iPhone XS: Apple Just Released a Smart Battery Case With 2 Key Innovations
The case could provide users with multi-day battery life.
by Mike BrownApple has released a battery case with a difference. The company released its Smart Battery Case this week for the iPhone XS, XR and XS Max, the three models it launched to great fanfare three months prior. These latest versions contain two key changes that make it the biggest upgrade to the cases since Apple first launched its own in December 2015.
The case wraps around the iPhone and extends its battery life, using a second cell enclosed inside a rear “hump” to provide more energy, with a silicone exterior and a microfiber lining interior. Unlike previous models that connected to the smartphone using an unsightly chin, Apple has thinned down the bottom edge to give it the appearance of a more uniform bezel. Apple has also added in support for Qi wireless charging, a feature that debuted with last year’s iPhone X. Combined with the standard Lightning port on the base of the battery case, this means iPhone users can attach the case and use the same methods for charging that they used without the case.
The iPhone XS Smart Battery Case also comes in white.
See more: Apple’s Leaked iPhone XS Accessory Will End Battery Anxiety
Apple offers its new cases for $129 (a $30 increase from the previous cases) in either black or white. The iPhone XS case boosts talk time up from 22 hours to 33 hours, internet use from 12 hours to 21 hours, and video playback from 14 hours to 25 hours. The iPhone XS Max case sends talk time up from 25 hours to 37 hours, internet use from 13 hours to 20 hours, and video playback from 15 hours to 25 hours. In classic Apple fashion, the company does not list the actual capacity of the batteries, but it’s emerged since launch that the XS has a 2,658 mAh cell and the XS Max a 3,174 mAh cell.
Perhaps the star of the lineup is the iPhone XR battery case. The phone has a 2,942 mAh battery to power a screen with just 326 pixels per inch rather than the 458 pixels per inch found on the XS. This already results in better battery life, but the case transforms it into a powerhouse. Talk time jumps from an already-respectable 25 hours to 39 hours, internet use from 15 hours to 22 hours, and video playback from 16 hours to 27 hours.
Expect more details about Apple’s future plans for the iPhone when it takes to the stage for its annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference this summer, where the firm is widely expected to announce its next major iOS update
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