A Guide to the Best High-Quality Phone Cases of 2023
Did you know that in 2022, people worldwide owned a staggering 16 billion mobile phones? However, experts say 5 million units were likely discarded or stashed away in the same year.
Device failure is one of the reasons people throw away mobile phones. Even worse, they dispose of broken phones despite still being repairable. That’s a waste of money they could’ve otherwise avoided by taking better care of their devices.
So if you’d like to be more tech-responsible, invest in high-quality phone cases this 2023. They can help protect your devices better, helping prevent premature breakage and failure.
But what exactly makes a phone case high quality?
This guide details the makings of top-of-the-line phone cases, so read on.
Drop-Tested
Falls and drops are among the leading causes of shatter damage to mobile phones. They can result in the devices’ screens cracking, splitting, or even breaking apart.
The good news is that the best types of phone cases can help protect devices from such damage. They can do so with their sturdy, impact-absorbing materials and construction.
The best phone case makers perform drop tests on their products to make good on their claims. A drop test sets the maximum drop height a case can withstand without sustaining damage. It includes testing both the protective phone accessories and the devices themselves.
Drop test results vary based on heights and the sides tested. At the very least, they should assess what happens to the cases and phones if dropped screen-side down.
High-quality phone cases have passed drop tests as high as 20 feet from the ground. While there may be a few situations where you can drop your phone from such a height, it’s still a perk to consider. After all, if a case can protect your phone from that height, it can survive falls from lower elevations.
Shock-Absorbing
Unintentional and careless hits and bumps can cause shock damage to your phone. The same can happen if you frequently stash your phone with a laptop or a tumbler inside your bag.
Shock damage can occur on the exterior and interior sides of your phone. For instance, it can crack, split, or shatter your device’s screen. However, it can also cause internal damage, such as parts becoming loose or detached.
The best phone cases can help prevent such issues with their shock-absorbing materials. These include polycarbonate (PC) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).
Polycarbonate is a type of rigid plastic that feels and looks like glass. However, unlike glass, it’s not brittle nor fragile; it has a high resistance to shocks.
Polycarbonate isn’t as resistant to scratches, though. However, TPU is, so case manufacturers often mix it with PC.
Another perk to using PC and TPU is that the latter also resists shocks. So mixing these two produces a case that’s even more shock resistant.
Plus, TPU resists friction, preventing it from turning gooey. That problem is common in rubber and silicone cases.
360° Protection
Top-of-the-line phone cases provide complete or 360° coverage and protection. This means they safeguard all sides and corners of the phones they encase. So aside from a back panel casing, they also feature a screen protector.
Check out Supcase, Poetic, or Spigen if you want your new case to deliver 360° phone protection.
Precise Cutouts
Precise cutouts are even more crucial in cases that provide 360 protection. After all, if a case’s cutouts don’t match the position of your phone’s buttons and ports, you’d have to remove it.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to make your phone’s physical buttons work. You won’t be able to charge or plug an accessory into your device, either.
Such problems are common in low-quality, mass-produced cases. You don’t want to waste your money on a defective product, so invest in a high-quality phone case instead.
Raised Bezels
Bezels are borders designed to separate device screens from their frames. On phones, their primary purpose is to improve aesthetics. But on phone cases, raised bezels help protect surfaces.
For example, high-quality cases often have raised bezels around the screen and cameras. They help protect the surfaces of the screen and lenses from scratch-causing debris.
Support Wireless Charging
In 2022, wireless chargers made up a global market worth $15.7 billion. By 2028, experts project the sector to grow further and reach $33.6 billion.
So if you plan to buy a wireless phone charger, ensure your new phone case can support it. If it doesn’t, you’d have to remove or disassemble the latter to charge your phone wirelessly. That defeats the purpose of wireless charging, which is convenience.
Fortunately, high-quality phone cases support wireless charging. While they provide complete protection, they still feature a slim and sleek design. This prevents disruptions in energy transfer from the charger to your phone.
Backed by Lengthy Warranties
Some cheap phone cases have warranties, too, but they’re often too short, ranging from 7 to 30 days. After all, they cost only a few bucks. However, such short warranty periods also indicate low manufacturer confidence.
You surely don’t want a flimsy case if you’ve spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on your phone. Besides, if you can afford to shell out that much, you definitely can afford a more expensive but better case.
A high-quality case delivering heavy-duty damage and complete protection can cost over $20. That may seem a lot, but depending on your phone, it may only be a fraction.
Most importantly, top-of-the-line phone cases often come with 1-year warranties. Such lengthy periods suggest how confident their manufacturers are about their quality. So if they break within that coverage period, their makers should replace them for free.
Invest Only in High-Quality Phone Cases
You now know high-quality phone cases are drop-tested, shock-absorbing, and offer 360° coverage. They also have precise cutouts, raised bezels, wireless charging support, and lengthy warranties.
All those features typically make top-of-the-line phone cases more expensive. Still, they’re worth it, considering how much better they are at protecting phones. Besides, their being high-quality also means they can last longer.
Ready for more smartphone tips and tricks? Then check out our comprehensive guide on how to increase an iPhone’s lifespan!
