I’m personally sold on the “Snap” style case. I couldn’t find any examples so I photographed my own case.
I’ve had mobile phones since the Motorola “Bone-Phone” / “Brick” was new. I’ve had all sorts of cases for protection. The snap case is the only one that has successfully saved me from ALL my mishaps in life.
Their’s something about the hard case engineering that makes it superior to a soft type cover. I think it’s a bit like a hard shell for a motorcycle helmet.
Typically I’ve only seen the snap cases offered by the phone vendor, not the wireless service stores. I have found some in the past on the secondary markets (eBay, Amazon). I would love to see this type of protection available to protect a device that won’t be easy to get replacement parts for.
Snap - Hard case is actually inferior for the drops on smartphones, because it can’t absorb shocks as well. TPU w extra thick corners and sides (air cushion) is the best option.
I believe you, but that might be similar to a test in a Petri dish versus a test in a living mammal. Do you have examples of the type of case you are referring to? I could be making a wrong assumption about your comment. Aren’t snap cases made of TPU? Theirs a lot I don’t know about manufacturing.
My snap cases are typically smooth without rubberized coatings, so in an out of the pocket is a breeze where the ones with a high coefficient of friction tend to be hard to put in and remove from a pocket as well as doing the lint harvesting thing. The snap case is not bulky or intrusive of the buttons or charging connection areas.
I’ve had some epic fumbles with my phones in snap cases and I always am amazed that their’s no apparent damage (but in my head I’m convinced there is something newly broken inside the device that is hard to detect).
Also, it seems that Purism / Librem could outsource the fabrication of cases with on-demand production and reasonable pricing through a place like this: https://www.carbon3d.com/materials/
Well, this is actual “in vivo” proven studies
It’s not just from my own experience, but vast data available. The glass on the screens is tightly closed and hits on the side (frame) can cause it to crack. That’s where the cushion becomes necessity. Of course direct exposure will make it crack and that’s why all of the cases have raised “lips” around the bezels.
The best protective cases available , which are not as bulky as “Otter box” are made by Tech21. They are thoroughly tested by their engineers as well as many reviewers online. They claim that they will keep the whole phone intact if dropped up to 8ft high on any surface. I can attest to that as well my last 3 phones had these cases on and dropped them multiple times from 6 + ft I never had a problem.
The reason for their success is that they added extra layer of rubber and air around the bezels (tiwce as thick vs competitors), raised the lips 50-100% and added a web like pattern on the back which.
In my case, I had less rugged cases and still had my phones survive drops w no cracks or scratches. Spigen is one of the best for slim style TPU protection. They still have added extra support on the sides , but very light in comparison to Tech21. And bunch of no name brands do decent job , but wear out faster (become more lose) than these big names. Though, that’s more noticeable in when it’s taken off frequently.
This relatively expensive rubber is named D3O® Technology material. Here is new D3O® Crystalex Technology option but much older “in vivo” test is still my favorite:
Correct, orange was the only color option that tech21 ●● ●™ as first used for impact absorption/protection within edges of TPU shell. Just years after D3O® managed to change its color to black, blue, pink … and now crystalex.
