Open thread: Would you trade iPhone thinness for crazy battery life?

Apple is fairly obsessed with thinness.

iPhone models’ depth (thickness) and weight:
• Original iPhone:s 11.6 mm (0.46 in), 135 g (4.8 oz)
• iPhone 3G: 12.3 mm (0.48 in), 133 g (4.7 oz)
• iPhone 4: 9.3 mm (0.37 in), 137 g (4.8 oz)
• iPhone 5: 7.6 mm (0.30 in), 112 g (3.95 oz)
• iPhone 6 Plus: 7.67 mm (0.302 in), 172 g (6.1 oz)
• iPhone 6: 6.9 mm (0.27 in), 129 g (4.6 oz)

We just pulled an original iPhone out of a drawer. It’s not insanely thick feeling. It feels as nice in the hand as it always did – and the weight’s just fine, too.

We have a simple question: Would you opt for a thicker (and heavier, of course) iPhone if it gave you significantly (double or more) battery life?

72 Comments

    1. Exactly, the people who want more battery should get an external case with battery. This gives them more battery life and the battery is swappable, the other thing many people ask about. This leaves the iPhone thin and light for the rest of us.

      I’m not being snarky, why is that not the obvious solution? If I worry about scratches I get a screen protector, for overall protection I get a case.

  1. I’m fine for battery life as it is except for when I travel. I bring along an iPad Mini so I can do non-phone things to maximize iPhone battery life. I would get a Mophie if battery life were more of an issue for me.

    1. And while you’re at it MDN, would you *please* beat the crap out of your ad servers who have started auto-redirecting to the App Store on iOS devices (this is happening automatically by merely viewing a page on MDN, with no accidental clicks at all).

      Specifically, this page is causing an auto-popup for the App Store where it lands on the app Game of War – Fire Age.

      Readers WILL stop visiting your site because of this.

      1. I think its intentional in order to get us to use the app rather than the website.

        Not saying I agree with it mind you, the popups and switching to the app store are irritating to the point of wanting to smash my iPhone to pieces and go and live in the woods with no communication from the outside world…

      2. Do you read the site often? They, and other sites, have explained that even the ad networks are having a hard time finding out the source of those ads. It isn’t like MDN editors hand-paste each ad into their site – the whole thing is automated and distributed among many services (ad networks) and ad-buying customers.
        Websites are almost certainly not doing this deliberately – they know it pisses off readers too much to be worth it.

  2. My 6+ is a perfect thickness. Almost always go a full day without needing a charge. So no, I would take a battery life improvement, but not at the expense of thickness.

    Perhaps a graphene super-cap in lieu of a battery 🙂

  3. Absolutely!!! I was fine with the thickness of my previous iPhone 4S. Would love to see the same style of the iPhone 4S but with the larger screen of the iPhone 6 Plus.

    My wife and I also had Mophie Juice Packs for our iPhone 4S’.

  4. Definitely yes, for a thicker iphone 6 plus with more battery life. Probably no for a ip6+ thick enough to double the battery life.

    What i think i’d like is an ip6 plus which is 20% to 40% thicker, with all of the additional size going to battery life. Of course it’s hard to know which size would feel right until you really try it.

    1. Some battery chargers work well, some are garbage. I recently purchased one on Amazon that was rated 10,000 mAh. Testing showed that it delivered 4,000 mAh. Rules of thumb: If it comes from a company you’ve never heard of, if it’s round like a large lipstick or if it includes a flashlight, avoid at all cost.

  5. In a New York nanosecond! The iPhone was thin enough back in the 4/4s days. Imagine the battery that could fit in a 6 or 6+ of that thickness! I have a 5S and when a friend showed me his new 6, I liked the screen size but it felt delicate and desperately in need of a substantial case.

  6. I’m fine with thin; I like light weight and no brick pulling down my pants from a fat phone. On the road I have a Mophie power station mini (in orange) in the iPad bag but rarely need it, which is good for at least one full phone recharge. But I’m not the type to repeatedly post awesome & lol into the Facebook app.

  7. No. I want THINER, 10x harder than Aluminum but just as light, Scratch Proof Glass, Shatter Proof Glass, WiFi everywhere provided by hundreds of Geo Synch Satellites beaming wifi provided by Apple. I can dream can’t I? 😄

      1. The way i see it.. I can not make a thicker phone thinner..
        But i can make a thinner phone thicker to accomodate for more battery life !
        So i rather have it thin and make the choice.!.
        Id say 90% of useres dont have battery issues.
        And love the slick thin design..
        Id take thinner if they can pull it off at present performance levels !

  8. The iPhone 6 battery life is much better, I typically have 50-60% left by the time I get home after work, but if I’m going out of an evening I’d be wary of running out without having topped up. I don’t know about doubling the thickness, but I’d certainly forego say 1mm for 30% extra life or something.

  9. I still love my Bauhaus iPhone 4 (4S) the most! The size and the shape were the best of all iPhones. I have not upgraded and still use my black 4S with stainless steel frame! and plan to keep using it until it falls apart.

  10. I do enjoy the additional battery life on the 6. With that said, I would happily take more battery life if the 6 had the same thickness of the 6 Plus. With that said, I do find the 6 to be just on the cusp of manageability for one-handed use. If the extra thickness would ruin that, I’ll pass. I skipped the 6 Plus because it’s just too stupid to handle with one hand.

  11. I was fine with the form factor of the original iPhone. With today’s batteries and lower-power processors, that would probably give us four or five days of battery life.

    -jcr

  12. Absolutely! Just got the 6, so not sure how “great” its battery life really is yet, but that extra weight and thickness would not sway me from selecting iPhone. I travel a lot, and spend way too much time looking for power outlets. The “thinness” eww ahhh, is a nice marketing gimmick, but it’s at the expense of longevity. Adding a third party battery (did it on my 3GS) adds even more thickness and weight than would be necessary if Apple just added battery capacity from the start.

  13. Thicker phones will provide the additional power that maintaining the link to the watch will require. If the watch is going to hand off the computational work and the transmission in the background of health data then a move to a thicker battery for 6S seems logical.

  14. I definitely would give up thinness for better battery life. Having a somewhat thicker iPhone with better battery life definitely would be preferred over the battery case options which increase the length noticeably.

  15. My 5 doesn’t fell that thick. I’d prefer another 5 hours of use. I’ve held off on my trade in to the 6 because even the small 6 is larger. I don’t mind slightly thicker, I don’t like the height and width being bigger. The 5 fits nice in small pockets.

  16. Apple is fairly obsessed with thinness.

    Apple was fairly obsessed with a physical circular home button.

    Trust their vision – the thinness still mets the 10 hrs battery life and the device is half the weight — then just all is fine with me.

    And thinness has a limit, I wouldn’t wish to carry around a paper thin or credit card plastic thickness iPhone. Would you?

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