Apple fans were in for a welcome development Tuesday when the iPhone maker "quietly" released a solution to iPhone 6 and 6S battery woes - the Smart Battery Case.
"Available in Charcoal Grey and White for $99 in the U.S. and £79 ($118) in the UK, the accessory will be very familiar to users of Mophie's smartphone case/battery combos," Mashable reported. "According to Apple, it increases talk time up to 25 hours, and Internet use up to 18 hours on LTE."
"The soft microfiber lining on the inside helps protect your iPhone, while the soft elastomer hinge design makes it easy to put the case on and take it off again," the description for the new accessory said. "On the outside, the silky, soft-touch finish of the silicone exterior feels great in your hand."
"With the Smart Battery Case on, the intelligent battery status is displayed on the iPhone Lock screen and in Notification Center, so you know exactly how much charge you have left," it added.
It appears the battery case's appearance on Apple's online store is the company's way of admitting its latest smartphone iterations has underwhelming battery capacity. As expected, media outlets were quick to pounce on the new accessory and see whether it did the job well.
Curiously, the case has been panned by a number of reviewers.
"The bump on the back of the case seems a departure from Apple's trademark clean, attractive design," CNBC said in its roundup of the case's feedback. "Not all headphones are compatible with the case."
"Similar third-party cases tend to have higher battery capacity at lower cost, with ancillary options like turning the case on and off," the news source went on to say. "If Apple just settled for a thicker phone with a bigger battery - like the 6S Plus - maybe users wouldn't feel deprived of juice in the first place."
9to5Mac noted that the "really sad" part about the Smart Battery Case is its implications on Apple's design priorities for the iPhone.
"Apple's release of this accessory - almost certainly the first in what will be a series of such cases for subsequent iPhones, like its other cases - strongly suggests that the company would sooner sell you an overly-thin iPhone and then a $99 battery case to fix the phone's deficiency," the site said. "It adds credence to reports that the next iPhone will, in fact, be at least a millimeter thinner than the last one... not that anyone outside of Apple is asking for that."
The backlash may perhaps inform Apple's direction with its next iteration. Could we expect to see a new iPhone with better battery capacity next year? After all, according to a survey by Fortune magazine back in January, about a third - or 33% - of the 1,000 participants in the online poll said the "new or improved smartphone feature are you most excited about" is improved battery life.
Interestingly, only 12% of the respondents said they're very likely to buy a wearable device in 2015.
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