Apple's new iPhone accessory could solve your battery woes

Add 25 hours of battery time to your iPhone 6 and 6s

Apple Inc this week announced a 'smart' battery case for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s, the company's first such product.

The company claims the product will extend the phones' battery life by up to 25 hours, essentially doubling it.

The $99 case has a bulge at the back which has been criticised for being badly designed. Many took to social media saying "It looks like my iPhone ate an iPod" following a video review about the latest accessory.

PHOTO: APPLE

On the one hand, this is Apple listening to customer complaints about the battery life of the 6 and 6s models compared to the 6 Plus and the 6s Plus models. On the other it is Apple's admission that the battery life was sub-par for its own product range.



The user is supposed to bend the flexible top part of the battery cover, and then insert and then slide the phone into position.

PHOTO: APPLE

The battery case works with Lightning accessories including the Lightning USB Cable that comes with the iPhone and also works with the iPhone Lightning Dock, which is sold separately.

The cover's Lightning port allows users to charge the case and iPhone at once. However, the battery cover's battery capacity of 1,877 mAh is not as good as what some other comparable products on the market offer. According to The Verge hands-on video review of the battery cover, the product will not even give your phone a full charge from zero to 100%.



Since the cover's hardware is integrated with the iPhone's software, the case’s battery status can be seen on the phone's lock screen or on the notification screen. There's also an LED charging indicator inside the case that turns on when the phone is charging.

Users cannot decide when the battery cover starts charging the iPhone, unlike other products on the market. Once you slip your iPhone into the cover it starts charging right away.

The Smart Battery Case is available in white and charcoal grey.

https://twitter.com/PipsqueakPlays/status/674456049294774272

Apple’s new $99 iPhone battery case doesn’t measure up https://t.co/cUWxz1LLpV via @verge

— Danijel Pobi (@danijelonline) December 8, 2015

:))) "And it’s not a look-at-the-way-the-lens-extends-from-the-body bump, it’s a my-iPhone-ate-my-iPod bump."

— Radu (@Sawrad) December 8, 2015

https://twitter.com/fluxintime/status/674217369322070016