Where do Caseology sit in the overwhelming world of iPhone protection?
There’s no doubt that Apple’s team over in California do some pretty fantastic work when it comes to designing their flagship product, the iPhone. Millions of dollars, thousands of man hours and years of iteration be damned however, you’re guaranteed to see a handsome variety of protective offerings for the iPhone when the models arrive. We got our hands on and have spent some time with a few offerings from the guys over at Caseology and after about a week or so with each, here are our thoughts on Caseology and iPhone in 2023.
Caseology Nano Pop Mag
We start with this year’s latest iPhone and one of Caseology’s simplest and cleanest products. The Caseology Nano Pop Mag. We start, as we will with all these cases, with aesthetics. It’s clean, it’s sharp and it’s simple. It has a good clean fit with the camera unit sitting snugly in its cutout and all buttons sitting nicely where you would expect. The Grape Purple is paired with a lighter Lavender tone on the inside and highlights the camera unit all in a smart matte finish. We also used the Blueberry model which comes with a really deep navy finish. It’s very neutral and professional for the most part with the same matte finish but some might be put off by the brighter yellow details around the edging of the camera bump. We found it to be a nice little pop of colour to an otherwise very minimal colour scheme but that might not be to everyone’s taste.
As mentioned the buttons sit nicely and we found no functional problems at all while the slight lip around the camera cutout is raised a little we didn’t find it had any effect on the camera or the quality of photographs or video recordings at all. It popped on and off nice and easy without any real struggle and felt like it would stand the test of time, even with someone like myself who likes to switch up accessories quite often.
The front of the iPhone felt well protected with the raised lip running all around the edge of the screen giving a little clearance between the said lip and the display. Through gritted teeth the iPhone was also drop tested with the case on, from around waist height (I stand at about 5’11 with the right shoes so measure that as you see fit) and there was no damage on carpet, hardwood and even concrete outside. The iPhone was fitted with a Tempered Glass Screen Protector during this test which remained undamaged.
Since the introduction of MagSafe to the iPhone back in 2020 I moved over to wireless charging almost entirely. I also use a variety of MagSafe accessories including the Apple Wallet and getting quality cases that don’t interfere with the strength of MagSafe can be challenging outside of Apple’s own offerings. The cases we tested were a bit of a mixed bag on this front. The MagSafe functionality definitely wasn’t the worst I’ve experienced but there was definitely a drop-off in magnetism and its strength when the case was used. Both the Apple Wallet and MagSafe charger would slip off during use, the Wallet when I went to take it out of my pocket and both when I was holding the phone during regular use. While this was a touch irritating I do feel it’s important to mention that until the accessories were physically detached from the device and case, there was no interruption to functionality. I never saw any dropoffs in charging while using the case or unexpected notifications about the wallet being left behind when I wasn’t expecting it.
Both Casology Nano Pop Mag cases were used with an iPhone 14 Plus. It’s available now via Caseology’s Amazon store at £24.99
Caseology Parallax Case
This is one of the more stylishly designed cases we got to play with and honestly, it’s a looker. We used the Midnight Blue colour which is a lovely tone used all around the case except in one key area. About 1/5th of the way up the rear of the case is a small metal bar in a lighter blue that divides the back and carries some minimal and quite tasteful Caseology branding. above that is a neat little Honeycomb design that occupies most of the rear of the case. each little section has a further 3D effect to it that is quite eye-catching. the case is then broken up at the top 5th where we find the Camera cutout and a return to the standard matte texture. It looks great. The linework is clean, the metalwork is a nice touch, not too ostentatious, and it all comes together quite nicely. There are some nice grip areas around the edges below the Side and Volume buttons which are another nice touch. The whole case feels quite smart and professional. It would be very easy for it to all feel a bit obnoxious if it wasn’t executed quite right but it comes together really nicely.
All buttons lined up nicely as did the speaker, lightning port and mute switch cutouts. It seems like an obvious detail but I’ve seen some absolute stinkers over the years. The case again, much like the Nano Pop, slips on and off quite easily and doesn’t feel like it would be prone to ruin if I did this over and over again. The textured grips are…well they’re grippy. They grip. They have the ability to help you grip your phone. Which is a good thing for a grip to do. The case does add a little bulk to be sure and this is particularly obvious when looking at the display where the frame of the case is particularly apparent. There might have been a time during the iPhone’s ‘rounded edge’ phase where this wouldn’t seem noticeable but due to the rounded edge of the case, it does feel like quite a significant bulk up.
To be crystal clear this case is not MagSafe compatible. It doesn’t promise to be. There may be potential buyers who think that they can give it a crack and it’ll be fine but buyer beware Apple Wallet is a complete no-go. They don’t stick through this case and Caseology doesn’t promise they will. This goes for Magsafe chargers too. No stickiness here. I did find that with general Qi and other Wireless chargers though it seems to do a pretty good job. I didn’t see a significant increase in charge time with the case and all my wireless chargers worked well with it, as well as some I used in public spaces. So in summary will it work with wireless charging? yes! absolutely. Will it work with MagSafe? No! They never said it would, so don’t go getting grumpy if you decide to try it and it doesn’t work out.
When it comes to pure protection, it’s another strong result. We drop tested, again from waist height, again on carpet, hardwood and concrete and again saw no real issues. no visible damage to the case at all and nothing to the iPhone when the case was removed. We again specify that similar to our iPhone 14 Plus, this iPhone was equipped with a tempered glass screen protector during our drop-tests and the screen protector again remained undamaged.
We used the Caseology Parallax Case with the iPhone 13 Pro Max. It’s available now via Caseology’s Amazon store at £14.99
Caseology Stratum Case with Built-In Screen Protector
This is the chunkiest case we used. Let’s start there. it’s big. Not so big that it’s problematic but it definitely added some heft that I just kept noticing for the first couple of days so if you’re not a big phone person, this probably isn’t for you.
The upside, and part of the reasoning for this, is the built-in screen protector. I think the best place to start here is to explain the installation of the case. It arrives with two parts in one box. The first is the screen protector. It’s almost like a little bumper case with a flat sheet of glass surrounded but thin plastic. at each corner this plastic stretches and clips around the edge of your device. nice and easy. Once the screen protector is attached to your device you move your phone into the case which snuggly fits into the physical case which wraps around the phone and screen protector to give you almost 100% protection around every part of your device.
Aesthetically it’s very straightforward. A nice stone grey colour is largely uninterrupted all the way through this case and gives it a nice simple look and feel. There are nice little texture grip areas around the edges of the case which wrap around the corners for extra protection as well. The rear of the case has a pretty clear distinction with a large recess from the bottom edge of the camera cut out to the bottom of the case. In this recess are three thin lines and another neat and tiny little Caseology logo. The entirety of that recess has an almost stone-like texture which is quite nice to the touch.
That recess of course is to accommodate the MagSafe functionality. As mentioned I use a lot of different MagSafe accessories and this is by far the best case I’ve used, outside of Apple’s own, when it comes to MagSafe. It’s a big, bulky case offering a lot of protection and Im yet to see anything quite like it that works so well with MagSafe accessories. Charging and connectivity are uninterrupted, magnetic accessories attach and stay attached well and I’ve not come across any unexpected disconnections when MagSafe equipment is attached.
Perfect MagSafe compatibility? Not quite. The only downside I found, and I’m really nitpicking here but because of that recess and the magnets installed in the case, you can see the Mag safe through the case. I can only really compare it to a wallet. You know when a leather wallet has seen a few years of use and a uh… ‘coin’ has been left in there for a little too long? you get the little protruding ring. That’s what it looks like. no two ways about it. But honestly, it’s tough to see and didn’t catch my eye until the light hit it just right. I can’t unsee it now, it’s always there, but again that’s me being really picky.
As I’d come to expect at this point everything functionally was great with this case, as mentioned MagSafe functionality was the best of the bunch, the buttons were clicky and responsive, and the cutouts around the mute switch and speakers are placed properly. There was a little annoyance when using an iPhone dock in a Hotel room, however. All cables worked fine when plugged into the lightning port of the iPhone but because of the sheer size and bulk of this case, it doesn’t work very well with docking stations. This isn’t going to affect everyone but if you do use any kind of docking station it’s something you should keep in mind when picking looking at the Stratum.
When it comes to protection I was really putting a lot of faith in Caseology. All the other cases we tested were great when dropped, protecting the iPhone well and resisting any physical or cosmetic damage nicely. However, those phones were tested with their cases and a tempered glass screen protector. For the Stratum this screen protector was removed and we put our lovely OLED screen in the hands of the team at Caseology. We again drop tested from Waist height. We again drop tested on carpet, hardwood and concrete. We even drop-tested from about chest height onto the hardwood. We decided not to push our luck any further than that. Throughout all of this, the stratum did a fantastic job of protecting our device, surviving all drops on all surfaces and not picking up a scratch itself. Really impressive stuff.
We used the Caseology Stratum Case with Built-In Screen Protector with an iPhone 13 Pro Max. It’s available now via Caseology’s Amazon store at £25.99
In Conclusion
So what’s the conclusion? In 2023 Caseology is a pretty great option. If you have a new iPhone and want a case that’s nicely designed using good materials, has plenty of options and will reliably protect you’re precious iPhone then Casology could very well be the one for you. With a sizeable set of options available you have a good variety to hand but we would recommend really looking at compatibility and functionality. It’s definitely not a one-size fits all scenario, so give some thought to what it is you’re really looking for, but be comfortable knowing you’re well protected whichever way you go and make sure you’re picking up the case that’s right for you.
Everything we looked at is currently available directly from Caseologys Amazon store with prices ranging from £14.99 – £25.99
Products were provided for this review. For details on out promise to you please read our Affiliate Disclosure
