I picked up my iPhone 13 Pro a month ago, and as it had been a while since I’d bought a brand new
premium phone, I decided to buy a case. I opted for the only one I could really see available
at the time, this official silicon one from Apple, which I paid about £50 for. And honestly,
I’ve just hated it ever since I first put it on the phone.
Firstly, I don’t like how it looks. Yes, it does cover all of the rear and the sides of the phone,
but in doing so it adds quite a thick extra shell,
making what is otherwise a really sleek and premium looking phone look a bit bulky.
Also, the silicon is a nightmare when you put this thing in your pocket.
If I put this in my jeans pocket for example, it kind of grips to the inside of your pocket,
making you have to really wrestle this thing out, and normally pulling your pocket out with it.
Honestly, I reckon you’re more likely to drop your phone as a result of this case than anything else.
So I was really pleased when my friends over at Pitaka reached out and asked
if they could send me some of their new iPhone 13 cases to try out. Now as ever,
Pitaka have not sponsored this review, they’ve got no creative control over it,
and have not had visibility of the review prior to me making it live.
Pitaka sent me 3 cases, all of which are very similar looking,
with subtle but important differences. They sent me the MagEZ Case 2, the MagEZ Case
Pro and the Air Case. I’ve spent the last few days testing all of them with my iPhone 13 Pro,
so let’s take a look at them all in a bit more detail!
The common connection with all of these cases is the aramid fibre that’s used to make them.
I’ve talked about Aramid fibre in previous videos I’ve done of Pitaka products, because
I also have a couple of their Apple Watch bands and a case for my iPad Pro,
all made out of the same stuff. It’s an amazing material, super strong but also insanely light,
and is used in the manufacture of things like bulletproof vests and aerospace components.
So what you’re getting, with all of these cases,
is a very strong and durable case in a much lighter and thinner shell than you would
when compared to regular plastic or silicon. You also get a really comfortable hold,
with good grip, but without sticking to things like the inside of your pocket.
The Air case is the lightest,
weighing in at 9 grams, but you do have a trade off in terms of protection for your phone.
All of the buttons are fully exposed around the side, but you are getting some protection
for the camera lenses in that there’s a notch protruding out of the back of the case here.
The major benefit of this case is just how sleek and lightweight it is,
it’s almost like a second skin for your phone.
If you like the look and feel of the iPhone 13 Pro without a case attached,
this is about the closest you’re going to get to that, with some kind of protection in place.
Realistically, I think that if you were to drop this on a hard surface with this case on,
you’d have an OK chance of keeping the sides and back of your phone safe, but the fibre protection
is thin, by far the thinnest of all these cases at just 0.55mm of thickness, so if you’re clumsy
and someone who drops their phone all the time, this might not be the one for you.
It also doesn’t support MagSafe, but it does support wireless charging,
in fact all of these cases fully support wireless charging so that’s good to know.
Then, jumping up to the top of the pile in terms of weight, you’ve got the Mag EZ Case Pro.
This case is the closest out of Pitaka’s offerings to the Apple one,
weighing about the same at 29 grams, and having the same overall form factor. This case is going
to cover everything except the screen, and it does so in a much thicker way than the Air does,
covering all the side buttons and adding a bit of bulk in the process.
Pitaka claim on their packaging that this has military grade drop-testing, which I’ll be honest,
I’m not sure what that means but it does sound good. Jokes aside, I’d be much more confident in
dropping my phone on a hard surface with this case attached than I would with either of the
other two. You’ve got a combination of the very tough aramid fibre, along with all-over coverage
and a reinforced frame, this case is really solid compared to the more flexible feel of the others.
This case also has a really soft microfibre inside which is obviously going to be extra
sensitive to the glass back of your phone, and as the name suggests,
is fully MagSafe compatible. I’ll be honest, it’s my least favourite of the 3,
but that’s only because I’m typically pretty careful with my phone, and I’d much rather
have a case that’s a bit thinner and keeps the overall look and feel of the phone in tact,
than a big bulky case like this, but I still prefer it to the Apple alternative.
Finally, what I think is a pretty good mix of the two is this, the MagEZ Case 2. This offers
protection in all of the same areas as the Air case, but it’s both thicker and heavier,
this is 1.4mm thick vs the Air which is 0.55mm thick, and it’s 23g rather than the 9g of the Air.
But, what that extra thickness and weight is getting you is of course additional protection,
so again if you’re the kind of person who thinks it’s likely that you’re going to
drop your phone at some point, that additional protection might be really important to you.
The rear is very similar to the Air, and this is MagSafe compatible too,
so if you’re bought into the MagSafe ecosystem and you want to be able to
continue to utilise those features, this could be a good case for you.
So, I really like all of these cases, but I do have my own personal preference. I like the Air,
and that’s the one that I think I’ll be continuing to use moving forward,
followed really closely by the MagEZ Case 2, with the MagEZ Case Pro my least favourite, personally.
But, my reasoning for that is because I’m a pretty careful phone owner, and I don’t tend
to drop my devices. I also really like the form factor of the phone as it is,
and I want to be able to protect this as much as possible, whilst keeping that form factor.
The Air is great for me, I can throw my phone in my pocket or drop it in the centre console of my
car while I’m driving without worrying about the back or the sides of the device being scratched.
And if I wanted to protect the screen, I’d have to buy a screen protector for
all of these cases anyway, so that’s a bit of a moot point.
I am very tempted by the MagEZ case 2, and perhaps I’ll keep switching
them around a bit more. I like the additional protection that you get with the MagEZ Case 2,
the Air Case looks amazing but the protection is of course the least out of all of the cases.
All of the cases are available to buy now, and are available to cover the full range
of the 13 phones, from the Mini all the way up to the Pro Max, with the
MagEZ Case 2 coming in a number of colours rather than just the black/graphite option.
What do you think? Could you be tempted by one of these cases? Or do you swear
by a different case brand? Or, are you one of those daredevil people who never
bothers with a case at all? Drop me a comment, and let’s talk about it.
And as ever, if you found this video useful, do please consider leaving me a like,
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See you on the next video.