It’s pretty funny watching the tech press lose its collectivemind over Apple’s new battery case. Sure, nearly doubling the iPhone 6’s juice is impressive, and the case looks cooler than most.

But isn't it worth asking whether iPhones are just too skinny? In fact, for power users -- who make up an increasing share of all users -- I think the case addition is more like a product recall than an upgrade.

Either way, all the case commotion is overshadowing the much-more-significant news that Apple’s mapping service is now used three times more frequently than its next leading competitor on iOS devices.

All told, Apple says it is now seeing more than 5 billion map-related requests every week. Those claims are backed up by comScore figures, which show that, among U.S. iOS users, Apple now has a small lead over Google.

(To be clear, Google still dominates among all U.S. smartphones, but that’s not a fair comparison considering that Apple Maps isn't available on Google's Android system.)

Regardless, that Apple Maps is doing so well represents a huge win for Tim Cook on a critical battleground.

After it debuted in 2012, the service was the laughingstock of the industry. Indeed, the launch of iOS6 -- which came preloaded with Apple Maps -- was a wholesale disaster.

For Cook, however, establishing Maps as a go-to consumer service has always been a long-term play, and one that now seems certain to pay dividends for years to come.