[HTC 10 Accessories] nickmilla15:
Introduction

Generally, if you use a product and you like it, you don’t hesitate to go out and purchase another item from the same company. My Nexus 6P finally threw in the towel, leaving me to fend for myself out in the tech world. But... I was right in the middle of major phone upgrade season. The current flagships were on sale or being bundled with 256GB memory cards, *cough Samsung cough* but we were a few months from the next generations’ unveiling. Long story short, I decided on an HTC 10 to hold me over. It’s a great phone! Latest generation specs, an awesome camera, a nice speaker system, and a killer DAC to round things off. Unfortunately for my devices, I’m a power user- starting my day at 6:30 am and not getting back to the charger until 12 am (on an early night!) The HTC 10, like every other phone before it, simply didn’t have the stamina to last the 18ish hours in my typical day. So I went to Amazon, searched “ZeroLemon HTC 10”, and a smile broke across my face when I saw the first search result.

The Good Stuff

The good stuff? There’s a lot of it. It is a battery case through and through, which isn’t necessarily the most exciting thing on paper. But this case picks up where ZeroLemon’s Nexus 6P case left off. The build of the case itself is simplified, discarding the plastic ring that encased the device. Now it’s just three pieces: the silicon outside, the battery, and a “u” shaped double ended USB-C connector to transfer power into the case. This time around, a USB-A style connector is also hiding on the right side of the case, waiting to power up another device of your choosing. If you’re going to make a case with this big of a footprint already, little features like these are a huge value-add for the consumer, really justifying the size and price of the product. ZeroLemon’s team nailed the execution here! The silicon is much softer, and there are no signs of the injection molding process from their last case, lending to an overall more premium feel. Cutouts are all precise, however, the case does cover the HTC 10’s power and volume buttons, giving them a mushy feel, and making them trickier to identify by touch. The generous amount room around the headphone jack means you shouldn’t have a problem using any variation of auxiliary cables, and the four white LEDs that indicate the case's charge have good visibility. ZeroLemon also gives cutouts at the bottom of the case to allow sound from the bottom firing subwoofer to not be muffled and muddied. Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 still works here thankfully, as juicing up 11,500 mAh is no small feat. In my testing as a heavy phone user, I was able to go about three days on a single charge. That’s a whole lot of navigation, music streaming, being paired to a smartwatch, messaging, and some light gaming. This case does its job; if it’s battery life you want, it’s battery you’re going to get. I’d feel confident throwing this case on, and going out to a concert, or using it to keep my phone charged over a camping weekend.

The Not So Good Stuff

Put on this case, and your sleek aluminum unibody becomes 6.5” long, 3/4th of an inch thick, and quite hefty. For some reason, ZeroLemon chose to separate the connection from the phone to the case, resulting in the need for the little adapter. This adapter, in turn, adds about a half an inch of length to the phone and creates the odd jut out towards the bottom. This creates uniquely dissatisfying design decision. The rubber lip that sits on the phone’s display is prone to slipping off, especially when trying to slip the phone in and out of a pocket or bag.

Otherwise, I’m failing to find faults with this case. There are no issues with NFC, and thankfully there are no adverse camera effects. A final criticism to ZeroLemon: please stop waiting until a device has reached its first birthday before you put out a case for it!

Conclusion

ZeroLemon’s HTC 10 battery case is pretty simple. The company stumbled with their Nexus 6P case, having to re-engineer it after a defective first batch and some media criticisms. ZeroLemon seems to have come back with another 8500 mAh battery case and nearly nails it this time. The addition of a traditional USB port to share power with another device is a welcomed feature, and the inclusion of a speaker grille at the bottom sends a clear message: ZeroLemon is coming for the top. They’ve found a formula and are sticking with it for the most part. They’re trying to cram in a big battery and extra value. They’re thoughtful with design, and their designs are evolving from rough, flimsy plastics puzzles to sleek silicone sleeves.

Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/ArnBd

I'd love to try and answer any questions!