Battery

Poll: should iPhone 7 be thinner or have a longer-lasting battery?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

There has been lot of talk lately about Apple's relentless pursue of engineering ever-thinner iPhones. A next-generation iPhone, for example, is said to be iPod touch-thin. As you know, the iPod touch actually has a poorer battery life than any iPhone model simply because it doesn't have the space for an iPhone-grade battery.

This is prompting some people to wonder if the iPhone 7 should just be as thick as the current iPhone 6s, or even a bit thicker, if that meant boosting its battery capacity for an improved run time.

This poll seeks to figure out if you'd be willing to trade thinness for battery life, or vice versa. So, would you prefer the iPhone 7 to be thinner or have a longer battery life?

iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case: One month later

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

It's been about a month since I purchased Apple's highly-polarizing Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 6s. During this period of time, I've been using the case almost non-stop. I did remove the Smart Battery Case for a few days during the past month to see what life was like without the extra battery life, but I was happy to return to it not long after my experiment.

Most, if not all, of my initial impressions still hold up a month later. The Smart Battery Case might not be the best looking design to come out of Cupertino, but in real world usage, this thing is a winner.

Griffin introduces handy new Travel Power Bank for Apple Watch

Cody Lee ∙ January 4, 2016

Griffin on Monday added to the stack of CES product announcements by introducing the Travel Power Bank for Apple Watch. As you can see in the photo, the accessory is essentially a tiny battery pack with an inductive charging pad for Apple's wearable.

Griffin says that the built-in battery is of the 800 mAh variety, which is good enough to fully recharge the Apple Watch up to four times before needing more power for itself. That's not too shabby for a device that is so small it can be attached to a keychain.

This new portable charger wants you to believe it was designed by Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 4, 2016

Picking a portable battery pack for your iPhone or other smartphone brand can be a daunting task. There are literally hundreds of such accessories in the marketplace that are vying for your attention, available in many shapes, sizes and price points.

The latest entrant to the mobile charging game is a Silicon Valley startup called 4Second Life, which at CES 2016 in Las Vegas showed off its portable charger, the Aluminum VI, which looks (or wants to look) like it was designed by Apple itself.

Sketchy rumor calls for 256GB iPhone 7 Plus with 3,100 mAh battery

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 2, 2017

According to a sketchy rumor published yesterday by Chinese-language Mydrivers, Apple's forthcoming 5.5-inch 'iPhone 7 Plus' will come with a pair of exclusive features versus its 4.7-inch 'iPhone 7' sibling: a new 256-gigabyte storage option and a larger 3,100 mAh battery.

By comparison, the current-generation iPhone 6s Plus has a 2,750 mAh battery inside. The publication did not specify whether the inclusion of the 256GB option will result in the removal of the oft-critized sixteen-gigabyte option from the iPhone lineup.

iFixit tears down the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 10, 2015

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.

iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case review: smarter than you think

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

I'll be the first to admit that my initial knee-jerk reaction to the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case wasn't good. The peripheral, which was basically the butt of jokes all morning on Twitter, seemingly came out of nowhere to the feigned horror of many.

You'd be hard-pressed to identify another company whose products are subject to such intense scrutiny like Apple. Even when you have a low key release like the Smart Battery Case, it's bound to make a splashy first impression for better or for worse.

The good news is that the $99 iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case isn't half as bad as it looks. In fact, after a few hours of usage, I can say that I kind of like it.

Is the design peculiar? Indeed. Is it weird that Apple is jumping into the battery case game? Sort of. But overall, this is a product that I think many will like if they only give it a chance.

Apple launches $99 Smart Battery Case for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2015

Apple on Tuesday released its very first battery pack, dubbed the Smart Battery Case and designed for the iPhone 6s and the previous-generation iPhone 6.

The $99 accessory provides device protection and offers even longer battery life: up to 25 hours of talk time, eighteen hours of Internet use on LTE (ten hours without the case) and twenty hours of video playback versus eleven hours provided by the iPhone 6s.

The built-in battery rests on the backside, beneath the credit card-sized protruding bulge. Passthrough and crossover designs permit users to connect Lightning accessories whilst the case is in use and let the case charge itself and the iPhone at the same time.

This accessory joins Apple's existing lineup of $35 Silicone Cases for the iPhone 6s and the recently launched $49 iPhone Lightning Dock and is available starting today from the Apple Online Store and Apple retail stores.

Alpatronix BX140 iPhone 6s battery case is thin and powerful

Lory Gil ∙ December 2, 2015

Around the holidays, we find ourselves using our tech gadgets even more than normal. Whether we are taking photos and videos of the kids, trying to find Aunt Linda's new house with Google Maps, or simply trying to pretend we are somewhere else while Cousin Bob repeats that same story about the time he hand-fed a squirrel for the fifth time, our iPhones are getting a workout. Which also means our batteries are getting a workout, too.

The Alpatronix BX140 is an iPhone 6s case with a 3100 mAh battery pack that will juice up your device while you are on the go. It is fairly thin, as battery cases go, and comes with a separate bumper cover, so you don't have to keep the charger case on all of the time.

PowerMe will turn any device into a power source

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 25, 2016

A new accessory that launched earlier today on the crowdsourcing platform Indiegogo attempts to solve an important concern with mobile devices—battery life—with an interesting twist.

Dubbed the PowerMe, this tiny multi-purpose dongle turns almost any mobile device outfitted with a microUSB port into a mobile battery pack for your other gadgets, including Lightning-enabled iPhones, iPads and iPods.

In addition, the PowerMe lets you share photos, music and other documents between devices and it's small enough to easily snap onto your keyring.

Apple Pencil ships with extra tip and Lightning-to-Lightning adapter for USB charging

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 20, 2015

Apple's $99 stylus accessory for the iPad Pro, the Apple Pencil, conveniently comes with a spare tip and includes a special Lightning-to-USB adapter to save users from having to precariously charge their Pencils directly from their iPads.

A spare tip is a nice addition as it gives Pencil customers piece of mind knowing that wearing down the tip won't force them to take their accessory for servicing.

Apple provides interim fix for iPad Pro sluggishness after long charge

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 19, 2015

Following reports from iPad Pro owners who have been complaining about the device becoming unresponsive after being charged for a lengthy period of time, which typically occurs during overnight charging, Apple has now acknowledged the issue and confirmed it's working on a permanent fix.

In the meantime, the company has provided an interim fix that it says will temporarily restore normal operation after the iPad Pro becomes unresponsive.