[numpad0]

That brings back memories! Yes, many devices before iPhone had normalized internal batteries indeed had aftermarket extended batteries. They would come with matching bulged back covers to fit the significantly oversized battery.

[golem14]

That's true even today for HAM radio handhelds. There is a cottage industry of ever larger snap on batteries for Baofengs and others. Very handy.

Random thought: Maybe Apple should use radioisotope batteries to never have to change them, ever. I jest.

[TeMPOraL]

> Maybe Apple should use radioisotope batteries to never have to change them, ever. I jest.

They could make an RTG battery out of Promethium-147, a beta-emitter with half-life of 2.6 years and history of use in nuclear batteries, or Iron-55, an x-ray source with similar half-life. That would be perfect and totally on-brand for Apple, as the battery would naturally force the phone to be replaced in 3 years, and they'd have a solid safety/security justification for why any repair or replacement must be done in authorized Apple stores, by authorized personnel, with authorized parts and equipment. In a store where you could, oh so conveniently, just buy a new iPhone.

[hdgvhicv]

My early iPhones had external battery cases, which even when attached (when travelling a long distance) were smaller than modern iPhones in the important dimensions.

[tracker1]

And it was pretty great... No to mention the shell swaps, etc...