I love a gadget, especially a new phone. Recently I bought the new iPhone XS and it’s an amazing piece of tech. One thing that does bother me which almost all new phones (all manufacturers) is how thin they’ve become. Personally I’d rather they had a little more depth to them, similar to the original iPhone, so that they felt a little more sturdy and this would also give space to fit a larger battery and get rid of that awful raised lens area. Before phones got this slim I always felt happy without a case but that’s no longer the way, you really must buy a case for a phone now to protect it.
I suppose it’s not such a bad thing. These days people use their phones so much more and they’re out of their pocket for longer periods and naturally prone to being dropped more often as a result. Many cases provide shock-absorbing tech and screen protection so perhaps it’s not so bad. The level of customisation by choosing your phone case should not be overlooked as well. Instead of everyone being a drone to whatever Apple or Samsung (or any other manufacturer for that matter) choose as the current look, you can accessorise with a case in many colours and styles to suit you.
My choice of case has been consistent for a long time now. I think looking back I’ve chosen the same brand for the last 3 iPhones I’ve had, so around 6 years of phones. That brand is Spigen.
I picked the first one up (a thin soft model) for an iPhone 5s I think from Amazon. The price was good and one feature that stood out to me was the lip around the screen which meant that even if you put your phone face down on a flat surface the screen never touched the surface so it would help prevent scratching, and that’s exactly what it did.
I also bought a hard-shell model for a Google Nexus 5 that I have floating around for the occasional dabble into Android development.
The latest version I have chosen is their Tough Armor. I fancied something very sturdy for this phone as it’s super thin and I actually wanted to bulk it out just a little so I was constantly worried about dropping and smashing it.
The Spigen Tough Armor has their “Air Cushion” technology and also a raised frame around the lens so that it’s recessed and doesn’t rest at a funny angle when lying on a table. The dual layer design means that I can put a magnetic disc inside the case that works with my car mounts without having to either stick it on the phone itself or put it inside the case potentially scratching the phone back over time. There’s a little kickstand that allows you to stand the phone horizontally for videos or FaceTime use handsfree. the built-in button covers feel really solid and click nicely, positioned perfectly over the iPhone’s buttons so there’s never any fiddling to get it to work. It fits the phone like glove to the point that I almost forget it’s not just a part of the phone.
Despite the extra thickness, the case works perfectly with wireless charging as well, although adding a magnet into the case interferes with this so I currently don’t have a solution for wireless charging as the magnet is more use to me. It may be possible to use smaller magnets around the top of the case so that the charging coil is not obscured but I haven’t experimented with that yet.
Spigen’s whole range seems to cater for everyone really, providing everything from super slim cases to this Tough Armor, and all provide great protection for your device (not just Apple, they provide cases for other manufacturers as well). They have a range of colours available, although personally I opted for the all black version to match the colour of my soul.
I hope you found this review useful and let me know how you get on with them or even what your case of choice is in the comments.
