Apple last week debuted new Smart Battery Cases designed for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, with each case adding 50 percent additional battery life to its respective iPhone.
Noted repair site iFixit and Creative Electron today did an x-ray teardown of the new battery cases to take a quick glimpse at what's inside and how the near camera button feature works.
Compared to last year's battery cases, the new cases have a camera button on the right side that's designed to open the camera when it's pressed. With the Camera app open, pressing the button takes a photo, and holding it down takes a QuickTake video.
According to iFixit's x-rays, the camera button works though a little circuit board in the case, which has a thin, flexible circuit that runs to the photo button. The circuit board is designed to connect to the camera button through the Lightning port at the bottom of the case.
The button is designed to be just a bit recessed to prevent it from activating in a pocket or a bag, and you do need to hold it down for just a bit to open the camera app to begin with. All in all, it's a useful little feature that adds some nice utility to the Smart Battery Case.
There's little else of interest in the x-ray, but the inductive charging coil is visible, as is the 10.9v battery and other internal circuitry that makes the case functional.
For more on Apple's Smart Battery Cases for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, make sure to check out our guide.
Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall.
At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface.
The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas.
Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial
The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...
Monday September 1, 2025 4:35 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series this month, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive.
If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming to...
Friday August 29, 2025 4:54 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple and Samsung have reportedly issued cease-and-desist notices to Xiaomi in India for an ad campaign that directly compares the rivals' devices to Xiaomi's products. The two companies have threatened the Chinese vendor with legal action, calling the ads "disparaging."
Ads have appeared in local print media and on social media that take pot shots at the competitors' premium offerings. One...
Apple is preparing to release iOS 18.7 for compatible iPhone models, according to evidence of the update in the MacRumors visitor logs.
We expect iOS 18.7 to be released in September, alongside iOS 26. The update will likely include fixes for security vulnerabilities, but little else.
iOS 18.7 will be one of the final updates ever released for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR,...
They should keep the entire back at the same thickness level and put in another battery in an L shape above the two batteries that are in the case right now.
That would break their hinged method of getting the case on and off easily.
They should keep the entire back at the same thickness level and put in another battery in an L shape above the two batteries that are in the case right now.
Too bad Apple didn't keep going and add a headphone jack and SD card slot for external store capability added to iOS 13 and USB C fast charge and transfer port and they would have sold them like gangbusters. Also they should release an updated version with the camera button for their older devices.
I still think the iPhone 12 should come without a battery at all and be super thin and allow the user to buy a thin, thick, massive or power cell battery case.
Keeping with the same theme, they should drop storage to 1gb, because the cloud. Who needs all that old fashioned local storage when there is a giant cloud in the sky so hungry to soak up all our data???
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
