In what has been reported as somewhat of a surprise move for Apple, the company just unveiled a new, external battery for its iPhone 6s. It’s called the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case and should extend the life of your iPhone 6s by up to 25 hours. The accessory (in either black or white) goes on sale today for a price of $99.
Like its other cases, Apple used silicone as the main component. While the iPhone maker did not disclose the full battery capacity, it did say that your phone should get an extra 18 to 25 hours of battery life.
Like other third-party battery cases, the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case uses a Lightning port at the bottom to connect to your iPhone. However, unlike most third-party battery cases that use a micro-USB cable to charge, the iPhone 6s Smart Battery Case charges using a traditional Lighting cable. This means that you do not have to carry around an extra cable. While the new case works with the iPhone 6 and 6s, there is no similar version for the 6 Plus and 6s Plus yet.
The Smart Battery Case has a hump on the back, but Apple has made sure you can access all of the phone’s buttons, microphones and camera.
Some analysts wonder why Apple decided to create a case for its iPhone 6 and 6s when there are already so many third-party battery cases available. It’s pretty straightforward: getting as much money as possible out of its iPhone users. Since the Smart Battery Case is an official accessory, Apple can gobble up all of the profits with it rather than sell third-party battery cases in its Apple stores.
Maximizing profits is also the reason why Apple released the Smart Case and Smart Cover for the iPad. Most iPad owners buy these cases along with their iPads, and Apple is earning considerable profits on these accessories.
Recently, Apple is making strong efforts in ramping up its line of accessories. The company released the Apple Pencil (for iPads and to promote the iPad Pro), a new keyboard, mouse and touchpad, an Apple Watch Dock and an iPad Pro keyboard.
