Battery life has been the bane of iPhone users for the last four years, but now Apple has solved the issue, just not the way you might have hoped.

The company has released the Apple-made Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 6 and 6S, which promises to boost the total talk time for the latest iPhone to 25 hours, or give 18 hours browsing over 4G.

The case, available in charcoal grey or white, has a large protruding battery stuck like a lump to the outside of a standard-looking silicone-skin case with a Lightning Connector in the bottom that plugs into the iPhone.

It isn’t the first battery case available for an iPhone – companies such as Mophie have been making them for years – and it isn’t the highest capacity, despite costing £79, or $99 in the US.

But the biggest complaint so far from users seems to be the design, which looks like a cheap Chinese knockoff.

apple's 2015 lineup is looking great pic.twitter.com/302S7jstSp — Owen Williams (@ow) December 8, 2015

Is this some kind of sick joke? https://t.co/m0PUQkhGEG It is seriously ugly! — Rupert Maspero (@rmaspero) December 8, 2015

Apple are not great with services. Just now they had a glitch in their CMS and their April Fools got out. https://t.co/mUU65bQnKQ? — chrifpa (@chrifpa) December 8, 2015

Is this for real?? Just make the damn phone thicker with a decent battery Apple! https://t.co/Gr9Mmb7NBo — John Cleary (@jaysee_au) December 8, 2015

How the hell did this design get past Jony Ive? https://t.co/y2kbaAVSbF — Rhys Morgan (@rhysmorgan) December 8, 2015

It certainly makes the phone heavier, more cumbersome and less “compelling’. The bulbous battery is neither slim nor streamlined with the rest of the phone, making third-party options look like slimline pieces of integrated high design.

At least it solves the battery problem for some though, and as a bonus, it solves the sticking-out-camera-lens-lump problem – as the battery lump is larger.

And, finally, it answers the perennial question: why doesn’t Apple fit a longer-lasting battery in the iPhone? Because now it can sell a £79 add-on.