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Whether you have a brand new iPhone 12 Pro Max or a smaller or older smartphone, you really need a case to protect it and keep it working for as long as possible. Tech expert Dave Taylor of https://www.AskDaveTaylor.com/ checks out the best cases from five vendors - Lifeproof, Otterbox, Schnail, Mujjo and Skinit - to find out which is the best match for his iPhone 12 Pro. The winner? Well, you'll have to watch!
Then check out the cases:
Lifeproof Next - https://www.lifeproof.com/
Otterbox Strada - https://www.otterbox.com/
Schnail Titan - https://amzn.to/34vyiTW
Mujjo Wallet - https://www.mujjo.com/
Skinit Impact - https://www.skinit.com/
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0:00
Let's check out some new cases for the iPhone 12 Pro
0:12
Dave Taylor here, and I have the new Apple iPhone 12 Pro
0:16
It's a lovely phone, I really like it. But, like any expensive piece of electronics, it needs a protective case
0:23
Yeah, they have fancy expensive glass, but let's just face it, this is a lot of money to have it fall off a table or desk
0:30
or have something impact it, and then have it broken or damaged
0:34
That's just not pretty. So, I asked some vendors to send me their best case
0:39
and I got five different cases for us to look at. Now, what I look for in a phone case is I look for the bezel
0:46
which is the amount it's raised above the front screen, so that if my phone hits screen down, I don't want what just happens to occur
0:55
I don't want the screen itself to take the impact. The second thing I look for is the accuracy of their cutouts
1:02
and usually those are pretty good, but the really tricky one is the ring silence switch on the side, where you turn it up and down
1:09
because that one is really close to the two volume buttons. So, we'll see how different companies deal with that
1:16
And finally, the third thing to look for is does it support wireless charging
1:20
and I have an Anker Qi wireless charging stand that I'll be using for testing
1:26
Now, one of the things they did with the iPhone 12 is, because they added that MagSafe charging
1:32
they actually seem to have made the Qi charging section smaller. So, I've noticed, even without a case
1:38
is that sometimes this works just fine with the charging stand, and other times I'm just far enough off that it doesn't work
1:46
So, hopefully that won't impact our testing here, but let's jump in. First case is the LifeProof Nex
1:52
This is a really great case. If you're looking for something with a lot of protection
1:57
then LifeProof just has that reputation. This is just their expertise. It's a two-part case, and it's made out of 55% recycled plastics
2:08
So, props to them for the recycled plastic. And the two-part case, you put the front on
2:15
and let's see, got to make sure it's all lined up properly
2:19
and then we put the back on, or maybe we do it the other way, let's see
2:24
Let's put the back on first, and then the front on, and there we go, that's easy enough
2:34
And it should click into place. And we have a very nice case here
2:42
Now, you can see the edge is this sort of rubber, and that's where the color comes from
2:47
but that gives me that edge protection, and that front bezel is a perfect height
2:52
It's just about, maybe a little less than a millimeter, but just enough that it's the case taking that impact
2:58
not the phone screen. In terms of the cutouts, they've done a very nice job
3:04
And you can see in this close-up, the on-off switch. Sort of interesting what they've done is they've echoed it
3:10
with a switch of their own, which not a huge fan of
3:14
It looks like it's one of those where you turn it, but not a great design
3:21
Hopefully, you just get it set to the way you like it, and then you don't have to mess with it
3:26
But otherwise, lots to like here. So, it shields your ports, it shields your case
3:32
it shields your ports, it shields everything that you need. The charging plug at the bottom is also shielded
3:40
with a little cover, as you can see. And does it charge wirelessly? I'm sure it does
3:46
but let's just see. Yep, you probably can't see, but there's a little green battery icon there
3:51
so it's charging wirelessly. So, this comes in clear and black, or green, or rose red
4:00
And depending on the color scheme you like, it's mostly clear, and you can see the back color of the phone itself
4:06
So, that's really nice. And I'm going to get to all the prices at the end
4:11
but this is the life-proof Next. And now, the next big challenge is to see if you can actually take the case off
4:17
I have spent a lot of time struggling with cases over the years
4:22
Alright, that one's not too bad to take off. Alright, now, the next one I'm looking at is from OtterBox
4:30
Now, OtterBox and LifeProof are actually the same company, but you're probably thinking, like, OtterBox are these big, hulky
4:38
sort of super protective cases, but they have a wider lineup now
4:42
And this is one of my favorites of theirs. This is the OtterBox Strata
4:47
So, this is a leather, what they call, folio case, and it's a very nice design
4:53
Let's go ahead and put the phone in here. And part of what I really like about it is that it's slim and super protective
5:01
Not only that, but the front actually has a magnet catch, so it stays closed
5:08
A lot of these sort of designs, especially if you put a credit card in the pocket here
5:13
and there's two pockets here, but especially if you put a credit card in
5:17
they tend not to actually close properly. They end up being like this or this or something
5:22
So, to have this, have that magnet closed, obviously gives you a massive amount of protection
5:28
The edges are rubberized, so it's a super protective case. The cutouts are just dandy
5:35
and on the side, of course, the volume or ring silent just has a nice big hole for itself
5:42
because it doesn't need to worry about that because you have the case protecting your phone
5:47
So, really great design. And this is also, I should say, these are all tested
5:51
All of these things are generally 6-foot drop tested. This one is 6-foot drop tested
5:57
This one is 6-foot drop tested. They all are, right? So, this is in the brown color
6:03
It also comes in black. And let's see, third thing we need to check
6:08
is we need to check to see does it charge wirelessly. Let's find out
6:12
Put it on the stand, and you can see there. It is indeed charging wirelessly
6:17
so you could actually close it now. As long as it's centered, I think you're fine
6:21
and it'll charge. So, this is the OtterBox Strata. This is one of my favorite cases
6:27
It's very elegant, and it might be the case that you don't get much opportunity
6:32
to see the color of your iPhone, but that's an entirely reasonable trade-off
6:36
for something that's this slim and gives you so much protection, including covering the entire front screen
6:43
So, lots to like about that one. It's a little bit spendy
6:47
Again, we'll come back to price. So, while we're looking at leather cases
6:52
let's go ahead and look at this one. This is the MuJo Wallet Case
6:56
and this one's also really cool. So, MuJo started out, as far as I recall
7:01
making touch-sensitive gloves, so you could have gloves on that you could still interact with your smart device
7:08
and now they have cases, and this is a really nice case
7:12
It's very slim. It's much slimmer than the OtterBox because there's no front cover
7:17
but it still gives you a nice leathery outside. This part's leather
7:22
This part feels like it's a plastic, and then there's a soft inner fabric
7:27
to help protect your phone, and this is perhaps the least protective
7:32
of all the cases I'm looking at, but it does give you that bezel
7:36
so there's just enough to protect your screen. The cutouts are just fine
7:41
although the bottom, it's kind of a tiny cop-out because they have a big cut down
7:47
so there's not much protection for your charging port or anything, but for a lot of people
7:52
this is exactly the case they want, and of course, there's space for you
7:56
to put a credit card. This is their virtual credit card, to put a credit card on the back
8:02
and that's all great, but then that leads to the question, hmm, if I have something in the back
8:07
am I going to be able to wirelessly charge? So let's find out, and the answer is yes, we are
8:12
Now, if you pile two or jam three cards in here, that might be enough to impact
8:17
its wireless charging, but that would be something you could experiment with
8:22
and frankly, not everyone does wireless charging because it is slower than actually
8:26
just plugging it in, right? So this is the Mujo Wallet Case
8:31
premium leather, the volume buttons are covered by their sort of leathery exterior
8:40
and it comes in black or blue or tan or this nice green
8:45
and as I said, we'll get to the price at the end. So, there we go
8:53
There's three off, and now the next one's kind of an interesting case because this is a little indie company
8:58
out of Texas called Schnell, I guess that's how you pronounce it
9:03
and they make really protective cases at a ridiculously low price. Now, the cases actually include a screen protector
9:12
I'll take this plastic off on both sides, and you basically put the
9:20
let's get this right, you put the inner plastic piece on, let's see, I don't think I did that right
9:27
let's try that again. Okay, so I'll try it with the correct orientation
9:34
that looks better, and so you put the inner plastic piece on
9:39
and then the outer piece is plastic and rubber, and there's a very stiff back to it
9:46
so you sort of assemble the whole thing, and it fits in pretty easily
9:52
There we go, there's the whole thing done, and this one is the orange and black
9:58
though when I looked on Amazon, I could only see the black and black
10:02
so they have different colors, but you might have to go to their website
10:06
to get this particular color combination. So here's what this looks like
10:11
and here's the front, so it's very protective, there's a lot of bezel
10:15
all the buttons on the side are mostly, if not covered, then certainly deeply recessed and protective
10:23
and you can see the silent switch is pretty deeply recessed in there
10:28
but not covered, which is still okay, and then there's actually a screen protector on the front
10:34
that obviously is not getting in the way of the functionality of the phone
10:39
which is good, because you don't want that to happen, but it does give you lots of protection
10:45
Now, does it actually let you wirelessly charge? Let's find out. The answer is yes
10:51
it is charging wirelessly, and then one of its secret weapons is that it has a built-in stand
10:57
so this is actually really cool, so you just pull that piece of plastic out
11:02
let me move this out of the way so you can see, and now I can just have my phone like this
11:06
or of course like this, which is really handy if I want to use it
11:10
to say watch a sporting event while I'm working or something, and when you're done
11:15
you simply loosen up the, there's a way to do that, there we go
11:22
loosen it up, slide it back in, and you're good to go
11:26
Now, this is dramatically less expensive than anything else I'm looking at
11:30
we'll come back to the price, but it is a remarkable case
11:35
because it's very, very affordable, and it's super protective, and it is
11:40
I think it's kind of a Transformers-y sort of look, not hugely thrilled with this exact shade of orange
11:47
but you could also just go for the solid black, and then you sidestep that color issue if you want to
11:52
and now the great challenge is to see if I can actually take it off
11:58
let's see if we can get that to happen, here we go, and I always figure that having a case
12:05
where it's difficult to disassemble it is a positive, right? Because you want your case to stay on
12:10
even if your phone bounces out of your hand or even, you know
12:14
worst case scenario, bounces down a staircase or something. So, that one is still intact
12:19
and then we have one more case, and this one is the Skinnett Impact case
12:27
and I'm a big fan of Skinnett, and one of the things Skinnett did really great with this
12:32
is that if you look at the iPhone 12 Pro, it's a square edge
12:37
but they have a rounded edge case. What a great piece of design
12:42
So, it takes this sort of awkward hand-feel phone and makes it feel a lot more sleek
12:48
So, I will put my phone in here, and now it has just a little bit of bezel
12:56
just barely enough. I wouldn't actually mind if it was just, I don't know, like a half a millimeter taller
13:03
but it's just enough that it protects your screen on impact, and in terms of the cutouts
13:09
they are all perfectly positioned. You can see on the side, the on silent switch is accessible
13:15
though it's a little deep. Now, the thing that Skinnett really has
13:19
is they have these amazing designs. So, this is their Fox Fur Nebula
13:24
They have lots of space designs, but they have hundreds of designs
13:28
and they've licensed a huge number of sports teams and really large commercial companies
13:34
So, definitely worth checking out, and I will tell you, I will warn you, I should say
13:38
that when you go on their site and start looking, you will not only probably find a half dozen cases you want
13:44
but you will spend 30 minutes or more just looking at their hundreds and hundreds of different designs
13:50
Really cool. Now, they take the same design and offer it in three different formats
13:56
They have their light, which is basically just plastic and not very protective
14:02
or their impact, which is what this is, because it adds some rubber
14:06
So, it's a much more impact protection sort of case, and it's actually my favorite case
14:12
and then they also have a folio, which gives you something more like what OtterBox has with the Strata
14:18
although it still comes with that same design. As you might expect
14:23
that pricing is going to be different depending on the style of case you want
14:27
So, does it charge wirelessly? The answer is yes, it also charges wirelessly
14:31
So, all of these charge wirelessly. All of these have great cutouts
14:35
All of these have been drop-tested. All of these are nice and secure
14:40
and none of them are going to fall off my iPhone, and all of them give me sufficient bezel
14:44
that I feel like my front screen is protected. So, what it comes down to is style
14:51
What kind of style of case do you like? If you're looking for a real heavy-duty case
14:56
because you know you're going to be dropping your phone, then something like this Schnell might be a really good choice
15:03
This is the Schnell Titan, by the way. I didn't mention its model number
15:07
A slimmer, more modest version of that would be the LifeProof Next
15:12
which also gets bonus points for being 55% recycled plastic. Well done
15:18
I don't know what the deal is with these other guys. Let's work on that recycling thing
15:22
If you're looking for something from a business perspective, then you can use the Mujo Wallet Case
15:28
which is super slim and gives you the ability to have one card, though it is exposed
15:33
or the OtterBox Strata, which gives you the ability to have two cards
15:38
and then they are safely protected inside your case, which does a phenomenal job of protecting your phone overall
15:45
But when it really comes down to it, I really love the SkinIt Impact Cases
15:51
I've been using these as my default cases for years on various iPhone models
15:56
because I love the design, the protection, and of course I love the graphics that they have
16:02
They have so many graphics that I can always find something I really like
16:06
that really is just sort of a perfect match for the style of graphic that I enjoy
16:11
So, all of those choices. Now, let's talk about prices. But before we get to prices
16:17
can I ask if you can subscribe to my channel, please? It's that little red button on the lower right
16:22
a click or a tap, and boom, you're subscribed. And if you do have an iPhone
16:27
or really any other smartphone, leave a comment and tell me what kind of case you have on it right now
16:32
and why you don't have a case if you're one of those people that I cringe at
16:38
that has their phone but that doesn't have a case around it. So, let me know what the deal is in the comments
16:43
Okay, now let's go through the list. This is the LifeProof Next Recyclable or Recycled Plastic Case
16:52
and it is pretty spendy. It's $79.99 at LifeProof.com. Next up is the OtterBox Strata
17:01
and this one has the two credit card slots on the inside
17:06
and it is a lovely leather. It's a very nice executive-style case
17:11
and this one is $69.95 at OtterBox.com. Then we get to the Schnell Titan
17:20
and I hope I'm pronouncing that company name right. And this is really a remarkable budget alternative
17:26
It's a nice protective case with rubber, and it has the built-in kickstand and everything
17:33
built-in screen protector, all of that. So this is great for a teenager or something
17:39
The Schnell Titan is $18.99 at Amazon.com, and when I looked, it was actually on a Super Special for $13.99
17:47
for $14. This is a no-brainer case for situations where you need maximum protection
17:54
Then we get to the MuJo Wallet Case, and this, as I said, comes in four different colors
18:00
and it's $46.19. It's kind of a strange number. $46.19 at MuJo.com
18:06
This is really great if you're looking for that compromise where you can put an ID or credit card or something in the back
18:13
and it's still as slim and sleek as possible. And then finally, the SkinIt Impact Case
18:20
Remember I said there's three different styles of cases at SkinIt? So the Lite, which is just the plastic and is thinner than this, is $29.99
18:29
This style, the Impact Case, which is a combination of the hard plastic with the design
18:36
and a softer rubber on the edges and inside, the Impact Case is $34.99
18:43
And then their fancy Folio Case, if you want something a little bit more upscale
18:48
is $49.99, all at SkinIt.com. So we have a wide range of pricing from under $20 to almost $80
19:00
So what style is best for you? Well, I can't tell you that
19:04
but I have to say that for me, I'm always looking for that balance between graphic design and hand feel and protection
19:13
And for me, as it has been for many years, I'm going to go with the SkinIt Impact Case
19:19
and I will tell you a secret. I have more than this one design because they have just some beautiful, bright, colorful, cheery designs
19:27
And why wouldn't you want that instead of just having a boring Apple logo on the back
19:31
Sorry, Apple, but I'm investing in your phone. I want it to last a long time
19:36
And with that, I'm going to put my phone back in this case, and I'll hope to catch you in my next video
19:51
Get the SkinIt Impact Case. Get the SkinIt Impact Case. Get the SkinIt Impact Case
19:57
Get the SkinIt Impact Case. Get the SkinIt Impact Case. Get the SkinIt Impact Case
20:03
Get the SkinIt Impact Case
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