Tiny phone, tiny case Full Protection
As the costs of iPhones continue to escalate, I find it shocking that people still carry phones and tablets sans case. In the buff, au naturel, naked, case-less seem to become synonymous for careless and cavalier. Thus, as I purchase a new device, I quickly add AppleCare+ and a case from a company that I trust. Although I typically opt for an armor-style waterproof case to allow cleansing with soap/water, I sometimes want to slip into something a little less hardcore. In those instances, bumper style cases like the HYBRID SILK case from ITSKINS can provide a lightweight, protective shell to defend the camera, edges, glass, and ports.
The ITSKINS Hybrid Silk case for iPhone 12 (5.4”) arrived in 4 1/4 inches wide by 7 1/8 inches tall by 3/4 inches thick hanging box. The cover panel provided the ITSKINS logo along the top left of the cover panel and a “UP TO 3M ANTISHOCK 10FEET” logo along the top right. The lower left edge provided a red “Fits iPhone 12 5.4” logo adjacent to the grey “HYBRID SILK SMOOTH DROP PROTECTION” name. Along the left side of the panel, the company provided three descriptive icons: 1. Silky Soft. 2. Shock Absorbing, 3. Responsive Buttons. You will find an “Engineered with HEXOTEK XTRA” icon and a shield-shaped “ANTIMICROBIAL DEFENSE” icon along the right side of the panel. The panel’s main focus was the 4 3/4 inches tall by 2 3/8 inches wide slightly raised, glossy, peach-colored image of the iPhone 12 mini case. The clean white background served as an amazing backdrop for the image of the silk case and contrasted beautifully with the red side panels. The case’s spine provided the same drop rating information along the top of the panel and added “ITSKINS//BUILT TO OUTPERFORM” along the middle.
The top hanging tab and bottom panel were left egg-shell white and felt like an egg carton/recycled material. The rear panel could be divided into thirds. The top section provided an attractive image of a female sprinter and provided a reassuring statement about the quality of protection: “IF IT CAN PROTECT HER PHONE IT WILL PROTECT YOURS!” The middle section provided the product name, re-listed the icons from the cover, and provided a tabular description of the product features: 1. 3x Military Standard 810G. 2. 7 Patents. 3. 570 Days of Research. 4. 1300 Drop Tests. The lower section listed the drop rating details, listed “Gel protective case, 3-meter drop certified in 9 different languages, provided the www.ITSKINS.com website address, a QR code, and SKU bar-code sticker. The opening flam had a centralized trapezoidal finger cutout and listed “OPEN TO DISCOVER OUR TECHNOLOGIES.” The lower edge of the panel had a recycled fibers logo.
To access the phone case, I gripped the magnetic flap and unrolled the case. The left panel provided a vivid, colorful, and highly educational representation of the Hydrid Silk case, the Hexatek Shockstop design, the honeycomb technology, the IMPACTHANE antimicrobial surface, and a lower warranty section with a QR code. The company used vivid reds, warm blues, and provided a good mix of bolded and non-bolded fonts. The antimicrobial outer surface promised 60% of microbes killed within 5 minutes of contact and up to 99.9% within 2 hours. The packaging made no distinction amongst the susceptibilities of the various types of microbes. The website listed several bacterial species, fungal/mold species, but did not mention Influenza or Coronavirus. Regardless, for those who suffer from abscesses, it was rather reassuring to see that their ion anti-microbial technology reduced the growth of Staphylococcus (STAPH) infections and MRSA. Unfortunately, I was unable to test/confirm the microbial power of their case.
Looking to the right, I found a cardboard retaining strap and the Hybrid Silk case upon a white cardboard pedestal. I removed the 0.9-ounce case and immediately noted the 1 1/16 inches wide by 1 1/8 inches tall camera cutout with a raised bezel. I liked the smooth back panel, the subdued ITSKINS logo at the bottom edge of the panel, and the slightly raised edges. Instead of a square/boxy design, the case’s rounded corners created an octagonal instead of a rectangular shape. The right side of the case (volume toggle side) had a 7/16inches wide by 1/4 inches tall volume toggle cutout and dual 3/8 inches wide by 1/16 inches tall volume up/down buttons. I like when companies add a stand-alone metallic/plasticized button instead of an integrated silicone style button. I find that the button style creates a more favorable user interface and more reliable button presses. The opposite side panel had a recessed 9/16 inches long by 1/16 inches tall power button, which used the same button style. The lower panel had a centralized 1/2 inches wide by 1/4 inches tall lightning cutout and flanking 3/8 inches wide by 1/8 inches tall speaker cutouts. The inner felt layer had numerous raised hexagonal cushions. The inner surface of the side and top panels had hexagonal cutouts, and each of the corners housed an extra deep air cushion for added drop protection.
To install the case onto my iPhone 12 5.4” Mini, I aligned the volume toggle side with the cutout and pressed the right side, the top, the left side, and then the bottom into the case. Excitedly, the installation process was a breeze. The screen gained a degree of protection with a raised bezel, as did the camera and lightning/speaker ports. The outer surface of the case had a smooth yet tacky/grippy feel, which was quite refreshing. I liked that the smooth surface did not feel gummy nor sticky. Instead, the surface seemed to cling slightly to my hand. Each of the buttons had an amazing click feel, which was the highlight for me. Instead of a mushy silicone option, the Hybrid Silk buttons felt more like a mechanical keyboard click than many of the silicone cases. To continue, there were several positive features of the case. However, it may not seem like that big of a deal, the choice to expand the volume toggle posteriorly drastically improved access to the toggle button. Many companies include a lower silicone ridge which often blocks access to the toggle. In this instance, the choice to keep the back panel open was a good one. Lastly, the rounded shape of the lightning port accommodated every plug that I tried.
To test the drop protection, I slid the phone and case off of my table from a height of approximately 30 inches. As a father of four children, ages 2, 6, 9, 12-years-old, I cannot tell you how many times a phone has been knocked off the table. I placed the phone face down onto my table to mimic an accidental swipe and rotated my hand outward. I repeated this process six times. Each time, the phone fell randomly onto one of the corners, edge pieces, and flat onto the back and front of the case. Despite repeating these drops several times, there was no damage to the screen, the sides, or the back of the case or phone. Each of these tests was conducted at my kitchen table and onto my hardwood floor. The hexagon shock-absorbing layer seemed to have a springy quality.
To summarize, the speaker cutouts, lightning port, camera cutout, and volume toggle cutouts were well placed and easily accessible. The thin design will allow for wireless charging. The button design and color scheme were well thought out and quite intuitive. Protect your iPhone 12 5.4” Mini with the classy, protective, and responsive HYBRID SILK case from ITSKINS. Lastly, if the Light Pink Color does not entice you to add the device to your cart, consider purchasing one in one of the other colors: White, Black, Light Purple, Tiffany Green, Midnight Green, Grey, Deep Blue.
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