At IFA 2012 in Berlin last week, we had the chance to see a first for iPhone battery pack maker Mophie -- a battery case for an Android device. The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be the first Android phone to have a custom-built Mophie battery pack, which we're told will offer approximately double the capacity of the phone's 2100mAh stock battery -- although design and specs for the device still aren't finalized.
Though what we played with last week was a prototype, it felt well-made, and the design was in-keeping with the S3's glossy aesthetics. We're sure we'll see an official announcement form the case-maker in the near future, and we'll be eagerly awaiting the finished product.
Reader comments
Mophie to launch battery case for Samsung Galaxy S3
Question: would you mind if your smartphone would be a little more thick?
Making all the parts smaller and thinner gives more possibilities, and one of them is having a larger battery. (the battery life is what most people don't like about their phone)
I wouldn't mind a bigger battery. Watching videos or playing games uses a lot of the battery. It would be nice to not have to worry about charging it as often. I completely agree that battery is a major complaint of most users today. We need a battery more like what's in the Droid Razr Maxx (3300 mAh). I would even go so far as to buy this new battery pack just to increase my ability to use my phone more often.
Let's just make phones with better battery life.
The next Nexus needs to have a Razr Maxx-like battery in it. Right now, the main thing that bothers me about my GNex with Jelly Bean is battery life. I feel like I'm always worrying about it. Fix that one issue, and I'll be so happy.
I love my S2 (I kept it on 2.3.3 because I'm not naive) and intend to stay with Samsung in future (for as long as their products are good - I ditched LG when the S2 arrived), but I believe these phones ship with what are basically unacceptable battery size, and half the time it's surely intentional, so that people spend more money on the proper (official) battery.
Only thing is, most people don't bother, they just won't buy that brand of phone in future, yet alas, all phone makers do it...
The only company that's made any real effort to bring customers acceptable battery life is Huawei, only magically they fail at getting products on the shelf...
The D1 Quad/XL is finally releasing in late october in germany... closing in on a whole year since announcement (feb)...
The Galaxy S III's battery life is suburb. I'm ending my work day, after working two jobs, at anywhere from 30-50% battery life. I'd say I can get 4 hours or more screen on time out of the battery. Granted, it's charging while listening to Pandora in the car between jobs but it doesn't charge it that much due to the screen being on and such.
I still prefer a TPU case and a spare battery over this. That being said, ideally no spare and better battery tech would be great.
I WILL definitely be waiting til it's available. ALWAYS LOVED HOW IT LOOKED ON IPHONE. Hopefully won't be to long of a wait
As long as it's not much thicker then the iPhone 3G or a S3 with an otterbox I may buy it if the battery indeed is two times larger then what is in the phone.
But from what I remember it said the phone would have a run time of nearly double because the battery was ~2100mah, not double the battery in the case. That was what I remember from engadget.
Hopefully I am wrong
Why not just buy a 4000+mah battery and rear cover? Likely going to be a heck of a lot cheaper... This isn't an iPhone, we have options when it comes to batteries.
One word: aesthetics. I have yet to see an extended battery for the GS2, Galaxy Nexus, GS3 that doesn't have a huge bulge on the back, only for the battery. It ruins the look of the phone. Yes, it's cheaper to get one of those monstrosity batteries, but you are already buying a high end smartphone...why cheap out when buying a battery? I wish Mophie would release one for the Galaxy Nexus.
There is also the issue of accessories. With an extended battery, you have about 0 options for cases. Some manufacturers make cases for their extended batteries, but that is rare. This is a protective case and a battery all in one. Win-win.
The reason why, I am assuming, that they are releasing a product for Android is because of the scale and uniforming of the Galaxy S3. Unlike the SG2 which had different varieties. I love my Epic 4G Touch but the fact that it's just for sprint makes accessories limited.
It's one of the things I have accepted with Android, with so many options it's kind of hard for accessory makers to cover them all. That's why I was very happy to hear about the SG3s uniformity.
I agree. Also I have yet to see many reliable batteries. Even batteries from reliable providers like Seidio does not live up to its mah expections. On the other hand mophie batteries have done well on my old ipod touches, and iphones.