Apple’s iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case

I’m not a big case user, but I do use a battery case, especially when I’m on the road. The need for battery far outweighs any other consideration when I’m away from home and Apple’s new Smart Battery Case fits that requirement.

Before I get into talking about the case itself, I want to address some of the negative comments I’ve read about the case. Specifically, the case isn’t designed in an Apple kind of way.

I think that’s crap. By definition a battery case is a functional device that you need to fulfill a specific task. Apple made a functional case. Yes, it has a hump, or bump, or protrusion on the back, but so what? If I’m running out of juice and this will give me 25 hours of extra battery, I’m using it. I actually think it looks pretty nice on my phone.

Apple could have designed a sleek case that gave us two hours of extra battery, but then people would be complaining that it’s pretty, but not functional. The company is in a no-win situation, so I’m glad they went with functionality.

One other thing: Apple making a battery case is not an admission that the iPhone battery isn’t sufficient, it’s recognizing that some of its users are buying battery cases. That’s it. Personally, I never run out of battery when I’m not traveling.

Back to the case.

Putting the iPhone in the case is really easy—just bend the top of the case and the phone slides right in and connects to the Lightning port on the bottom. The case also feels good in your hands—it has a rubbery feel, so you can grip it easily without worrying about it slipping out.

When you lay the case flat on a table, you can touch the screen and interact with the phone without having it rock both a forth. I do this often when I’m at a coffee shop or restaurant. I’ve used some cases that were a bit rounded and it caused some problems. I usually have the iPhone in my hands, but it’s nice to know that I can use it like that when needed.

The Smart Battery Case gives you 25 hours of talk time, up to 20 hours of HD video playback and up to 18 hours of web browsing over LTE. I can’t think of a time when I would need more than that. Most times, I would need far less.

I really like the fact that Apple provides a battery level meter on the notification screen that shows you levels for the phone and the case in one view. I’ve found that really handy.

Like most people, I’ve used charging cases that, when plugged in, charge the phone first and then charge the case. It takes quite a while. When you plug Apple’s new case into a computer, or 10W or 12W charger, the phone and case charge simultaneously. That is Brilliant.

It’s not just charging that Apple has improved—it’s also minimizing the effect on cellular performance. Apple has integrated a passive coupled antenna into the case to minimize the negative impact on cellular performance.

People that listen to music or use the speakers for anything else while using a battery case, will appreciate the acoustic port on the base of the case. It channels audio from the speaker so you still get quality volume with the case on. I probably won’t use that feature much, but again, it’s nice to know it’s there if I need it.

If you use Apple headphones, there you won’t need an extender for the headphone port in the case. My Apple headphones just plugged right in. Some third-party headphones with an L-shaped plug won’t work without an extender while using the case though.

These may sound like small items, but these are the types of details that I’ve come to expect from Apple when they make a new product, or in this case, improve an existing category.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy one of these cases for a gift or one of my own devices. At $99 I think it’s a bargain.