Phones are not nearly as cheap as they used to be. Gone are the days when it’s easy to survive on a flip phone that costs about as much as going out to eat. Instead, more often than not you find yourself paying the same price for a smartphone as you would for a used car. A cell phone is not a small investment, so a case is an incredibly wise purchase to make soon after. Just as it would be foolish to purchase a home and then not invest in homeowners insurance, purchasing a phone without a phone case is simply playing with fire.
But what type of case should you get?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed over what type of case to purchase for your phone; hopefully, these guidelines can give you a good sense of direction in your decision process.
Table of Contents
Edges
The most important feature of a phone case is also one of the most subtle ones: the edges. When you put the phone case on your phone, the front of the case should have edges that protrude slightly past the screen. The reason for this is simple: if you were to drop your phone with the screen facing downwards, the protruded edges of the case would absorb the shock of the fall instead of the screen itself. In other words, these protruded edges make sure that, when your phone hits the ground, you won’t pick it up only to find that your screen is destroyed.
It’s also important to make sure that the case goes all the way around your phone. Some phone cases, in the name of style, will only put the case around the sides of the phone, or only covering the top and bottom. While that may appear stylish, if you drop your phone the wrong way, the case will do little to prevent your phone from being damaged.
Grip
We often spend so much time thinking about how a phone case will look, that we often overlook a feature that is equally important—how does the case feel in your hands? The best way to prevent your phone breaking during a drop is to prevent the drop in the first place; therefore, it is vital that you note how a phone feels in your hands. When you grip the phone with the case, does the phone feel steady in your hands, or does it feel just a little bit slippery?
One downside of shopping for a phone case online is that, well, you won’t know if it feels good in your hands until you’ve already purchased it. For that reason, we strongly recommend coming into our store to test out a phone case. We’ll help you find the right one, and you’ll know that it has a good grip in your hands before you purchase it.
Drop Protection
When it comes to promoting their phone cases, some companies will promote insane durability of a phone case, saying that the case and phone will be protected even if it is run over by a tank. This is an incredibly strong feature; however, when was the last time that you happened to leave your phone on the street, only to see a tank coming down your road at such a speed that you can only watch as the tank runs over your precious phone and hope that the case’s promise is true?
For most people, your phone won’t break because a tank ran over it; rather, it’ll be more likely that you were trying to text with one hand while eating a burrito with the other, and then one clumsy move later, you see your phone flying out of your hand and onto the floor. When this happens, a drop-proof phone will be what protects you from having to pay for a repair.
When looking for a drop-protected phone case, you will see a few different heights from which the drop was tested. Typically, a phone with a 4-foot drop-test means that you might be protected if your phone drops off of the table, but there’s still inherent risk. A more reliable height would range from 6-8 feet, at which point your phone will be protected with most normal drops. There are 10 foot drop-proof cases that can provide extra protection, but there won’t be too many situations in which you drop your phone from 10 feet up. To be safe, look for a phone that can be dropped from 6-8 feet.
Or you could go for that tank-proof phone. You never know when a tank will come down your road.
Thickness
When it comes to protection, most people assume that you have to choose between sleek design and strong protection. While that may have been true in the past, many of today’s phone cases are built in a way that you don’t have to sacrifice a slim feel for the sake of preventing phone damage. That being said, some people may prefer the peace of mind that a thicker phone case offers. A thicker phone case is recommended for those that will never feel comfortable with a sleeker phone case’s protection and for those that are highly active, especially those that participate in more extreme outdoor sports. Otherwise, a thinner case will do just fine in protecting your phone.
Extra Features & Design
Now that you have figured out the functionality of your phone case, you can move on to the fun part! Find a design for a phone case that reflects who you are. Do you want your phone case to double as a wallet? Do you want a kickstand so that you can watch shows on your phone with more ease? Do you want your phone to look more subtly professional, or boisterous and eye-catching?
No matter what type of phone case you’re looking for, we at Tricked Out Accessories have had you covered for the past 15 years. We have a gigantic variety of phone cases for your every need. Whether you are an outdoorsy adventurer looking for a case to help your phone weather the storm, or if you just need a case that looks as stylish as you do, we are ready for your needs. Come visit us today!