iPhone 11 Smart Battery Case Review: Adding a day’s battery life

I’ve not heard any iPhone 11 owners complain about their battery life – as we discovered early in the piece, it’s got a legitimately all-day battery life.

However, for power users, or those who travel a bit – there’s always going to be occasions where you need a bit more juice.

Enter the Smart Battery Case from Apple. First released four years ago for the iPhone 6S, this case slides into your phone and gives a second battery to your day with a single lightning charge point at the bottom.

For the iPhone 11 there are three cases one for each model, each of them $199. It’s a steep price to pay for a case, let alone a spare battery – but the integration is slick.

In my testing, I am now getting a legitimate two days of usage. The first day your phone is constantly drawing charge from the battery in the case. Once it has dropped to 0% the phone draws on its own battery. I’m well through the second day and no sign of battery anxiety here.

Perfect for a short trip overnight, no need for cables or batteries, just bring the case.

It is heavy, it is bulky – like carrying around the Galaxy Fold – it never really felt comfortable in my pocket.

However, there’s one new feature to the Smart Battery case this year – a camera shutter.

Down the bottom right of the phone case – or top right when you hold the phone to take a landscape photo, there’s a slightly recessed soft section. Push and hold, the camera app launches.

Press again, and it takes a photo. Push and hold and you’re recording video.

Really cool, simple.

Expensive, but the complete integration, the long life and that nifty shutter make it decent value overall.

Web: Apple