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Opinion: There’s a broader problem with Apple’s battery case – a schizophrenic attitude to design

cases

Like many this morning, my first reaction to Apple’s Smart Battery Case was … what the heck? Albeit not expressed in those exact words. Seth tweeted that it seemed to be evidence that Jony Ive has left the building.

My colleague Jeremy has addressed the battery case specifically, but I think there’s a broader issue here. Apple claims to sweat the details when it comes to the design of its devices, and – a few grumbles aside – I think that’s a legitimate claim on the aesthetic front. It does go to obsessive lengths when it comes to making its devices as visually pleasing as possible. One part of that obsession is making iPhones as thin as it can.

But, to my mind, the company has an almost schizophrenic attitude here. It goes to all that trouble to make the phones as slim and sleek as humanly possible, yet it knows full well that the first thing the vast majority of owners do when they take delivery is to slip the phone into a case. Those cases substantially increase the thickness, and hide the design.

Which brings us to problem two … 

Hiding the phone away inside a case would matter less if Apple offered gorgeous iPhone cases that look every bit as great as the iPhone. But it doesn’t – not remotely. The battery case may be a particularly ugly example, but none of Apple’s cases come anywhere close to matching the design aesthetic of the phone itself.

The best I can honestly say about Apple’s Silicone Case is that it’s reasonably inoffensive. But seriously, imagine that the Silicone Case was part of the shell of the phone instead of an ‘optional’ extra that is – for most people – anything but optional. Would we praise the design of an iPhone that looks like this?

MKY02

A rubberized plastic phone. A phone with a crude-looking cutout for the camera, with a non-color-matched aperture. A phone whose shell just kind of … stops at the bottom, where a separate, interior shell becomes visible. A phone that has two rubber buttons and another cut-out in the shell to expose a non-matching switch.

MKY02_AV1_SILVER

An iPhone designed to look like this would be laughable. And yet Apple seems to think it’s perfectly fine that, for huge numbers of its customers, that’s exactly what the iPhone does look like, almost all of the time. Because a huge proportion of iPhone owners put it inside such a case on day one and only remove it when they sell it – labelled ‘mint’ because the actual phone has never seen the light of day.

Apple’s Leather Case is, to me, a more pleasing material, but it still has all the issues I list above.

Apple does feature one case on its website that at least exposes the design of the iPhone: the Power Support Air Jacket. But we have the odd-shaped camera/flash aperture, and what you feel in your hand is not a sleek, 7.3mm thin piece of high-grade aluminum, but an 8.3mm thick piece of plastic.

HGNH2

Now, iPhone cases are a matter of taste, I know. Some of you may really like the Silicone Case. But I suspect even you’d have to agree that it hardly looks factory-fitted, and I would be surprised if any of you would venture as far as to describe it as beautiful.

I’m also not saying there are no beautiful cases offered on Apple’s website, incidentally.

HH0Z2

Just that none of them are designed by Apple.

Apple boasts that it is all about an integrated experience, that iDevices work so well because they seamlessly blend hardware and software. So why are there no Jony Ive-designed cases that seamlessly blend with the phone? Where both phone shell and case are designed together such that the end result looks like a single, beautiful object – not like a carefully-crafted device with some plastic or leather thrown around it like an afterthought?

Spigen®-Rugged-Capsule-Resilient-Black-Rugged-Armor-Ultimate-protection-and-rugged-design-with-matte-finish-for-iPhone-6s-3

Which brings us to the issue of why we need a case at all? Why some feel the need to enclose their iPhone inside military-spec protection?

iPhones have got tougher over the years. The nonsense of Bendgate aside (wow, a metal object will bend if you abuse it to a ridiculous degree), the aluminum is tougher. The glass is stronger. Some of the drop test results are impressive.

Yet whether it’s a question of materials or education, the vast majority of iPhone owners consider it sufficiently fragile that they see a case as a necessary purchase.

I fully accept, of course, that Apple cannot make an iPhone indestructible – at least, not without also making it as ugly as hell. But with all its materials expertise, I can’t help thinking that reaching a compromise point where it would survive most everyday slips and knocks without sustaining visible damage ought to be an achievable goal. To create something sufficiently robust that the majority of owners would be happy to use it without a case.

naked

But, some will object, if you make an iPhone stronger, you also make it thicker and heavier. Some will say that even slight compromise is too much. This is a recurring topic in the comments here where battery-life is concerned, some wanting Apple to make the iPhone slightly thicker to boost the battery capacity, others arguing that it meets their needs, and anyone who wants longer life can buy a battery case. Now even an official Apple one.

So here’s a further thought. Apple will never in a million years permit the kind of customization offered by something like Motorola with its Moto Maker program, letting buyers choose between ten different soft-grip plastic backs, four woods and four leathers – to say nothing of different fronts and accent colors. But what if it offered a choice of two shells?

One shell as slim and lightweight as humanly possible. The other just as beautifully designed, but offering greater resistance to everyday knocks. Again, I stress I’m not talking about turning it into a tank, merely reaching the level where most people would feel comfortable using it without a case.

Cases would still be available for those who really want them, but we’d have a reversal of the present situation: one where a minority opt for a case, but the majority feel comfortable enjoying the naked phone in all its Ive-designed glory.

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Comments

  1. inthepattern - 8 years ago

    I don’t use a case

    • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

      Neither did a friend of mine. He shattered his screen less than an hour after buying the phone. He bought a case while waiting to be called to he Genius bar.

  2. Jon C (@JonCBK) - 8 years ago

    As long as Apple insists on a shell of metal and glass, then the phone will suffer from lack of shock absorption. And that means it needs a case because it will get dropped on the ground through the course of its expected life. So we put it in a case. I don’t put my Blackberries in cases because they have rubber or plastic on the back and the glass is resessed from the edge. Also they are cheaper. The iPhone just has that combination of being really a significant expense to purchase plus not designed with focus on shock absorption from falls.

    I saw folks rocking the 5c without a case all the time. It was just because of the plastic.

    Anyway, I just want to iOS software in my phone and the AX chip. The design has not been beautiful enough to make up for the fragility since the 4/4S in my opinion. And that phone I also had to put in a case until it got a bit old and the cost of replacing it wasn’t going to be as steep.

    It is a weird situation we are in.

    • I do not use a case with my 4S for 4 years now and it never fell down on the floor.

      • fl0per - 8 years ago

        That’s why you could do it for 4 years without a case. But make no mistake here; your very own situation is one among not thousands, but millions, or even hundreds of billions. Regular people like me would get their phone slippìng out and fallng to the floor or any other low hard surfaces in a handful of situations of everyday’s use.

  3. This is the post you get when you get a site that makes its living from the sale of accessories that this Apple battery case competes with. Those third party accessory makers are regularly hawked here. It’s pretty laughable to suggest the embedded cases are better than the official Apple cases.

  4. Jared (@GunningGunny) - 8 years ago

    I’d love to not use a case, but unlike some I know I am going to sell mine eventually and if it has scratches and dings I’ll get less for it. Slapping a $20 or in my case an Apple Leather case saves me from losing out on a $100 or more later on.

  5. rahhbriley - 8 years ago

    I was caught off guard too. I’m not philosophically opposed that they are making a battery case, as Jeremy seems to suggest in his article.I’m supersized it was so poorly executed. I support the idea that they need to make a case worth going on an iPhone or an iPhone worthy of using without a case.

    I’m okay with their thinness obsession, battery technology needs to improve, we need less battery volume in phone and landfills, and an increase in battery efficiency and system power management.

    I’m maybe one of the few that think the wider battery conversation is a bit shallow and unnecessary; I’m fine waiting out better battery tech for another year or three and making sure I have a charging cable at desk, bed, living room and car.

    • rahhbriley - 8 years ago

      Haha supersized/surprised! …STILL can’t edit comments?! ;-)

    • Jon C (@JonCBK) - 8 years ago

      Yes, funny typo.
      Battery technology is being worked on by EVERYONE as it impacts nearly every piece of portable technology. Think about the focus that Duracell and Energizer put on battery technology. Think about Tesla and the car companies. Think about every laptop, tablet, and smartphone maker. Think about utilities that need to store electricity at scale. Everyone is working on this. It is apparently really really hard. I don’t when we will see real improvement on the battery. We might see it get cheaper. We might see the power management get better. But I’m not sure that we will be able to store electricity in a smaller or lighter space anytime soon.

      • fl0per - 8 years ago

        Well, we’ve made the switch from lower-perfoming chemistries to lithium-based ones in a pair of decades without even noticing, and I don’t see why new materials and technologies wouldn’t suppose a change of paradigm by the end of this decade and during the next one.
        The future of Li-ion batteries industry seems promising, tho. And all in all, I’m a big fan of lithium batteries for my everyday devices if designed properly, just because I don’t need more than what we got right now. WE as consumers decided (or better said, let the manufacturers to impose that technology as the de facto standard) to carry a computer “attached to” the last cell phones of the pre-iphone/smartphone era that could stand an entire week of use between charges. Thus making them hungry beasts capable of much more, yeah, but at the expense of the shortened range of 1 to 2 days between charging periods. There’s no big thing we can do about it but, hope that battery use by the software running in current and incoming smartphones is eagerly optimised, and whenever possible, as you said.

  6. Paul Van Obberghen - 8 years ago

    I personnaly think the iPhone 6 is plain ugly. A design catastrophy. The protruding lens and the plastic bands makes me believe that Jony Ives was sick the day they designed the iPhone 6. The last good looking iPhone was the 4S. It was almost perfect in any ways, as regard to the design, that is. I still have mine, and sigh every time I look at it.
    I needed a case for my 6 because it’s was so thin and light that I was dropping it to frequently. But also and mostely to hide its uglyness.
    Lucky for Apple, most people don’t use an iPhone because it looks great, but because it’s an iPhone.

    • kjl3000 - 8 years ago

      I still use my iPhone 5 because it’s an iPhone AND looks great. I mostly didn’t upgrade to the 6/6s because its design/size.

    • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

      i think it looks great

    • Tony Stark - 8 years ago

      I was happy to upgrade my iPhone 3G when the 4 came out, such a beautiful phone.
      Couple of years later when the 5 came out i refused to upgrade.
      With the iPhone 6 my 4 lost support and i decided to go with the 5S because it was less ugly than the 6.

      Never used a case on any of them and I just hope the iPhone 7 will have a design similar to the iPhone 4

    • Paul Andrew Dixon - 8 years ago

      I must admit, when i upgraded to the iphone 6 it was because my contract was up for renewal – but i was very disappointed by the design — i actually think the silver looks like spray painted plastic, the power button is in the wrong place, they forgot to strengthen the internal stricture, still no stereo sound, still starts with 16gb, and the camera protruding out proves that they went too thin too soon…

      Apple is all over the place at the moment – they keep telling us they are working well together – but products are being released half-finished and with unnecessary compromises…i have been very disappointed with apples stuff this year.

      Having said that – even android has been disappointing — everyone just seems to be copying each other — what happened to innovation???

      I havent felt excited about a product for a very long time.

      • PhilBoogie - 8 years ago

        “…the power button is in the wrong place…”

        +1. It’s totally moronic. If their reasoning is that the phone got too large to hit the button with your left index finger then why the frick didn’t they move it on the iPad!¿

        I was actually expecting they would’ve put the button back on top with the 6s, but alas, the stupidity continues…

  7. Steve Grenier - 8 years ago

    That Apple should to make a stronger phone or more realistically better cases. Did you read it?

  8. Samuel A. Maffei - 8 years ago

    A better looking (and cheaper) battery case for your iPhone 6/6S is the Mophie Juice Pack Reserve. It has similar battery life, offers more protection, looks less “tumorish”, and is about $40 less.

  9. dComments (@dComments) - 8 years ago

    My iPhone is in a case because that thing is slippery and just slides out of my hand. I did not use a case when I had a Nexus 5, but would not go one minute without one with the 6 plus.

  10. rnc - 8 years ago

    I like my Apple silicone case, thank you.

    The “black” one might be ugly, but there a dozen of other colors to chose, mine is green. I think it matches the design of the iPhone perfectly, that stupid wallet case are just ridiculous, the amount of effort to access the screen is too much, and makes the phone too thick.

    The Apple ones add a depth that protects the front screen in the case you want to put it down (or it falls), and also the back camera is protected with about 1/2 a millimeter of clearance.

    The best part is the touch, and the insides, unlike most cases out there, don’t scratch the phone, because of the soft lining.

    I use the case an option, I think Apple already offers enough options (4 color options, times 2 sizes, maybe 3 sizes in the future, times 3 capacities), are already a nightmare for stockists and resellers, and unlike Moto Maker, Apple is not making a unprofitable product (too good to be true), with options that won’t be available to carriers (that sell hundreds of millions of phones), just to lose money, close the plant, send people home, and sell the brand to the Chinese.

  11. just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

    1. Cases are the least expensive thing you can do to protect your devices from drops and scratches
    2. A lot of people resell their iPhones to fund their next upgrade, that means they must be perfect and the cases are the best way to do this
    3. iPhones are far too expensive to justify paying $100 deductible fee to replace plus 130$ Apple Care+ for 2 years and only two accident coverage. You’re talking about 650+130, nearly 800$ device right out of the box. No one is going to carry it around like it’s 5$ device and easily replace it by buying a new one.
    4. iPhones are the least repairable devices, good luck getting it repaired outside the warranty coverage

    If it was like 300$, maybe it would be easier to carry it around without a case, not at $800+.

    • Keron Jones (@ksway19) - 8 years ago

      So let’s say you buy this iPhone 6s and Lets say you bought the 64gb version at $749 because 16gb is out of the question. You add this battery case which cost a whopping $99. So now you’re looking at $848 without tax. Next year Ivy boy gets a vision and changes the design on the iPhone stating that “this is the best iPhone we have ever built.” So now you’re stuck with a $99 ugly ass battery case that no one wants and you’re lucky if someone buys it used at $20 for this ugly thing. Cases like these in my opinion is not a smart investment. Apple needs to fix this problem.

    • rnc - 8 years ago

      “4. iPhones are the least repairable devices, good luck getting it repaired outside the warranty coverage”

      No they aren’t.

      Besides Apple, there are 3rd parties that repair almost everything related to iPhones.

      You can find Chinese copies of practically every iPhone component besides the board: batteries, screens, and even cases (yes, the whole aluminium part).

      • just-a-random-dude - 8 years ago

        Yea, and they’ll charge you high bucks for it. One of the said repair shop said it’d cost 300$ to repair the screen.

        Least repairable as in the most difficult device to repair by yourself without additional tools and crazy costs.

  12. rogifan - 8 years ago

    My god it’s a battery case. That most people won’t buy. Seriously the tech press needs to get a grip. Maybe take the month of December off.

    Btw, I love my silicon case thank you very much. Best iPhone case I’ve ever owned.

  13. mpias3785 - 8 years ago

    I’ve had iPhones since #1 and have always used cases. Now that I have a 6s I HAVE to use a case because it’s so thin and ugly. Battery cases bug me because if Tim Cook could say no to Jony Ive, we’d probably have thicker phones with reasonable battery capacities and that would abrogate the need for those monstrosities.

    As for the actual case material, aluminum is not the only material available. There are high tech plastics that are virtually indestructible, just look at what knife makers are using for handles. I have a nine year old knife that uses a nylon/glass composite that is extremely stiff, has a very grippy texture and after nine years of bouncing around in my pocket with change, keys and pretty much anything else I’ve thrown in my pocket, it doesn’t have a scratch on it. And if you don’t like the sound of plastic, there are a host of other materials that can be used.

    Apple’s in an aluminum, skinny rut and it’s getting boring.

    • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

      I really like apple’s industrial design from an aesthetic and functional stand point. People who hate it so much really ought to buy other manufacturer’s products rather than expect Apple to change… They won’t.

      • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

        Apple’s obsession with thinness is idiotic. It not only kills any chance of good battery life, but makes the phone difficult and uncomfortable to hold. It’s simply not ergonomic. It’s lack of any grippy edges makes it slippery too. It doesn’t even look nice, the 6 is the ugliest iPhone by a mile, with those gigantic antenna lines making the back look like a dog’s dinner. Now the iPhone 4 by comparison was a thing of beauty.

      • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

        Apple never changes? Have you been paying attention? The first iPhone was unique but the next two had a shape similar to the first, with rounded edges and plastic backs, the next two had glass backs with a square edge and a wrap-around perimeter set of antennae, next was the iPhone 5/5s, similar in shape but with an aluminum case and internal antennae. Now we have the 6/6s style, again with a curved edge and those ugly antenna stripes that had everyone freaking out when the design was first leaked.

        Personally I don’t care what the case looks like since I use a case. I saw my 5s when I took it out of the box and put it in a case and then two years later when I took it out of the case to sell it. The 6/6s is butt-ugly but I don’t care because it’s in a case and I don’t have to look at it.

        Switching to another platform would be stupid since I’ve invested a lot in apps and media that won’t work on another platform. I’ll just have to stick it out until they fire Ive and hire someone sane.

      • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

        Obviously I mean they don’t change their philosophy! They’re going to keep making thinner devices.

        And if they fired the world’s best industrial designer, their stock price would nose dive and I’d be concerned about their direction.

    • TechSHIZZLE.com - 8 years ago

      This is the issue for me: it’s too thin, or at least there’s no way to securely hold the thing.

      To my eye, the 6s/Plus are beautifully designed (although I do miss the design of the Darth Vader iPhone). But it’s so thin you don’t actually hold it as much as you balance it on your hand and hope it doesn’t slide off.

      Give me a little ridge or something on the sides to hold onto for God’s sake.

      I HATE cases, but with the 6 and now 6s I have had to go to the thinnest Spigen case I can find.

      At least there is a Kickstarter (Strips) that will add a little grippy strip to the sides of the phone. Not partiacularly aesthetically pleasing, but it’s relatively unnoticeable and doesn’t mess with the aesthetic very much.

      • Inaba-kun (@Inaba_kun) - 8 years ago

        The iPhone 6 is so thin and slippery it’s near impossible to hold. I dropped mine, – the first time I’ve ever dropped a phone – so it now lives inside an ugly Apple leather case.

        I used to keep my iPhone 3, 4, and 5 caseless, and they looked pretty much perfect after 2 years of use.

      • dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

        So here’s the thing, Apple’s aim is thin – quite rightly too, no-one really wants fat, but people want great battery life too. Apple would say they’re aiming for a sweet spot I’m sure (all day battery life, sexy design). They may have missed that sweet spot with the 6 a bit. But they’re not going to add girth to reach 2 full days, it’s just not in their dna.

        It’s that dna that on many occasions has driven the industry forward

        Imagine a future iPhone, it’ll be 4mm thin with “all day battery life”. Imagine a phone machined from one piece of glass maybe, zero ports / wireless everything. If people don’t like that direction, fine, choose another manufacturer.

        As for holding on to it, I’m not sure I get it, thin doesn’t make it hard to hold… is it the satin finish on the aluminium?

      • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

        Look into Egrips. They sell narrow, clear adhesive strips with a lot of grip.

      • capdorf - 8 years ago

        A combination of a thin rounded edge , (which makes it thinner to the touch), wide phone and slippery surface, make it awkward to hold. If it was thinner, you would have to hold it so tight that you would end up with a stressed hand.

  14. rgbfoundry - 8 years ago

    Apple’s cases are all about profit and the idea that they should make some accessories themselves. They’re not spending a lot of time or money on them. The exception, in my mind, was the magnetic cover for the iPad. It was so well integrated into the product that it just made sense and was worth the money. A simple phone case? Profits. The same decision has driven their earphone design. It would seem bad to exclude them from the packaging, so you get the minimum. Just enough for you not to hate Apple.

    • rnc - 8 years ago

      You certainly never touched an iPhone case.

      Yes, there is a lot of profit there, but the quality is superb, leather and silicone. The leather ones feel like expensive leather, not the normal “PU” crap, and the silicone don’t feel like the common TPU, they feel soft.

      The build quality is second to none. With a soft interior that feels way better than most of the exterior of other cases.

      Yes, profit, Apple is not a charity, and doesn’t pretend to be like one. If you want a capitalist company that wants to fool people that they are a NGO, go look somewhere else.

  15. dailycardoodle - 8 years ago

    The comments re the silicone case are very much from the perspective of a critic not appreciating the design, which is very logical.

    Rather than saying you don’t like it, think how it could be improved.

    The press through buttons all make sense. The aperture for the silent switch couldn’t be covered, so the open solution is best. The open bottom had to be there to get the case on, the alternative would have been a stretchier material all round with four holes in the bottom! Headphone, mic, lightning and speaker.

    The lip around the perimeter means all the glass is protected even the bottom edge.

    It’s a clever but of design. Although the 5c case with holes in was not!

  16. The point being missed is this: personalization. Sure, make the iPhone as aesthetically pleasing and tough as possible. Some people won’t use a case. But the case is most peoples way of saying, “this is my iPhone”. It’s a cheap and easy way to add your own touch. That is also why the phone is made as thin as possible; so that after a case is put on it, it is still as thin and light as possible.

    • Ben Lovejoy - 8 years ago

      Yep, that’s a perfectly valid reason to buy a case (it’s kind of my reason, as I think phones should be black, so a black case does the job). But that’s not a reason for Apple to fail to offer a far more integrated case design.

      • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

        And a black Bakelite case with a rotary dial app prominently displayed? 😜

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        Integrated case design? Haha what?? They use 7000 series aluminum now. You want adamantium.

  17. mockery17 - 8 years ago

    I’m having trouble understand the argument here. Is the author arguing that cases thicken the device and make it look bad, and hence Apple should make two versions of the same phone with different materials? Doesn’t that just dilute the focus of the development of the product?

  18. Brian Ceradsky - 8 years ago

    I think maybe people are looking at this from the perspective that this is the best Apple can come up with. Certainly that was my reaction. But I think they’re sending a message to everybody.

    For years now, people have begged for more battery out of the phones, and Jony Ives has made it clear that battery life is not a priority. This case seems to me like Ives saying “Ok, fine. You want more battery? Here you go, this is what happens when you try to get more battery in a device. It’s not pretty anymore.”

    I could be completely wrong, but I feel like this is Apple’s way of saying you can’t have it both ways.

    Personally I would have liked to see a case that used the same technology that the Macbook used for the batteries to fill all available space.

    • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

      If this is the case, then they should include it free with each phone sold and have it come out of Ive’s paycheck.

  19. charismatron - 8 years ago

    I hope Apple is calling the battery case, “No Fucks Given” because that would be awesome name for this butt-ugly product.

  20. realgurahamu - 8 years ago

    I use a case but mostly to avoid light scratches from keys and also for grip ability and also features: battery, storage etc

  21. Ken Gray - 8 years ago

    The 5C was an iPhone designed with a permanent durable shell. It didn’t sell.

    • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

      I think the reason the 5c didn’t sell like hotcakes was that it was previous year’s model repackaged. It probably would have been a hit if it was all the current tech.

    • capdorf - 8 years ago

      It didn’t sell because it was limited in capacity and function, personally i preferred the feel of it, but would not buy it because of it’s limitations.

  22. kjl3000 - 8 years ago

    So this is Apple’s answer to at least three main design flaws caused by the dogma of thinning the iPhone:

    1st: battery life
    2nd: usability (better grip)
    3rd: Get the bulged camera flushed

    I have no doubt Apple mainly aimed on these flaws but I don’t see any shame, and that’s what’s really sad. Remember when Apple tried to fix the iPhone 4 antennagate by giving away cases (FOR FREE, btw) to fix this problem temporarily? You could see their (especially Steves) disgrace about the fact a CASE was needed to fix a problem (that was fixed with the 4S less than a year later, btw), and now they SELL you a f****ng ugly case for $99 to fix at least three design flaws instead of fixing them. APPLE, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED ON WHAT YOU ARE DOING THESE DAYS!

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      Except none of those things are design flaws. Good try though. Their physics flaws.

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        They’re* rather

      • kjl3000 - 8 years ago

        Please go bother someone else, o0smoothies0o. I really don’t want to talk to you … thx.

    • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

      Apple needs to hire a designer that’s more about function and less about aesthetics. An iPhone made with modern composites by a designer with knowledge of structural engineering will likely be thicker but far more durable. I mentioned glass filled nylon up topic because I have my pocket knife sitting by my keyboard. 9 years of bouncing with keys, change and other paraphernalia and the composite is scratch free. Aluminum is a terrible material to use on anything that may suffer some abuse. It’s soft, easily deformed and requires anodization to resist the slightest scratch. Even hard anodized aluminum could be easily scratched by a short drop.

      The iPhone 6 series screen is the least protected of any iPhone to date. Internally the iPhone 6s is a work of art, externally it’s the ugliest thing Apple has produced in decades. It really is horribly designed. Silly as it looks, the new humpback battery case improves the looks of the phone dramatically.

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        No offense but you have no idea what you’re talking about in regards to optimal materials to use. The only thing you need to know is that Apple has the best people in the world for nearly anything you can imagine, specifically in regards to what you are talking about, they have the best metallurgists, structural engineers, etc. If you think for a second that they haven’t considered and weighed hundreds of factors you aren’t even aware of, well, then you just don’t know.

      • mpias3785 - 8 years ago

        You’ve overdosed on the koolaid. Why would Apple need a metallurgist to pick an off-the-shelf 7000 series grade aluminum alloy? Tim Cook has no passion for the products and Jony Ive has too much passion for himself. Those two facts easily explain the long series of screw-ups perpetrated by Apple since Jobs died. The Apple BOD needs to get rid of both before the damage they’re inflicting becomes too difficult to repair.

      • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

        You’ve over-dosed on the ‘I don’t know what the hell im talking about but I’ll argue my uninformed opinions anyway—koolaid’

  23. Graham J - 8 years ago

    Why would they care what it looks like after you bought it? You already gave them your money.

    • o0smoothies0o - 8 years ago

      If I was on Jony Ive’s design team, designing devices to be used by hundreds of millions of people… Personally, I’d want them to look ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

      And by the way, that’s how everyone on Apple’s design team feels, especially Jony Ive. Do you think he gives a damn about money? He doesn’t.

  24. blockbusterbuzz - 8 years ago

    Apple this year has made some questionable choices in designing their accessories. Between the iPad Pro keyboard, the Magic Mouse 2 and Apple Pencil charging and now the smart battery case… Whoever is in charge of accessories needs to have a chat with Jony about how things should be.

  25. PJ (@D00mM4r1n3) - 8 years ago

    The only reason I use a case is because the iPhone is too slippery otherwise. Twice the phone has slipped off a counter and it was due to it being naked and on a surface that wasn’t 100% level. I can’t imagine walking around with such a slippery device in my hand, outdoors.

  26. Paul Andrew Dixon - 8 years ago

    I think the phones look very boring on their own… i went with black and silver because for most part you aint going to see it — the thinness helps because when adding a case to it, it doesnt make it as think as it would be if i added a case to the iphone 5.

    I kinda liked the idea of the mix combinations of iphone 5C and it’s cases with the holes – and the mix of apple watches with straps and screens… i would love the colours from the ipods brought over to the iphone – grey, silver, and gold are very boring — inject some colour and fun into our lives…

    Remember when the G3 imac came out with the see-through coloured backs — we had colour and fun.

    They need a new design team, they really do.

  27. capdorf - 8 years ago

    One thing you missed. Without a case the iPhone 6 slips out of the hand easily. Especially if, like me, you have a little arthritis. For holding, the design is bad.

  28. nelmat - 8 years ago

    Never had or used a case – my 3G, 4S and current 5S live in my jeans pocket next to my house keys – apart from some scratching to the outer band on my 5S it’s perfect. No idea why a case is seen as ‘essential’. Apple offer a choice of cases, if you don’t like how they look there are many third party alternatives available. Some people get through a day (or two) just fine on a single charge and don’t need a battery case, others do need the extra juice. Choice is good, Apple offer that choice. I don’t see the issue.

    I suspect Apple would rather people not use cases as they destroy the look of the phone, however if there is a market, they might as well tap into it and make some extra money.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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