Someone needs to get on Spigen’s case. “Ultra Hybrid Mag?” Who is in their marketing department? A bit much, right? Hybrid what? An Ultra Hybrid? It’s a clear case with a clear TPU bumper on the outside for impact protection and hard plastic on the back, for clarity. Anyway, this combination of random words is Spigen’s way of saying it has impact protection, hard plastic combined with TPU, and MagSafe.
I guess that’s what you’re wanting out of a clear case? I mean, you could have an anti-yellowing guarantee, but only dbrand seems to offer that, and not for those of us using the only hand-sized iPhone released in the past two years.
Awkward naming aside, Spigen makes some solid cases. I had swapped out my pink iPhone 13 mini for a green iPhone 13 mini and wanted to get a look at that beautiful green iPhone.
UPDATE: 01/24/2024:
This case isn’t even 6 months old and it’s already yellowing. It’s one of my fastest yellowing cases. It’s already looking like it sits in the home of a pack-a-day smoker, with that yellowish tobacco smoke-tinged look. And, no, it’s not from smoke, it’s from sitting in a drawer for the better part of the past three months.
In This Article:
Specs
- Width: 68.41mm
- Height: 135.72mm
- Depth: 11.01mm
- Weight: 30g
- Perceived Thickness: 8.252, slightly above slim cases, but average for more protective cases
This case is a small amount thicker than average in every direction. It’s of average weight, but that thickness leads to a surprisingly high perceived thickness. In many ways, it just feels average. Very average.
Protection 8.5/10
The “Hybrid” in the name refers to the construction of the case. On many clear cases, there’s just one material wrapping around the case, often hard plastic. In this case, it’s dense TPU around the edges and glossy hard plastic on the back. This gives you less impact protection for direct jabs on the back, but those are rare. Instead, the back serves for scratch protection and gives the case rigidity, while the sides absorb impact. The TPU does feel dense enough to protect the device well. It also stays on the corners well, so you won’t have to worry about it peeling back on a face-down fall. Mine has survived a few nasty drops already, including a terrifying face-down drop that ended with no issues whatsoever. I think, for most everyday drops and falls, this case will be perfect.
There are also small bubbles in the corners, though these don’t appear to be large enough to disperse the force from a corner hit. They do, however, look… silly.
Looks 6.5/10
“AIR CUSHION TECHNOLOGY!” That’s what it says on the top of this case, pointing at the corner where there’s a bubble so small you might think it’s a defect in the TPU mold. Actually, maybe that’s why they need to tell you it’s “air cushion technology,” because otherwise it looks like a mistake. Most cases have these, and most are doing a better job than Spigen. This branding looks ridiculous. Fortunately, it’s small.
A much larger issue is fact that this thing is a fingerprint magnet. I’m not even sure you have to touch it to transfer your fingerprints to it. I so wish more companies just embraced matte textures. A little frosted glass texture would go a long way here. Plus, it might help with the other problem with this case: reflections. The whole reason you get a clear case is to get a clear look at your phone. However, thanks to this reflecting light so well, your phone is basically just a glare.
Finally, there’s the fact that this is a clear case… for now. Clear TPU always yellows with time. dbrand claims they’ve made a case that doesn’t yellow, but this certainly isn’t that. I’ve had Spigen clear cases before, and they all eventually look kind of gross. It’s going to happen here too, it’s just a matter of time.
Ergonomics 8/10
Often, when I first get a smartphone case, the first thing I have to do is cut out the buttons. They’ll be so stiff that I need to place small cuts above and below the button to ensure it can click. This case didn’t need it. It’s nice getting a case from a company that has been in the industry long enough to not skimp on a vital feature. You shouldn’t have to struggle so hard to press a button that you nearly drop your phone. Spigen gets that. Their cases feature large buttons with raised area underneath them to ensure contact with the actual button below the case. They also have cutouts above and below the button so the TPU can flex enough to make buttons clicky and easy to press. It’s such a simple thing, but it’s nice to finally get a case that paid attention to what consumers actually need.
The case itself is comfortable enough in your hand. It’s a little larger than I’d prefer, but nothing too big. I took points off of ergonomics mostly due to the feel and texture of the case. This one really could have used more matte texture. The smooth plastic back and smooth sides make it feel like a cheap plastic case. There’s a “Happy Meal Toy” sort of feel to this overly smooth plastic that just feels like it was made with the same kind of injection mold process as a cheap toy in your fast food order.
Sustainability 1/10
This case is a combination of materials that isn’t labeled or easy to separate. I couldn’t tell you if parts could be recycled at home or if other parts would need to be recycled at a specialized facility. So, you’ll likely need to send your case for recycling to a company like Terracycle and hope for the best. The box itself was all cardboard, which is great, but it had a heaping amount of plastic on the inside to protect it. Plastic stickers on the back and front of the cheap plastic back of the case to protect it before I rip all of that, put it on a phone, and get it more damaged that way anyway. It’s a large amount of waste for practically no reason.
Durability 4/10
I’ve had clear cases from Spigen in the past. They’re absolutely disgusting now. The TPU breaks down, it turns yellow, and it starts to have a texture that you practically have to sand off. It’s bad. These cases are not built to last. dbrand made cases that they claim won’t yellow, but that will take some time to prove and, seeing as they only made them back to the iPhone 14 series and for newer Pixel and Galaxy devices, I won’t be testing them. Still, clear cases yellow. It’s what they do.
If you’re looking to keep your iPhone for over 2 years, and if you’re an iPhone owner, that’s not unlikely, then you will likely have to toss the case before you trade in the iPhone. The material itself seems dense, well constructed, and not likely to fall apart. But it will yellow, degrade, get a film on it, and eventually become gross and unusable.
Value 5/10*
The feel and texture of the case certainly reminds you of cheap plastic and cheap cases. Fortunately, the case is cheap. You can often pick these up for under or around $20. I wouldn’t pay more than that for one of these though. If you can’t get it on sale or from a third party retailer that’s not charging Spigen’s asking price of $45, then it’ll be worth it. But Spigen sells these for $44.99 on their website, and you’d be absolutely stupid to pay that.
Retail pricing? 0/10. But if you can get it from Amazon or another retailer selling them for $20, I’d say it’s a fair enough price.
MagSafe Compatibility 4/6
The plastic on the back of this case doesn’t help the MagSafe grip on to accessories as much as some other materials. That said, the MagSafe strength is average and the case comes with the vertical alignment bar necessary to keep accessories from moving around. It’s solid, but not the best MagSafe.
Overall 7/10
This is kind of a boring case. It’s just sort of there. It feels rubbery, it has glare that takes away from the color of your iPhone, and it’s a fingerprint magnet. However, it’s also grippy enough to not slip out of your hand often, has decent MagSafe, and is dense enough to protect your phone against drops. It does all of that while letting some of your phone’s actual design shine through. In good light, it’ll even look downright pretty. It’s not an extremely exciting case, but it’s a good case. In a sea of so many bad cases, Spigen offers a solid, stable choice that’ll protect your phone and look good enough to doing it. It’s a sort of jack of all trades, master of none situation. If you can get it for less than retail, and you often can on Amazon, then it’s a solid choice to protect your phone without detracting too much from your phone’s looks.