PhoneSuit’s newest battery cases first impressed us at this year’s CES, where they earned a coveted iLounge Best of Show award. There are two versions of the battery case for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus — PhoneSuit claims Elite 6 ($80-$90) delivers up to 80 percent of a charge to an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, while Elite 6 Pro ($100-$110) is said to provide 120 percent extra power to either device. Unfortunately, one of our most anticipated features of these cases — a free power management app that gives users more precise control of when the case should start charging the iPhone — didn’t make the cut. PhoneSuit claims the app is still under development and will be released later this year, but we won’t factor that feature into consideration for this review.
All of PhoneSuit’s newest Elite cases are shiny and sleek, and we consider them a step up in design from their predecessor.
The polycarbonate two-piece slider cases now have protection for the volume controls and sleep/wake button, and there’s a small lip for added screen protection. Most notably, the case is controlled through capacitive touch controls on a black strip on the case’s lower back. Holding a finger on the left side of the strip for one second will check the current battery level, while holding one finger on both ends of the strip at the same time for three seconds will start or stop charging. Using the touch controls isn’t necessarily better or worse than a more simple button setup, but it works just as well, and we’d argue it looks nicer, too.
Elite 6 for iPhone 6’s 2200 mAh battery tapped out after a 99 percent charge in less than two hours, more than surpassing its goal of 80 percent.
The Elite 6 Pro case for iPhone 6 delivered a total 125 percent charge from its 3000 mAh battery, also exceeding its claim.
The iPhone 6 Plus cases didn’t fare quite as well: After multiple tests, the 3000 mAh Elite 6 for iPhone 6 Plus gave us a top charge of 76 percent — which is still pretty good. The 4200 mAh Elite 6 Pro for iPhone 6 Plus only gave us 102 percent of a total charge, which is considerably below its 120 percent claim. But again, when not factoring in the company’s claims, it’s still a good result. Though various factors will affect recharging results, we wouldn’t expect either iPhone 6 Plus case to quite reach its full advertised potential.
There’s a lot to like about all the new Elite cases for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
