Let's face it -- the
iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case is one of the unsightliest products Apple has ever released. It leaves you wondering if late co-founder Steve Jobs would have let it out of the lab. In fact, I found it so ugly that, in addition to the weight it added and increased overall footprint, I almost returned it immediately -- but despite all of this, I have decided to keep it -- read on to find out why.
As it turns out, there is definitely a place for the Smart Battery Case. It has been made for those occasions where you will be away from a power source for extended periods, and readily can't top up your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s during the day. The fact that Apple has designed it so that you can easily remove the iPhone from the case is indicative that it doesn't necessarily expect you to be using it on your iPhone all the time, which is a good thing.
While it has arguably been hit with the "ugly stick," the Smart Battery Case is in fact pretty "smart" product for the most part. It's design (regular case depth at either end) allows for the case to work with Apple's iPhone Lightning Dock and other similar accessories from third-parties when being charged. It's ugly hump which contains the battery isn't really apparent when it is held in your hand, though not everyone will be a fan of the rubbery feel of its silicon exterior, and I am certainly not -- where leather is on offer, that is my preferred textile. It offers iPhone 6s users up to 80 percent extra juice when on the go, which will be enough to get people through most days, or even extraordinary occasions like when they are on a long flight for example, particularly with Airplane Mode enabled.
Like the iPad Pro Smart Keyboard Cover, the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case does actually bring some genuinely "smart" technology to the table as well. In conjunction with your iPhone, it offers intelligent switching as to where it draws its power from first, based on the charge level of either the case or your iPhone.
When paired with your iPhone, the lock screen of your iPhone shows you the respective charge levels of your case as well as iPhone, while the Battery widget in the Notifications Centre also shows you the battery levels of both devices, as well as your Apple Watch, if you have one. If you are charging the case via its built-in Lightning Port without your iPhone in it, there is a small LED indicator built into the microfiber lining to indicate whether it is charged (it glows amber if charging is required, and switches to green when it is fully charged). These are things you won't see in other battery cases, because that level of integration can only come from Apple.
Getting back to the effort Apple has made to allow you to easily remove your iPhone 6s from the Smart Battery Case, what is also clear is the release of the Smart Battery Case is certainly not a tacit admission that the iPhone 6s or iPhone 6 battery life is not up to snuff. I say this because the combined package of the iPhone 6s and the Smart Battery Case both weighs more and costs more -- but is roughly as large as -- the iPhone 6s Plus (and iPhone 6 Plus). Why on earth would the 6s and the Smart Battery Case be your preferred option when the iPhone 6s Plus costs less, weighs less, is around the same size, but offers a larger display and nearly equivalent battery life?
Thus, anyone who from this point forward chooses to buy an iPhone 6s and plans on buying and putting a Smart Battery Case and leaving it on should seek medical intervention. Having said that, does my choosing to buy and keep the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case, but not use it as my daily case, make me almost as nuts? I put it to you that the answer is, naturally, no. I plan on keeping the Smart Battery Case in my backpack, after first charging it to full.
Most days, I won't need the Smart Battery Case -- as I often, though not always, keep my iPhone 6s charging on my desk while I work, whether it needs it or not. I will only put the Smart Battery Case on my iPhone 6s on the days where I plan on heading out and about without easy access to my charger.
Its true beauty is that I will have full confidence that I will be able to quickly and easily remove it from my iPhone when I want to go back to my regular case -- this is what gives it an edge over some other similar solutions on the market, and is a big part of the reason why I am choosing to keep it. When you factor in its Lightning Port support and smart interconnectivity with your iPhone, it amounts to a much better product than it might otherwise at first seem.
For some people, another alternative will be to buy an external battery that offers Lightning charge capabilities, like those offered by Mophie. Even though I am not a fan of the Smart Battery Case's looks, another reason I am choosing it over alternatives is that I can continue using my iPhone as per normal, with the confidence that it I will get the additional battery life that I may need while away from a charging source for extended periods.
Other than the big question mark over its aesthetics, the only other quibble I have with the Smart Battery Case is that Apple didn't include a headphone jack adapter with it, although it does work out of the box with its own Ear Pods. The problem is that the case extends the length of the iPhone slightly, meaning that many headphones that don't have super-thin plugs (as the EarPods do) can't reach. While it is planning on selling an adapter from Belkin soon, it is just poor form not to include a solution that would work with the company's own Beats line of headphones, let alone many other third-party headphone brands, out of the box. Just about any other company would have under included something like that under similar circumstances.
Overall though, iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case is in fact, a smart choice for users who, like me, will be in a position where they might be away from a fixed charging source for an extended period. There is no way, however, that I will be fitting to my iPhone 6s as a permanent solution, as it is simply not something I require. It is a bold move from Apple, releasing this product -- it is the first time that I can remember where function has actually overridden form in a product that it has released.
In that sense, perhaps more than any other, it is "unJobsian." Would Steve Jobs have released it, despite its virtues? Probably not. However, Apple has often been accused of letting form override function, and in this instance, it certainly can't be accused of that -- in a sense, it could be argued that this is what led to its emergence in the first place, with the thinness of the iPhone 6/6s in particular. Is this the new Apple? Are we going to see more concessions to function over form in the future? Is it in fact a sign of a trend that started before the Smart Battery Case was released? Was the Smart Keyboard, also arguably more about function than form, the beginning of quiet revolution? Time will tell.
-- Sanjiv Sathiah
(Editor's note: Sanjiv purchased his case, but he is not the assigned reviewer -- he just has opinions! Look for our first review on the case tomorrow, and a "Living With" on it in early 2016)
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