They're nowhere near this ugly.
Something has gone horribly wrong in Apple's accessories division.
Lightning, the terrible new keyboard, the mouse port debacle and now this. Everything they're touching is turning to shit.
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Apple: Thinness>>>Everything Else. BTW: Here's your hunchbacked $99 battery case
- Thread starter Milchjon
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They're nowhere near this ugly.
Something has gone horribly wrong in Apple's accessories division.
Lightning, the terrible new keyboard, the mouse port debacle and now this. Everything they're touching is turning to shit.
They don't have to try anymore.
I honestly think there's no vision on their team anymore. Whenever they talk about innovation, it's just "Look how thin it is!".
3D Touch was a very recent innovation.
POWERSPHERE
Member
The iphone 6 is basically unusable without a case, so this will be totally fine and you will all survive.
it's definitely more important that unenlightened poors maintain the clean design at every possible moment than have a device that's functional while charging.
Ray Wonder
Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
Make the battery thin and stretch across the whole phone. Make it not look like a marshmellow. They could do a lot of things better.
I know almost all battery cases are ugly, but it's apple for goodness sake. They're supposed to be the epitome of modern design.
Wat? In their first try they released a stylus better than Wacom has ever made in the entire history of the company. 3d touch. Mobile CPUs which embarrass every other company.
Storm Raider
Banned
I am arguing because I strongly assume that the number of times the sleeve is charged with the phone taken out (who constantly takes a tight sleeve off the phone?) is vastly outnumbered by the times it is charged with the phone inside, but the screen off.
The LED is pointless, the way it is. Do it right or don't do it at all. This is half-assed as fuck.
It's absolutely endearing how you actually think this pitiful list of issues means 'everything they're touching is turning to shit'.
The mouse 'debacle', typed with a straight face. You're killing me here.
If that really is the stuff people are hating on apple for these days, I can see why they are still dominating the industry and more popular than ever.
Exactly. The way it's meant to be used means that you won't have a flashing yellow LED anywhere on your phone. You just use and charge it as you would with your regular phone and nothing changes. The indicator is on the phone display itself and you'll never see the LED, I bet it doesn't even light up with a phone connected. Why would it.
But they had to make some kind of charging indicator for when it was off the phone. And instead of putting it on the back and potentially messing up a seamless finish, they stuck it on the inside. It's fucking smart if anything.
What would make it less half-assed in your opinion? Stick it right in front/back and then just never use it as the case would be used with a phone for 99% of the time? What you are arguing for does not make sense.
Ray Wonder
Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
They're supposed to be the best at it. When they're not, it's hard not to scratch your head and wonder what's up.
freenudemacusers
Member
? I've never used a case on any of my idevices
Exactly. Well said.
I can't even fathom why he included lightning on his list of gripes. What's the beef with lightning?
The curve of the phone makes it feel a bit slippery if I'm holding it one handed. I've honestly never tried it without the case, but I think the leather Apple case still looks nice and adds a bit of texture.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
I think my iPhone 6 is TOO thin. It's uncomfortable for me to grip, so a grippy case is an absolute necessity for me. I too would prefer thicker phones with better battery life.
freenudemacusers
Member
Grip it harder, like you would the hand of a lover as you reach climax (simultaneously)
I specifically pulled out Apple's accessories division.
And that's pretty much all the product they've released this year, apart from the iPad Pro keyboard (also terrible), the Apple pencil (with that connector) and the Watch dock (also terrible). The new trackpad was a wash.
Edit: you could also throw in literally everything Beats has I ever done I suppose, if you wanted to make things look even worse.
So yes, I'm really okay with saying that everything Apple's accessories division is touching is turning to shit, because it is.
Oppo
Member
unusable?
un-usable?
cannot be used?
impossible to use?
absolutely not within the realm of something that can be used?
Well, I disagree, I think it can be slightly slippery without a case.
It's a bad connector design that's much more prone to breakage than it's predecessor, dropped necessary pin layouts, has the worst cable design I could think of that is virtually guaranteed to die within a year, didn't lay out it's electrical connectivity correctly so it will have to have a silent refresh this year (the pin design on the iPad Pro is different...), had terrible controllers that necessitated in cable chipsets that massively increased costs, and is part of the Made for iPhone programme of rentseeking.
It also has the dubious honour during it's introduction of only being licensed under MFI if you committed not to raise it on a dock, even though Apple's own MFI case design spec specifically said that had to happen to be compatible with their own cases, and no-one at Apple fixed this for nearly two years.
Ugly and awkward looking. No thanks.
Yup. No coincidence that it's non iPhone users in here (who were never buying this anyway) most outraged about this.
Yup. No coincidence that it's non iPhone users in here (who were never buying this anyway) most outraged about this.
They released two pencils this year? News to me.
But tell me, can't you at least see the reason why they went with the pencil connector? I mean, it comes with a regular-ass charging cable so it's not the only way to charge it, mind you.
But you don't think it's kind of neat that 30 seconds of plugging it in straight into the iPad gives you 90 minutes of use? Having to carry exactly 0 extra peripherals to do it?
Because I do, and that feature would have my definite preference over charging it with a separate cable through USB or other means. Are there reports of the feature being faulty or bad or is this just a case of 'it looks silly so i'm going to write some angry stuff'?
Snkfanatic
Banned
Except that it was 129 fucking dollars, almost twice the price of the old one.
Before someone says "well, it has features the old one didn't", the old one was $69 when it was brand new and had been out five years by the time it got replaced. Imagine if Apple launched an iPhone in 2010, kept it entirely identical for five years with no price drop, and then launched another one with some pretty modest new features for twice the price.
Junior Mint
Member
The 6 is difficult to use without a case but not impossible. The 6 Plus on the other hand just feels straight up dangerous to use without a case. Like it's already way too thin to grip comfortably but the rounded edges and everything combines to make it ridiculously slippery and hard to hold. I would never use my 6+ without a case to add some kind of texture or grip.
TouchMyBox
Member
You know apple, if you just made the iPhone slightly thicker, nobody would notice that it was thicker and you could cram that 25 hour battery in there and everybody would love you for it!
Nah...
Nah...
Yes, yes, I'd already fixed it when you posted.
My working assumption is crystal meth, but I'm not ruling out some other unfortunate substance combination.
It's still an astonishingly bad design. It should have used a side connector, that would also have enabled it to connect to the device. If only Apple had experience making excellent magnetic charging connectors and a bunch of useful patents!
Not really, given there were several ways to do it that wouldn't have been as fragile as shit and resulted in an ergonomics disaster, even if it doesn't have to last that long.
If you really don't think that connector positioning is inherently fragile I have a physics textbook that explains moments that you could borrow?
I personally dislike it quite a bit - it's uglier and as you say more expensive. But at least it had objectively improved features like a rechargeable battery. Hence me describing it as a wash.
To parse this out, I see a bunch of subjective stuff I don't agree with, and that there might be a slight redesign. Cool.
The connector works great, I've never had one fail in years, and all my Apple products use it now. I was happy to see it included in the new Apple TV remote.
The Albatross
Member
Man what are they thinking... Seriously looks like cheap Chinese crap you find on Amazon for $0.01
If we're talking about the lightning cable, there's nothing subjective about how bad the ones from Apple are. Between my fiancee and I ... we must have gone through 5 or 6 in 2-3 years, and we're not doing anything weird with our phones. Finally went and just bought off-brand ones on Amazon that don't look like the Apple ones, but are actually made well and aren't complete shit.
This was the one we finally settled on as decent quality
If we're talking about the lightning cable, there's nothing subjective about how bad the ones from Apple are. Between my fiancee and I ... we must have gone through 5 or 6 in 2-3 years, and we're not doing anything weird with our phones. Finally went and just bought off-brand ones on Amazon that don't look like the Apple ones, but are actually made well and aren't complete shit.
This was the one we finally settled on as decent quality
Do other cases advertise extending antennas?
I actually have reception issues at my desk at work, which is a shitty place to have reception issues.
I also couldn't care less whether people think the shape of my phone ja ugly so there's that. I really like the feel of Apple's silicone cases as well.
I actually have reception issues at my desk at work, which is a shitty place to have reception issues.
I also couldn't care less whether people think the shape of my phone ja ugly so there's that. I really like the feel of Apple's silicone cases as well.
This is totally irrelevant, but your comment here reminded me that the new Apple TV remote is fucking garbage. Too easy to accidentally trigger the touchpad when picked up, so you end up scrubbing through whatever you're watching. No way to hold a direction to scroll, forcing you to swipe over and over to get through lots of content. There is literally nothing the touchpad does better than the D-pad on the old remote did as far as navigating the UI.
Oh, and Apple had the brilliant insight to make the world's first television remote - a device that is destined to be dropped, sat on, lost in couch cushions, and abused by children - that's made out of glass.
Ray Wonder
Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
The actual cable itself from Apple, yes, I agree. I've been through a few as well.
The lightning cable/port itself, I like.
it just seems odd that they wouldn't at least make the hump flush with the bottom of the phone. Would be way neater and provide even more battery capacity (or could be thinner for the same capacity).
Also there are plenty of third party offerings which are popular, so why the need for Apple to produce one? Arguably it sends the wrong message about the battery life of their own devices
Also there are plenty of third party offerings which are popular, so why the need for Apple to produce one? Arguably it sends the wrong message about the battery life of their own devices
I don't think the watch stand is anywhere near as strange as this battery pack, or a mouse that charges from the bottom.
Please tell me you are kidding. I really really hope so. You just never know in an Apple thread. They accept anything Apple throws at them.
took the Verge 3 hours and 15 minutes after that original article to post another one slagging it off
http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9867996/apple-smart-battery-case-iphone-6-6s-hands-on
http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9867996/apple-smart-battery-case-iphone-6-6s-hands-on
Betta Lines
Member
They must have decided that having the Lightning port visible at all times was unnecessary, when it only needs to be accessed for 2 hours every month or so. I suspect if they could make iOS devices last a month on a single charge, their charging mechanisms would also be hidden.
I am not kidding. I also don't own any Apple products.
Bjomesphat
Banned
I've had my 6 since launch. Never had a case, haven't dropped it once. Same thing with my 5. Why would I drop my phone? I have 28 years experience of holding onto things, I'm not too worried about it.
Jo Shishido's Cheeks
Member
Yes this is tragic, much like the recent cover keyboard and Watch charging dock but Apple have always made incredibly ugly accessories.
Remember the 5C cases with the holes cut out of the back?
Even their cables are garbage.
The hardware design is so good that its really bizarre how they continually fall short in most other areas.
Remember the 5C cases with the holes cut out of the back?
Even their cables are garbage.
The hardware design is so good that its really bizarre how they continually fall short in most other areas.
I like their current lightning dock, but I wish it had some way of securing to a surface because you can't pull a phone off it with one hand, even though its heavy. I have to use blutak on mine
DistortionOfReality
Member
The problem for increasingly thin phones is right here.
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