WSJ reviews Apple Smart Battery Case for iPhone 6/6s: Battery life nearly doubled

“I spend my days taunted by a battery icon, petrified that my iPhone 6s will be out of juice before I am,” Joanna Stern writes for The Wall Street Journal. “You know who I blame for my battery anxiety disorder? Obviously not me, and my excessive checking of email and social media. I point the finger at Apple, and its insistence on compromising battery life for phone slimness.”

“On Tuesday, the company finally admitted that heavy iPhone 6 or 6s users like me could use more power — at least as much as you get with the bigger iPhone 6s Plus. Apple’s $99 Smart Battery Case… [offers an] integrated battery nearly doubles your battery life so you avoid scurrying around for an electrical outlet like a rodent in search of scraps,” Stern writes.

“After five days of living with the Smart Battery Case wrapped around my iPhone, I no longer feel so powerless. Even better, Apple fixes many of the issues I’ve had with cases over the years. It uses the same Lightning cable as the iPhone to charge, and it tells you how much power is remaining right on the phone’s screen. Besides, the case doesn’t feel like the stuff plastic forks are made of.”

“Here’s the best part about the design: There are no blinking LED lights on the case to tell you how much power is remaining. As soon as you attach it, the percentage of power remaining in the phone and the case is displayed on the iPhone’s lock screen. You can also see both battery levels by swiping down in the notification center. Apple even integrated a passive antenna into the case so cellular reception doesn’t suffer,” Stern writes. “There’s no on/off switch because it knows your iPhone’s battery level. Put it on a phone that’s running low, and it’ll charge it up. Begin the day with both the case and the phone topped off at 100%, and it will drain the case before using power from the phone.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Sounds like a winner for iPhone 6/6s users!

Hint: Another way to dramatically extend your iPhone’s battery life is to get yourself an Apple Watch. Subtract that $100 you’re considering dropping on Apple’s battery case from the price of an Apple Watch. 😉

SEE ALSO:
Apple releases Smart Battery Case for iPhone 6/6s, adds up to 25 hours of power – December 8, 2015
Apple Watch increases iPhone battery life significantly; likely to affect future iPhone purchasing decisions – May 22, 2015