Is Apple slacking on design?

Apple has always been lauded for its beautifully crafted devices, considered by many to be works of art. And while that remains true for their main offerings like the iPhone and the MacBook, the company appears to have cut some corners with some of their accessories. I’m no expert on design, but the decisions made on some of these devices are downright head-scratchers. This un-Apple like behavior has become even more evident with its latest product launched this week.

Apple smart battery case

Apple quietly added a battery case for the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6S to its lineup of devices last Dec. 8. But of course, the tech community took notice but wasn’t too thrilled with how the Smart Battery Case looked.

It looks a lot like the battery case for iPhones made by Mophie, except that perhaps in an attempt to unbulk, the battery itself appears like a hump. I fondly call it the Hunchback of Cupertino.

Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff caught up with Apple CEO Tim Cook to draw his thoughts on how people are reacting to the hump. Cook shrugged off the hump and instead lauded how the design team focused on making it easier to put on and take off. He also pointed out how this was meant for those who aren’t able to charge their iPhones. “If you’re out hiking and you go on overnight trips… it’s kind of nice to have,” Cook said.

The product page doesn’t say the exact capacity of the battery case but Apple says it should extend the iPhone’s life by up to 18 hours if you’re on LTE, and up to 20 hours on video playback. Huge missed opportunity, though. Cook and company should have called it ‘Apple Juice’. I bet people would line up to get it if only for the name.

Apple pencil

The company’s naming game might be a bit off too with this product but this peripheral made specifically for the iPad Pro has a ridiculous way to regain power.

When the Pencil runs out of juice, Apple’s primary way of charging it is by sticking the stylus to the lightning port on the iPad Pro. Not exactly elegant-looking and it’s also looking for trouble as one clumsy move could snap the pricey stylus in half or at least damage its lightning connector.

Magic mouse 2

Not needing two double AA batteries is a step in the right direction for Apple’s wireless mouse but here’s another example of just a really odd way of charging a device.

The only way to bring life back to the Magic Mouse 2 is by flipping it and sticking the lightning cable to the port located at the lower part of the device, rendering it unusable during the entire charging process.

While these are minor things that wouldn’t really bother many users, the design decisions made just doesn’t seem to be very Apple. Makes one wonder if these devices would’ve seen the light of day had the late Steve Jobs been around to scrutinize them.