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Would anyone else just be fine with a thick phone that had a better internal battery? I would prefer that. To me, this battery pack is a symptom of a systemic d

Would anyone else just be fine with a thick phone that had a better internal battery? I would prefer that. To me, this battery pack is a symptom of a systemic design flaw. Consumers and companies are obsessed with thinner, sleeker devices, but the costs are obvious-- slimmer phone, smaller battery. When the Xbox 360 came out, it was substantially smaller than the original Xbox. But, most of the space savings came from moving a huge chunk of the power supply unit into the power cable! So now you had a massive cable and a smaller device, so it was really just for show. The overall system itself was still the same damn size! Another consequence of thinner phones is less protection. Drop your phone once, and the chances you shatter the screen are high. There's an entire protection economy around phones-- everything from insurance to cases to glass screen protectors. All of these expenses and "opportunities" could be circumvented if they just made a fat, ugly, functional phone.

notimetorelax 5y ago
I got iPhone 12 Pro Max a few months back, and I must say I don’t see a need for another battery pack. It easily lasts me a whole day of heavy usage.
lowercased 5y ago
agreed 100%. but the move to thinness keeps a 'wow' factor going every year or so.
ot 5y ago
For me it’s more of a weight issue. Current iPhones are already heavy enough to be slightly uncomfortable when scrolling for long times, I definitely wouldn’t want anything heavier.
andrepew 5y ago
I agree, I'd rather just have a bigger phone with a better battery. Although I don't think bigger inherently means more durable/more protection. Bigger means when dropped, whatever part of the chassis hits the ground first has a lot more energy to absorb.
_ph_ 5y ago
The answer to your question lies in the number of people who are buying the MagSafe battery pack. If it is a large amount of all iPhone customers, the phone should be just thicker with a bigger battery, if it is a small fraction of all customers, the battery is probably fine except for some high workloads. Personally, I am fine with the battery capacity (iPhone Pro Max), I wouldn't mind a little bit more of thickness for a bit more reserve, but it shouldn't get much thicker.
conscion 5y ago
> Would anyone else just be fine with a thick phone that had a better internal battery? I think you miss the point of maximizing the customization of the phone. Because phones have to be in a single unit, user customization can only be done through external peripherals (vs. desktop PC where individual components can be customized). To make the external peripherals as non-invasive as possible, the phone should be as small as possible while still being usable for most use cases. For example, if battery is your priority, get a case that has a built in external battery; many exist. Then you can have your extended battery, while a user who doesn't care about it, can have a smaller phone.
- manifoldgeo 5y ago
  I totally get the utility of decorating and customizing a phone. It's a way to personalize the device. So, to your point that I'm missing the point-- it's not lost on me. I just think the companies are delivering the equivalent of a baby with no skin and a tiny stomach. It's a precious thing you want to hold every day, but it doesn't come with even basic outer protections from damage, and it can't stomach enough food to produce the energy it needs to live throughout the day. BUT, Johnson and Johnson (inventor of babies) will be glad to sell you a silicone baby skin or the waterproof baby case. And there's Ultra-Tum®-- a stomach addon with normal baby-stomach capacity to keep your little tyke chugging along all day! Like, bitch, just make a damn baby with skin and a normally sized stomach! Obviously the above is hyperbole (and I'm trying to do my best Keaton Patti impression), but I really think the designers are in a special position where they're the best-suited party to just make a damn phone with a case built in and a high-capacity battery, even at the cost of sleekness.
floatingatoll 5y ago
No. My hand still gets tired from the weight of the iPhone 12 (weights a lot more than a Kindle), and I already downgraded from the 11 Pro (weights a lot more than a non-Pro) even though I love photography. But anyone with a purse can just stick this battery in their purse and make sure their phone lands next to it when they put it away, gaining the benefits of the extra battery with none of the drawbacks of having to hold the extra weight most of the time. I would expect it's not quite thin enough for men's jeans pockets to tolerate this use case (and so this will be completely overlooked by all reviews and press), but this is definitely an object that looks designed for purses rather than pockets.
BluePen8 5y ago
Not really, ever since phones got so big, they're hard to use one handed. Thickness just exacerbates the issue. When I accidentally broke my original iPhone SE, I switched to an X and ended up having to use it caseless just to make it easier to use with one hand. Hated the size of the X enough I bought an iPhone Mini the first day it came out, my first brand new iPhone purchase since 2013. I have no interest in adding even a mm of size to my phone. The battery lasts all day and it can fast charge anyways.
- randyrand 5y ago
  I also now have the mini and it’s still extremely cumbersome to use one handed. Such a shame. Original SE size was near perfect.
leppr 5y ago
> Another consequence of thinner phones is less protection. Drop your phone once, and the chances you shatter the screen are high. How does thinness decrease screen protection? On the contrary a reduction in thickness also usually involves a reduction in weight, which decreases the impact force from a drop. Personally, I'm fine with protection through external, replaceable accessories. No matter how sturdy, scratches on the screen are inevitable. With a glass screen protector, you can throw your $500+ device around carelessly, and replace the $15 protection after a few years or if it breaks.
- manifoldgeo 5y ago
  Good point. I reread what I'd said, and I think what I meant is that the phone case could just be built in by the factory. It would mean less / no customization, but they could easily build a case on the outside that is completely drop-resistant with replaceable parts for when you scratch it up.
tomjen3 5y ago
It would be my choice to have a _slightly_ thicker phone, but as somebody who is looking to move to the iPhone after a decade on Android, I like the option to have this in a bag or something for the days that I have more heavy usage.
mmebane 5y ago
I would love having a slightly thicker phone. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is good enough for most days, but having around 25% more battery would be welcome, especially for weekends when I'm not sitting at a desk with a charger. Just make the entire phone the thickness of the camera lenses, and that would probably be sufficient.
Tagbert 5y ago
Your proposal assumes that a large number of users find the current battery life insufficient for their needs. I can attest that I don’t find battery life to be a problem on most days. When I am traveling or going to an extended time outside event, just bring along a small power pack to top up if I need it. I don’t want to have to carry that power pack around most days. If the phone were just thicker, I’d be stuck with that all the time. I like the flexibility to change the battery life vs phone size/weight compromise.
historyloop 5y ago
> Would anyone else just be fine with a thick phone that had a better internal battery? Replaceable battery. Anyway, this argument has been made plenty of times. Apple prefers to sell you a new phone and an external battery.

notimetorelax 5y ago

I got iPhone 12 Pro Max a few months back, and I must say I don’t see a need for another battery pack. It easily lasts me a whole day of heavy usage.

lowercased 5y ago

agreed 100%. but the move to thinness keeps a 'wow' factor going every year or so.

ot 5y ago

For me it’s more of a weight issue. Current iPhones are already heavy enough to be slightly uncomfortable when scrolling for long times, I definitely wouldn’t want anything heavier.

andrepew 5y ago

I agree, I'd rather just have a bigger phone with a better battery. Although I don't think bigger inherently means more durable/more protection. Bigger means when dropped, whatever part of the chassis hits the ground first has a lot more energy to absorb.

_ph_ 5y ago

The answer to your question lies in the number of people who are buying the MagSafe battery pack. If it is a large amount of all iPhone customers, the phone should be just thicker with a bigger battery, if it is a small fraction of all customers, the battery is probably fine except for some high workloads. Personally, I am fine with the battery capacity (iPhone Pro Max), I wouldn't mind a little bit more of thickness for a bit more reserve, but it shouldn't get much thicker.

conscion 5y ago

> Would anyone else just be fine with a thick phone that had a better internal battery? I think you miss the point of maximizing the customization of the phone. Because phones have to be in a single unit, user customization can only be done through external peripherals (vs. desktop PC where individual components can be customized). To make the external peripherals as non-invasive as possible, the phone should be as small as possible while still being usable for most use cases. For example, if battery is your priority, get a case that has a built in external battery; many exist. Then you can have your extended battery, while a user who doesn't care about it, can have a smaller phone.

manifoldgeo 5y ago
I totally get the utility of decorating and customizing a phone. It's a way to personalize the device. So, to your point that I'm missing the point-- it's not lost on me. I just think the companies are delivering the equivalent of a baby with no skin and a tiny stomach. It's a precious thing you want to hold every day, but it doesn't come with even basic outer protections from damage, and it can't stomach enough food to produce the energy it needs to live throughout the day. BUT, Johnson and Johnson (inventor of babies) will be glad to sell you a silicone baby skin or the waterproof baby case. And there's Ultra-Tum®-- a stomach addon with normal baby-stomach capacity to keep your little tyke chugging along all day! Like, bitch, just make a damn baby with skin and a normally sized stomach! Obviously the above is hyperbole (and I'm trying to do my best Keaton Patti impression), but I really think the designers are in a special position where they're the best-suited party to just make a damn phone with a case built in and a high-capacity battery, even at the cost of sleekness.

floatingatoll 5y ago

No. My hand still gets tired from the weight of the iPhone 12 (weights a lot more than a Kindle), and I already downgraded from the 11 Pro (weights a lot more than a non-Pro) even though I love photography. But anyone with a purse can just stick this battery in their purse and make sure their phone lands next to it when they put it away, gaining the benefits of the extra battery with none of the drawbacks of having to hold the extra weight most of the time. I would expect it's not quite thin enough for men's jeans pockets to tolerate this use case (and so this will be completely overlooked by all reviews and press), but this is definitely an object that looks designed for purses rather than pockets.

BluePen8 5y ago

Not really, ever since phones got so big, they're hard to use one handed. Thickness just exacerbates the issue. When I accidentally broke my original iPhone SE, I switched to an X and ended up having to use it caseless just to make it easier to use with one hand. Hated the size of the X enough I bought an iPhone Mini the first day it came out, my first brand new iPhone purchase since 2013. I have no interest in adding even a mm of size to my phone. The battery lasts all day and it can fast charge anyways.

randyrand 5y ago
I also now have the mini and it’s still extremely cumbersome to use one handed. Such a shame. Original SE size was near perfect.

leppr 5y ago

> Another consequence of thinner phones is less protection. Drop your phone once, and the chances you shatter the screen are high. How does thinness decrease screen protection? On the contrary a reduction in thickness also usually involves a reduction in weight, which decreases the impact force from a drop. Personally, I'm fine with protection through external, replaceable accessories. No matter how sturdy, scratches on the screen are inevitable. With a glass screen protector, you can throw your $500+ device around carelessly, and replace the $15 protection after a few years or if it breaks.

manifoldgeo 5y ago
Good point. I reread what I'd said, and I think what I meant is that the phone case could just be built in by the factory. It would mean less / no customization, but they could easily build a case on the outside that is completely drop-resistant with replaceable parts for when you scratch it up.

tomjen3 5y ago

It would be my choice to have a _slightly_ thicker phone, but as somebody who is looking to move to the iPhone after a decade on Android, I like the option to have this in a bag or something for the days that I have more heavy usage.

mmebane 5y ago

I would love having a slightly thicker phone. The iPhone 12 Pro Max is good enough for most days, but having around 25% more battery would be welcome, especially for weekends when I'm not sitting at a desk with a charger. Just make the entire phone the thickness of the camera lenses, and that would probably be sufficient.

Tagbert 5y ago

Your proposal assumes that a large number of users find the current battery life insufficient for their needs. I can attest that I don’t find battery life to be a problem on most days. When I am traveling or going to an extended time outside event, just bring along a small power pack to top up if I need it. I don’t want to have to carry that power pack around most days. If the phone were just thicker, I’d be stuck with that all the time. I like the flexibility to change the battery life vs phone size/weight compromise.

historyloop 5y ago

> Would anyone else just be fine with a thick phone that had a better internal battery? Replaceable battery. Anyway, this argument has been made plenty of times. Apple prefers to sell you a new phone and an external battery.