple for you.

 

My opinion

I think this is a useless product. It's ugly and it costs too much. It's a temporary remedy. It's like putting a bandaid on the problem. It's not a permanent fix whatsoever.

Apple should've just made the phone a little bit thicker and put a bigger battery in there.

If you're looking for a battery case, don't buy this. Buy a mophie juicepack. It's cheaper and looks better. While yes it makes your phone thicker, I would rather a thicker phone than an uglier phone.

Conclusion

Another useless product that costs too much.

 

This is my first tech news thread so take everything I say with a pinch of salt.

[KnoT]

Create a problem, sell a solution for that problem - Apple

[schwellmo92]

Is this really news worthy? Those cases have existed for years for prior iPhones, who cares if there’s a new revision for a new iPhone.

[Ashleyyyy]

if the answer was always "just make it a bit thicker" at the end of the day you'd have a phone the size of a brick. 

 

i've never had an issue with my iPhone 7's battery, unless i forget to charge it, but that's my fault for being an idiot, not apple's. if you are enough of a power user that you need more battery there are options for that. this is one of them. even if i think it looks ugly someone else might have a different opinion than that. 

 

the point here is if you don't like it don't buy it. simple. 

[XR6]

2 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

Is this really news worthy? Those cases have existed for years for prior iPhones, who cares if there’s a new revision for a new iPhone.

Different people have different definitions of what's news worthy. Although saying that, I have to agree with you, nobody really cares. I just wrote this because I was bored and nobody else had covered it yet. 

[schwellmo92]

3 minutes ago, 1kv said:

Different people have different definitions of what's news worthy. Although saying that, I have to agree with you, nobody really cares. I just wrote this because I was bored and nobody else had covered it yet. 

I wonder why nobody had written a news story about an iPhone case

[schwellmo92]

Lmfao nevermind, apparently a bunch of actual news outlets thought this was newsworthy.

[XR6]

25 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

if the answer was always "just make it a bit thicker" at the end of the day you'd have a phone the size of a brick. 

I don't think you've quite got my point. I'm not saying we need to have enormous batteries that last a week, I'm saying for such a high price tag the battery could be better.

Take the Huawei P20 Pro for example. The P20 Pro has a 4,000mAh battery and costs £599. The XS Max on the other hand has a 3,174 mAh battery and costs £1099 for the cheapest model. The XS Max is 7.7mm thick and the P20 Pro is 7.8mm thick. In a perfect world it would be able to match the P20 Pro, but I'm saying since the price tag is so high and it's about as thick as the P20 Pro, surely it would've been possible to pack even a bit more battery power into it.

 

Quote

i've never had an issue with my iPhone 7's battery, unless i forget to charge it, but that's my fault for being an idiot, not apple's. if you are enough of a power user that you need more battery there are options for that. this is one of them. even if i think it looks ugly someone else might have a different opinion than that. 

 

 the point here is if you don't like it don't buy it. simple.

I have to agree with you there, everybody has different opinions. I'm not trying to force my opinion on everyone.

[Blademaster91]

31 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

if the answer was always "just make it a bit thicker" at the end of the day you'd have a phone the size of a brick.

The phone wouldn't even be that much larger since a 4,000mah battery doesn't take up much room, but this case as mentioned does seem like a solution to a problem Apple created in the first place especially with their newer phones, and many other manufacturers use higher capacity batteries.

[XR6]

16 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

Lmfao nevermind, apparently a bunch of actual news outlets thought this was newsworthy.

Yeah, I got most of the information from Ars Technica. 

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/01/apple-releases-official-battery-cases-for-iphone-xs-xs-max-and-xr/

 

[schwellmo92]

1 hour ago, Blademaster91 said:

The phone wouldn't even be that much larger since a 4,000mah battery doesn't take up much room, but this case as mentioned does seem like a solution to a problem Apple created in the first place especially with their newer phones, and many other manufacturers use higher capacity batteries.

What problem that Apple created?

[Technous285]

10 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

What problem that Apple created?

Making the phones too damned thin to hold a battery of any moderately decent capacity that'll last more than 12 hours under moderate-to-high use, for the fashion aspect  of making shit thinner and thinner for ego-stroking.

 

And I'm saying that as someone with a Huawei Y625 as my day-to-day call/text phone and an iPhone 6 for setting up my Oculus Go & doing 4G tethering to my PC when streaming (8032/384 kbps ADSL main net connection isn't exactly conducive to streaming gameplay).

[captain_to_fire]

Two words: It's fugly

[Fnige]

I actually dont mind it, I personally use a thiccc phone and it has never bothered me... but then, who else uses both hands for their phone

[kokakolia]

1 hour ago, Blademaster91 said:

The phone wouldn't even be that much larger since a 4,000mah battery doesn't take up much room, but this case as mentioned does seem like a solution to a problem Apple created in the first place especially with their newer phones, and many other manufacturers use higher capacity batteries.

I just can’t agree with you. The latest iPhone XR has some of the best battery life out of any flagship phone. It’s basically the XR’s greatest feature: battery life. Even tech Youtubers who use their phones 7 hours a day brag about having “A day and a half of battery life”. For most people, it’s safe to assume that battery life is not a problem. Just charge your phone every night. 

 

This case is just an accessory that almost nobody will buy. Because the battery on the XR is so good and because it’s overpriced and ugly. 

[schwellmo92]

26 minutes ago, Technous285 said:

Making the phones too damned thin to hold a battery of any moderately decent capacity that'll last more than 12 hours under moderate-to-high use, for the fashion aspect  of making shit thinner and thinner for ego-stroking.

 

And I'm saying that as someone with a Huawei Y625 as my day-to-day call/text phone and an iPhone 6 for setting up my Oculus Go & doing 4G tethering to my PC when streaming (8032/384 kbps ADSL main net connection isn't exactly conducive to streaming gameplay).

I don't have any issues with my iPhone X lasting all day nor am I aware of any of my friends/colleagues having issues. With moderate-to-high use you're not going to get good battery life on any phone.

[Ashleyyyy]

@PacketMan i never said i like making phones thinner unnecessarily. but i also don't want to go back to the thickness of the original iPhone just because some people have issues with the battery size of current phones. 

 

i can last though a day with the battery in my iPhone 7 comfortably. if others can't that's not my problem. it's the same thing with bigger displays. i hate those, but because others demand them i can't buy a phone with a display size i like if i also want top of the line features. 

[79wjd]

2 hours ago, 1kv said:

I don't think you've quite got my point. I'm not saying we need to have enormous batteries that last a week, I'm saying for such a high price tag the battery could be better.

Take the Huawei P20 Pro for example. The P20 Pro has a 4,000mAh battery and costs £599. The XS Max on the other hand has a 3,174 mAh battery and costs £1099 for the cheapest model. The XS Max is 7.7mm thick and the P20 Pro is 7.8mm thick. In a perfect world it would be able to match the P20 Pro, but I'm saying since the price tag is so high and it's about as thick as the P20 Pro, surely it would've been possible to pack even a bit more battery power into it.

The XS Max also has a huge vibration motor that occupies a significant amount of space. As it is, the battery takes up all leftover space.

 

You might prefer more battery life over a 3D touch or better/more adaptable haptic feedback, but not everyone does. Personally, I get about two days out of a single charge, so increasing battery life at the expense of literally any other feature is a waste.

 

https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/gnjGTffankgehqFL.medium

[XR6]

10 minutes ago, 79wjd said:

The XS Max also has a huge vibration motor that occupies a significant amount of space. As it is, the battery takes up all leftover space.

 

You might prefer more battery life over a 3D touch or better/more adaptable haptic feedback, but not everyone does. Personally, I get about two days out of a single charge, so increasing battery life at the expense of literally any other feature is a waste.

 

https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/gnjGTffankgehqFL.medium

Honestly I really don't see a reason for a huge vibration motor to provide haptic feedback when a bigger battery would be way more practical. Of course not everyone feels that way but that's just my perspective.  

For me battery is everything. I can barely get a day out of my Galaxy S7 since I use my mobile data and personal hotspot a lot.

My old iPhone SE doesn't last me any more than 6 hours now and that's with average usage. Web browsing and texts.

[brwainer]

One thing noone has mentioned yet is the cellular signal problem other cases like Mophie can cause. Battery cases that have the entire back of the phone covered block the antennas. When Apple released their first battery case (was it for the iPhone 6? 6S? 7? One of those) this was their justification for the battery bump - they were avoiding the antenna areas with anything metallic. I can confirm with my iPhone 7 that my cellular connection with a normal style battery case was noticeably worse, whereas with the Apple one I can’t notice a difference versus not having a case at all.

 

I think there is something to be said for offering consumers choice as well. Yes, Apple has more phone variants now than they used to, but having the battery case option saves them from having to make yet another set of phone versions. Does offering consumers choice play right into the interest of making lots of money? Definitely - but that is how all business in a free market works.

[schwellmo92]

1 hour ago, 1kv said:

Honestly I really don't see a reason for a huge vibration motor to provide haptic feedback when a bigger battery would be way more practical. Of course not everyone feels that way but that's just my perspective.  

For me battery is everything. I can barely get a day out of my Galaxy S7 since I use my mobile data and personal hotspot a lot.

My old iPhone SE doesn't last me any more than 6 hours now and that's with average usage. Web browsing and texts.

I actually quite like the haptic feedback and Linus himself has even said iPhones have the best by far, I think that was the only thing he misses on the switch to Android. The iPhone SE also had one of the best battery life’s when it released, it is almost 3 years old now so I would expect any still in use to have poor battery life as a result of battery depredation.

 

 

[mxk]

Make a thin phone, then give it it's bulk back..

[WereCat]

I just want a case that makes the notch bigger

[BuckGup]

But my X already lasts all day easily lol

[Dabombinable]

8 hours ago, schwellmo92 said:

Is this really news worthy? Those cases have existed for years for prior iPhones, who cares if there’s a new revision for a new iPhone.

Because the cases themselves kind of negate all that effort put into trying to create the thinnest phone possible. Plus it looks extremely ridiculous compared to non Apple versions.