Vority X5S iPhone 5/5S charging case review

Phone cases are one of my secret passions. I love to have something different than everyone else, and I love color. One problem with the charging cases I’ve seen is that they are pretty limited in the colors you can have. I’ve seen black, white, and every once in a while, a blue or red one, but that is all. The Vority X5S is a charging case that offers a variety of options for customizing the color of your case. Since I love cases and options, I had to check it out.

Inside of the box, you’ll find the main part of the case with the battery (offered in white or black), a microUSB charging cable, a headphone adapter cable, and 7 different colored bumper frames.

Since my Seahawks were in the playoffs, I decided to sport the lime green colored frame most of the past couple weeks. The bright colored frames looked great with the white case. The transparent black case looked a little off, as it seemed more grey-brown, but the rest of the frames looked fantastic. The sound from the phone speakers are directed towards you via the slots at the bottom of the case, but I didn’t notice any increase in the quality of sound. If anything, it seemed slightly muffled.

On the back of the case, there is kickstand for watching videos or playing games, a button for starting/stopping the charger, four indicator lights to see the battery status, and a cutout across the top for the camera. The kickstand and charging mechanisms worked as they should; however, the camera cutout caused major glare when taking pictures, to the point where I would not recommend using the flash with this case, because the pictures are that bad. Without the flash, the pictures looked fine.

The top and side of the frames have cutouts for the wake/sleep button, vibrate switch, and volume buttons. All were easy to use and the cutouts were nicely centered.

Since you’ve seen plenty of the lime green frame, I thought I’d show you what a darker frame looks like on the case. On the side opposite of the volume buttons, you will find the microUSB charging port. The case will charge itself and the phone when plugged in to the computer or an outlet, but in order to sync with iTunes, I had to remove the phone from the case. Update: I finally was able to sync with iTunes after multiple tries which makes me think that there may be a short in the cable or the connector on the case.

The bottom of the case only has a cutout for headphones, and since the actual headphone port is recessed into the case, they included an adapter in case you have L-shaped or thick headphone plugs. The adapter worked just fine, and there was minimal sound quality lost. The kickstand, which can be seen above, is very flimsy, and if I were to press down on the case while it is in the above position, there is a high likelihood that it may break off.

I enjoyed the feel of this case in my hands, and it was comfortable to use while talking on the phone. It is not as slippery as my previous charging case, and it is lightweight. The battery will completely charge my iPhone 5S and have a little room to spare, and it charges just as fast as if you had it plugged into an outlet. The case itself can be charged in a few hours. I also found the frames were very easy to put on and remove. The overall build quality of the case/frames seem cheap though, and I don’t know how well it would hold up to a drop. It would most likely keep your phone safe if it is dropped, but it may break in the process.

Overall, I am torn between liking the case due to the bumper color options, and not liking it because I take a lot of pictures, and being unable to use flash really diminishes the usefulness of the case. For the price, I would think there would be a bit better quality, since you can spend $20 more and get a case you will rarely have to remove. So if you simply need a cheaper battery case for travel and rarely use your flash, perhaps this case will work, but if you want it for everyday use, I would look somewhere else.