Recommendations on an iPhone 16 Pro case that is not usuriously overpriced for a 10 cent piece of plastic, but still might offer good quality, and a STRONG magnet on the back?
ESR. They have cases as low as $13 with strong magnets and a premium feel.
Aw yissss!
Its my first time with an ESR Case (this one specifically https://a.co/d/5Mrkayt) and the magnets and wireless charging work very well. My only downside is (and it may be in my head) is that after a month its starting to get a smidge of yellowing. Although in fairness I usually only see a completely clear case on the first day, and in any event a colored case shouldn’t suffer that (I imagine). Also I got mine for $9 a week before the 16 came out, but seems to be $12 now.
Me and one of any family members both have an ESR case with one of those pop-out camera edges that acts as a stand. It’s excellent. I use it with my car magsafe charger, and it genuinely requires some effort to take off lol
As they all should! Going over a bump in the road and having my phone fall off the holder and land under my feet is a serious hazard.
The Ghostek Atomic Slim case. Two layers of padding inside, and an aluminum frame. Also has the strongest magsafe magnet in the case I've used. I still have one on a 13PM that I got with it and aside from a couple scuffs in the anodizing, is in perfect shape.
The only issue that we saw is the camera protective area is a little larger so on the pro model it interfered with some of the larger hand grips slightly (the pro max model was fine, and smaller grips worked on both).
How chunky is that? I bought the Gripmunk which seems pretty decent and saved the phone at least once, but it’s chunky.
I tried to look up the gripmunk but they have different styles. So IDK which one you meant.
I wouldn’t say this like a super slim case but it’s not like otterbox or urban armor gear nonsense. I’m a guy that wears jeans so I can put it in a pocket no problem. So it isn’t huge and cumbersome but it’s not like girl jeans fake pocket slim heh. I tried to get some pics that show the amount of thickness and extra bezel it adds. I measured and it looks like it adds maybe 2mm all the way around.
If you wanted to wait the PhoneRebel cases will be finished for the 16 sooner or later. Those are decent, more slim, and come with a free glass screen protector. Magnet isn’t as good but it’s decent.
Nomad Modern Leather (Horween) case.
I’ve used Apple’s leather and silicon cases and Otterbox cases. The Apple cases fell apart within 6 months. The Otterbox’s insides tore apart within a year. The Nomad is still perfectly fine after 2 years.
It’s expensive, like $70-80, but it’s not plastic. I’ve scratched and gouged the leather on it big time, thinking it was permanently disfigured, and it just buffs out on its own in a few days.
They make non-leather cases too, including a heavy duty one with 15-ft drop protection and lay-flat bumpers, but I can’t speak to their quality. Their charging cables and watch bands are excellent though, so I imagine their other products are also worth the premium price.
Edit: the MagSafe on my leather case is perfect.
I like casetify. Stylish, protective, and MagSafe works. Might be a bit overpriced though.
They look nice but are definitely very overpriced in my opinion. I can’t think of a single useful thing casetify does/has that a case 1/4 the cost doesn’t also do/have.
I don't consider casify anymore due to the lawsuit with dbrand
I use the Apple cases after trying dozens over the years, the fit & finish on them is hard to beat and I’ve found most 3rd party cases have MagSafe issues. You tend to be able to pick them up on eBay for ~$20 or so from Amazon return resellers, which isn’t too bad. Just gotta get good at spotting the fakes.
Especially for the 16 I would get an Apple case, because I think all the other manufacturers just cut out a hole where the new Camera button is whereas Apple has conductive material there so you can use the sliding gestures.
I swear by Torras cases
They also have great customer support. I bought one of their cases for the iPhone 15 but it didn’t fit. They said it was a known issue and sent me a different case while they sorted it out. And they eventually sent me a working case.
MagSafe magnets are in the dock, not in the case.
Magsafe has magnets in the phone, the dock, AND the case for a firm connection.
Here’s a pic of my Apple silicone case with no phone inside of it. It’s magnetic.
I highly recommend a MagSafe-compatible case if you’re thinking of getting into the ecosystem. Even a thin TPU case is enough to keep your phone from docking correctly, if at all.