iPhone XS and XS Max Smart Battery Case contains 1369 mAH battery, significantly smaller than the capacity of previous cases - 9to5Mac

Apple’s smart battery cases for iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR went on sale last night, with Apple touting up to 75% extra usage time. Apple did not state the battery’s capacity in the Apple Store tech specs.

However, The Wirecutter’s Nick Guy has already got his hands on an iPhone XS case, and read off the specs from the printed label. It turns out the iPhone XS Smart Battery Case houses a 1369 mAh internal battery. This is significantly less than the 2365 mAh battery found in the iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case. The XS Max case features the same 1369 mAh capacity …

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The iPhone 7 battery case contained a sizeable 2365 mAh battery; the older iPhone 6S case was 1877 mAh. Note that Apple did not make battery cases for the plus-sized models until this generation.

With both the XS and XS Max touting the same capacity, it is expected that the XR case will also feature the same 1369 mAh battery. In terms of real-world usage, Apple says that users can expect between 47-75% longer Internet browsing times, depending on device.

In percentage terms, that’s an increase of 75% for XS, 54% for XS Max and 47% for XR — according to Apple’s statistics. We will obviously be conducting our own testing soon.

The overall size of the iPhone XS battery cases is roughly in line with previous generations. However, the accessory now contains extra components to support Qi wireless charging. This may explain the lower capacity internal battery.

We’ll have a hands on with the new lineup of battery cases as soon as they are delivered. The iPhone XS and iPhone XR cases are offered in white or black, and cost $129 across the board.

Both iPhone XS and XS MAX Smart Battery Case have a 1369 mAh capacity. iPhone 7 version was 2365, iPhone 6 was 1877. pic.twitter.com/MtJdFC98qQ

— Nick Guy (@thenickguy) January 16, 2019

It remains an open question as to whether the XS case will be suitable for an iPhone X owner. The cases do include speaker holes on the bottom edge which will obviously not line up with the iPhone X, which had symmetric speaker grilles. Most people won’t care about that discrepancy however. The important point is whether the iPhone X camera bump will line up with the XS case’s camera hole, as the two generations have slightly different camera housings. That question has yet to be resolved.