Incipio Organicore Compostable iPhone 12 mini Case Review

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The Incipio Organicore is a compostable case made to break down. I’ve gone down the compostable iPhone case road before. I liked it. I didn’t love it. But I liked it. The best case I had was Casetify’s compostable case. It was more rigid than Pela’s cases, and wasn’t as thick. The Pela cases added so much width to the already gigantic iPhone 11. Seriously, how did I not go insane using a phone that large?

But the same tired old slippery iPhone 6 design, smoothed out and stretched out into the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Max? I just want to smash the thing. There’s a small part of me that wants to just swallow the cost, take the iPhone outside to a brick wall, and hurl it as hard as I can.

I even have 2 brick walls picked out.

– Me, a few months ago.

Okay, maybe I did go a little insane. Can you blame me? There has been a pandemic going on! Besides, have you seen the brick walls I have picked out? No, of course you haven’t. But, if you did, you’d say, “That’s a fine wall for smashing an oversized smartphone like the iPhone 11!” I may even have to restrain you when you’re tempted with such a perfectly destructive wall.

That being said, I hadn’t given up on compostable cases. After all, they’re the future. Or, rather, they won’t be a part of the future. Put them in the ground or—preferably—in an industrial composting facility and… poof! They’re gone. Waste-free tech, I love it.

With that in mind, I decided to check out the Incipio Organicore this time. I wanted to try something new. I’m glad I did. This is the best compostable case I’ve tried out. However, it may not be the best iPhone 12 case you can pick up.

Specs

• Height: 136mm
• Width: 68.6mm
• Depth: 11.28mm
• Weight: 32g

This is my heaviest iPhone case. It doesn’t quite feel overly heavy or bulky, but the material is dense. My Abitku case is my second heaviest case, tying my Apple Silicone case at 25g. The Nimble case is 20g.

As far as the dimensions, this adds about 2mm to each side of your iPhone 12 mini, including the bottom. It’s about a millimeter thicker than Apple’s silicone case and Nimble’s recycled CD case.

Protection 7/10

Though a mixture of unusual clumsiness, manic testing, weirdly bad luck, and a slightly slippery texture, my iPhone has suffered more drops in this case than any other. Now, it’s not overly slippery, as I’ll explain more in the “ergonomics” section, no, I just dropped it more than any of my other cases.

Maybe I was subconsciously trying to test it.

Most times it was fine. It makes a horrible noise that sounds like your phone hitting the ground directly, but, each time, my phone was in one piece. That could be thanks to the ~2mm thick case and their “Impact Struts.” These are tiny little bumps on the inside of the case that can help diffuse the shock from an impact. While it may sound horrible when it falls, my iPhone has been safe each time.

However, on two of my drops, the phone hit the corner just right and the phone case peeled off the corner slightly. This obviously opens your phone up to some serious damage. It’s nowhere near as bad as the Pela case, and, if you bend the edges of the case in to make it fit better, I found it doesn’t happen, but, out of the box, you’ll want to be careful.

This is a decently protective iPhone case. It’s a shame it can sometimes come off slightly during a drop.

Looks 6/10

The looks are a complicated subject on this case. The case doesn’t necessarily look bad at all. It’s a nice matte finish, it doesn’t have speckles of flax or other items in it to keep it together, the Incipio logo is engraved, minimal, and in a good position on the back. Overall, the case looks very good, actually.

But there are two problems with it. First, it’s easy to damage. This is a soft case and will take bumps and scuffs personally. It’s not too bad after a few weeks, but after a few months, you’ll have a more battered-looking case. You may want to wash it with soap and water every once in a while, because this material seems to absorb the oils from your hands or hand lotion, and that can mark it up and make it feel more greasy.

Secondly, there’s the front. As I’ll go into more detail in the ergonomics section, the case bows out slightly towards the top. Looking at the iPhone in the Organicore case from the top or bottom shows the sides aren’t flat anymore. Instead, they make your iPhone look more like a trapezoid. You can take Incipio’s case off your iPhone and bend the edges of the case in, almost reversing the pattern, making them bend inward. Then put your case back on. Now, it’ll match your iPhone better. However, over time it will bow back out, and not in the same places equally. That means you’ll see parts of the edge of your iPhone in some places but not others. It looks sloppy. The edge of the case won’t be a straight line.

It’s as though you have to put up with the case not fitting right or it not looking right. So I took points off for looks and ergonomics.

If this case had simply been sized properly out of the box, Incipio would have had a great looking case on their hands. Instead, it comes off as unfinished.

Ergonomics 5/10

The Incipio Organicore has a nice soft texture to it. It’s almost organic, like leather. In fact, by feel alone, it kind of feels like leather. It’s not as grippy as silicone or TPU, but it’s not incredibly slippery. Still, it’s not my easiest iPhone case to grip. Make no mistake, it’s 10 times better than the Rhinoshield case, but it’s not as easy to grip as the Apple Silicone case or Nimble CD case.

That soft texture can absorb oils, so you may want to wash it on occasion to preserve that nice, soft feel. We’re in a pandemic. If you don’t have a UV-C smartphone cleaner, you should be using a waterproof case like this one and washing it frequently anyway.

The texture is a little slippery when your hands are dry. I have been suffering this winter, and my hands have been perpetually dry. It’s a bit slippery. It doesn’t help that the case is also larger than many of my other cases. It’s about 1mm larger than the Nimble CD case or Apple’s Silicone case. This offers a bit of extra protection on all sides, and means there’s no camera bump, but it does make the phone harder to hold.

The worst part, perhaps, about that extra size, is that the fitment on the iPhone makes it even harder to grip. The case will be wider at the screen than the back. This is because it’s not formed to have flat sides. You’ll have to press them in yourself. Even then, they’ll slowly start to push out again. It makes the phone almost want to jump out of your hand.

The Buttons

The worst part about the buttons is that there are none. At least, that’s how it feels. After putting it on my iPhone, couldn’t believe how hard I had to push the buttons to get them to activate. Part of that, I’m sure, is the issue with it bowing out towards the top of the case, but that’s only a small part of the problem. The real issue is that the case has no give. The buttons are basically just slightly thinner parts of an already thick case.

To fix this, I took my sharpest knife and placed a small cut under each of the buttons. Right under the raised part of the button. It’s hard to see, even from the side, but the difference it made is immeasurable. I have buttons now. I’ve had to cut many of my cases like this. Some cases actually come with these cutouts already from the factory. Those are always the easiest to use.

Despite being a little thicker, I never had any trouble reaching the rocker switch. You can easily flick it with the tip of your thumb or a fingernail. The area around it is large enough to get in there, and it isn’t so recessed that it’s hard to reach.

This case has a nice texture, but it’s not overly grippy, it sticks out in the worst place to do so, and the buttons are impossible to press out of the box. You’ll definitely have to do a little work on it to make it a nice case to hold and use. I couldn’t rate it highly because of that.

Sustainability 10/10

I don’t frequently give a perfect score here, but this is as good as it gets. Everything, from the packaging envelope to the packaging itself, was recyclable. The case itself is compostable. Furthermore, it’s more protective than other compostable cases I’ve had. It adds more shock protection while not adding much bulk. It also stays on your device during most drops. It still isn’t as rigid as plastic-based cases.

Still, by protecting your device, you can be sure it’ll keep you from needing replacement parts. With everything else being either recyclable or compostable, I knew I was set. This is the most sustainable iPhone case I’ve tested.

Durability 6.5/10

This is a soft case. That feels nice in the hands, but it means it’s going to get marks and scuffs. I actually had a small piece of my case come off from a fall. Just a tiny shred of the Incipio case. As the iPhone slide out of the case, it pinched a small bit of it against the ground. It’s not noticeable, the piece came from inside the lip of the corner, but just a tiny sliver is gone from my case.

And that was just one drop.

The case is also compostable, so, it will break down faster than a plastic case. That’s the point. Still, it won’t start to degrade as you use it, but it may break down from wear and tear before that.

Value 5.5/10

The Incipio Organicore is a little pricy, coming in at $39.99. That wouldn’t be so bad if it worked exactly as it should. The fact that you have to take a knife to a brand new case just to get the buttons to work drastically takes the value down. However, it’s still a protective case, that looks good, and is sustainable. That saves it from feeling like a half-baked product.

It’s more like three-quarters baked.

You see, cutting those buttons out? I’ve had to do that before. This is the stiffest case buttons I’ve had, but I had to do it for my Nimble case and others. Something that really threw me off was just how much the case seemed to stick out. It seemed to make your iPhone, when laying flat and viewed from the bottom, an upside-down trapezoid. The edges of the case aren’t flat. This made the case harder to hold. But I took the case off and pressed the edges in. I molded it to a shape where they bent inwards. Then I put my iPhone back in the case. Suddenly, the edges lay flat. However, they don’t stay that way. Eventually, they start to poke out again.

It’s a case that requires routine maintenance: a bit of soap and water on occasion to get rid of your skin oils, and a bit of molding to make sure it feels right in the hand. The latter is definitely something that should have been done at the factory.

MagSafe Compatibility 3/10

I’m going to try to start rating the MagSafe compatibility category now. I’ve used a few cases now with Apple’s MagSafe chargers on two different stands. I’ve also used Apple’s Silicone MagSafe case. Now I know what a “10” looks like and what a “1” looks like. The Apple Silicone case is a 10/10, easy. It actually has its own MagSafe magnets and makes a very secure connection. The Nimble CD case comes in second place when it comes to the strength of MagSafe. The case itself has no magnets, but MagSafe on my iPhone 12 passes through. I’d rate that a 5. Not usable for stands or mounts, but for charging at an almost vertical angle, it’ll work. The Abitku case is too thick. This is a 1. The lowest score. It has no magnetism. It can charge, but any wireless charger can do that.

So the Incipio case is a 3. What does that mean? You can feel the magnets making the connection. They’ll even hold your phone in place. But not to the same angle as the Nimble CD case. The grip here isn’t very strong.

If MagSafe is really important to you, get a MagSafe case. Nothing else compares.

Overall 7.5/10

This isn’t my favorite iPhone case. If I’m being honest, I think it comes after the Nimble CD case. The Nimble CD case is thin, protective, and makes you forget it’s there. The Incipio case adds just a bit too much to the sides to be my favorite. Still, it’s very close to taking that top spot. The fact that it has an opaque color may draw in some users, while the fact that it’s completely compostable will delight eco-conscious users. I love the fact that this won’t sit in a landfill, or, if it does, it won’t stay very long.

Still, the case could be a little bit more rigid to grip your iPhone. It could also be a little thinner. And what is up with those buttons?

Incipio has made some fantastic cases over the years. In fact, they made one of my favorite cases for my iPhone 4. That first Incipio case I had was a simple translucent black case. It had a nice matte texture and clean design. It didn’t show fingerprints like my other favorite iPhone 4 design from a company I’ve since forgotten. That case used Incipio’s “Next Generation Polymer” (NGP) material. It was a firm yet flexible TPU. Incipio proved once again that they’re really the master of materials, the true “materials company” case maker. This is the best compostable iPhone case I’ve tested yet. If you need a case that can adequately protect your iPhone and be the best thing for the planet, this is it. Nimble’s case is recycled and recyclable, but compostable beats recycled and recyclable by just a smidgen. Really, between these two sustainable case, the difference comes down to you. Which do you like the looks of more?

I’m glad I got the Incipio Organicore case. I was starting to worry that compostable cases would always be less than their less-sustainably-sourced cousins in the land of silicone and TPU. But, as it turns out, great cases can be compostable too. This case is definitely saved by the fact that it’s highly sustainable. I would have rated it lower overall if that hadn’t been the case. Still, it’s a decent, protective case, and, if you’re looking for an eco-friendly option, this is the best one I’ve tested yet.

You can pick up the Incipio Organicore from Incipio’s website for $39.99.