Apple Smart Battery Case iPhone 6S white — The lump on the back of the Apple Smart Battery Case is a feature, not a mistake, says chief executive Tim Cook. Photograph: Apple

Tim Cook defends Apple iPhone Smart Battery Case, says it's not a 'hump'

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Company chief tells users case is not designed for people who charge their phone every day, and that lump is a design feature

The reason the Apple Smart Battery Case has a bulbous lump on the back of it is because you shouldn’t need it on all the time, according to chief executive Tim Cook.

“You know, I probably wouldn’t call it ‘the hump’,” said Cook – immediately making it forever known as a the hump. He said it’s so obvious because Apple considers the battery to be a backup device, something that you might need occasionally, not all the time.

“If you’re charging your phone every day, you probably don’t need this at all. But if you’re out hiking and you go on overnight trips ... it’s kind of nice to have,” Cook told Mashable.

Given Apple’s iPhone is notorious for its battery, with many users needing to charge their smartphones at least once during the day to make it through to bedtime, Cook might not be using his iPhone as much as other users if it lasts a day.

Even Apple’s latest iPhone, the 6S, which has a smaller battery than the last one because otherwise it would be heavier, more cumbersome and less “compelling”, according to Apple’s head of design Jony Ive, will not last a day per charge when brand new.

And why has the case caused such a strong reaction, with users declaring it hideous?

“If you make this solid all the way across, in order to get it on, you’d find it very difficult to get it on and off,” said Cook. “So the guys had this great insight to put the bend in along with making it a smart case.”

Other accessories from long-standing battery case makers such as Mophie have form-fitting solid backs and come in two pieces, allowing the smartphone to slide in and out.

To get the iPhone 6S into Apple’s Smart Battery Case users have to bend the top part of the case to slide the phone in, the longevity of which has yet to be proven.

Many users have seen the release of a battery case by Apple as an admission that the company has not produced a phone with a long enough battery life, asking the question why Ive and team simply didn’t just put a bigger battery in it in the first place.

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