DesignSkin The Slider iPhone 7 case review

Cases for smartphones are a constant subject of review here on The Gadgeteer. The latest craze I’ve seen in the case market is adding a place to store a few ID/Credit cards and some cash. The Slider, from DesignSkin, is one such case recently sent to me for testing.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

The case is available for a handful of the most popular smartphones on the market and comes with many different graphic back panels. I requested the “Surprise the Universe” pattern. It arrived very quickly, and fit my iPhone 6s Plus perfectly. The interior of the case and the outer edges are a slightly pliant grey plastic.

There are cutouts in the usual places for camera, flash, ringer silencing switch, speaker, microphones, lightning port and headphone jack.

The volume buttons are covered, but their location is clearly marked on the case exterior. There is a similar denotation of the location of the Sleep/Wake button.

The case wraps around the screen and protrudes slightly – just enough to not actually touch any surface that you may place your phone on face down, but not really enough to protect it should there be sand or anything gritty on that surface. The edges, while not sharp, are not “grippy”, but slightly slippery. Though not as slick as a bare phone, it gives very little grip. The thickness of the plastic around the outside of the phone, however, should truly protect it in case of a drop, but that thickness works against things being connected through the ports. Docks, some headphones, several charging cables, and my DXO One camera are not able to connect well enough to operate normally. (See a dock and the regular Apple leather case versus the Slider in the two photos below.)

The “Slider” feature is just that: the rear panel of the case slides up to reveal a credit-card sized pocket that will hold 2 or 3 cards, depending on the thickness. The thin plastic that covers it shows no signs of being a screen for the wallet, so there is a good bit of stealth in the case as well. If you want to carry your driver’s license, a credit card, and a door access card, I’m sure you’d have no problem with the card being read through the backing. If you need to carry more than that, however, you’ll be out of luck, because there is zero “wiggle room” in the hidden pocket.

The printing on the back of the case is a matte finish and is evenly applied. The graphic actually appears to have depth in, but it’s just an optical illusion. Not sure if the paint will scratch off over time. It has zero scratches from the time I’ve been using it, but I usually don’t keep anything else in my shirt pocket with my phone.

All told, if you’re looking for a soft case with a nice look and a bit of protection that will let you hide a card or 3 inside, this could be your model. At $19.99, it won’t break the bank, even if you decide to get several designs.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by DesignSkin. Please visit Amazon.com to purchase.

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