It was only a matter of time before the folks over at iFixit got their hands on Apple’s newly-released Smart Battery Case for the proper teardown treatment, and today is the day that we get a peek inside of the case’s innards.
It goes without saying that the $99 Smart Battery Case will score low on iFixit’s repairability scale, as tearing down the case means peeling back the soft lining inside the housing and dealing with lots of sticky adhesive.
After tearing down the case, iFixit discovered a With 7.13 Whr (1877 mAh at 3.8 V) capacity battery, which should serve to double up the 6.55 Whr capacity of the battery contained in the iPhone 6s.
The highly polarizing case has been the subject of many a debate regarding Apple’s design principals, among other things. I can’t remember the last time that Apple released an accessory that resulted in so much disdain and disrespect. Even Apple CEO Tim Cook felt the need to defend the case’s existence.
Despite the popular opinion, I personally think that the iPhone 6s Smart Case is very well done. In fact, even after my review, I’m still using it, which speaks volumes if you know me and my usage habits. You can watch my full review in the video below:
In the end, iFixit gives the Smart Battery Case a 2/10 repairability score, which pretty much means that the case is not user repairable at all. If it breaks, or has issues, you’ll likely need to outright replace the case instead of hoping to swap out the battery or other parts. Of course, a low repairability score isn’t desirable, but for a case like this, it’s not at all surprising.