Twelve South Journal for iPhone REVIEW

Case for iPhone is in a class by itself.

Once upon a time I had an original iPhone. I was an early adopter and was so happy to have this amazing piece of technology. One day, I was walking in our local mall and while looking at something on the phone, it slipped from my hand and almost as if it were happening in slow motion, the iPhone hit the hard, ceramic tile below. The impact occurred on the top right-hand corner, which if you remember, was where the power/sleep-wake button was located. The button was smashed in and the phone continuously rebooted itself. I was devastated. After that iPhone was demolished, I sold it on eBay and then bought a cheap flip phone to get me through until the next iPhone was released. When I did finally get another iPhone, I vowed to never, ever go without a case. A case would have helped me avoid the destruction that was caused by the fatal drop the original iPhone experienced. So, I’ve not gone without a case ever since. 

With the next iPhone release right around the corner, I thought it was a good time to revisit one of my favorite cases — the Journal from Twelve South. 

Twelve South designs accessories exclusively for Apple products — and nothing else. That’s why they were one of the first partners we had here at MacSources. Six years ago, we published our first review of a Twelve South product and they have been my personal favorite place to turn for cases for my new phones. 

For the longest time, the Book Book was my favorite case from Twelve South — and then they rolled out the Journal, which is a stylish, more exclusive-looking wallet case than the Book Book. The case is a folio-style case and is made with full-grain, hardwearing leather. There is an internal composite shell that encases the iPhone and protects it from serious impact damage. Twelve South has an entire product line based around the Journal. It includes cases for the iPhone, MacBook/MacBook Pro, iPad/iPad Pro, and the Caddy Sack. I’ve had the opportunity to work with all of these product and think that any user would find them luxurious and worth the investment. 

The Journal for iPhone is a case that “writes the book on iPhone cases” according to Twelve South’s product page. The case allows you to carry several cards and phone together so that your everyday carry is slim and streamlined. One of my favorite things about the Journal is that even though it’s a wallet case, it doesn’t seem to add too much bulk to the phone itself. I held the iPhone XR up to the case and it looks to be about twice as thick as the phone’s shell. Considering that you are adding a wallet onto the phone, that doesn’t seem too bad to me. 

The inner shell of the Journal has the side buttons of the phone covered with leather from the outside of the shell. That does make them a little hard to press into the phone. I had a little trouble getting button presses to register unless I really pressed hard. The card slots were easy to use, but I wouldn’t recommend packing it too full. I carried my ID and two cards around with me most of the time while I was testing this case out. That seemed to be the correct amount because anything more than that prevented the case from laying flat. I was also able to get a few folded bills stored in the cash pocket located behind the card slots. Again, don’t expect to be able to store a ‘wad’ of cash there. It will simply make the case too bulky to close. 

One of the benefits of using the Journal over the Book Book is that the Journal includes a built-in viewing stand for FaceTime calls or video viewing. The stand seemed to work pretty well as long as the phone was in the case. When I tried to prop it open without the phone inserted, the stand wouldn’t stay open. 

I do love the way the Journal looks and its functions for the iPhone. It’s a gorgeous case and even though there might be some look-alikes out there the Twelve South Journal for iPhone is in a class by itself. Journal for iPhone is currently available for $79.99 in Cognac or Black colors for the iPhone 7/8, 7 Plus/8 Plus, X/XS, XR, and XS Max.

For more information, visit twelvesouth.com, Facebook, and Twitter.