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Closer Look
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Along the left side we see two small bumps that protrude just far enough so that if you were to hit the ground on that side, the bumps would absorb the impact rather than the buttons.
On the top the key feature here is the screw-in watertight headphone jack cap. It threads in to the case and has an o-ring to keep everything nice and dry in case of an accident. If you want to use your headphones with the case on, LifeProof supplies a small extension that threads in place of the cap and allows you to plug your headphones in while keeping the phone itself watertight.
In the picture on the right we can see the difference in thickness between the naked phone and the case. Considering the amount of protection it gives, the difference is pretty minimal.
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On the bottom edge we see the speaker and microphone ports as well as the door that gives access to the charging port. The door has a small piece of rubber on it to keep it watertight and snaps to the body securely to make sure it doesn’t accidentally open.
Standing the case side-by-side with the phone gives us a good idea of exactly how much larger it will make your phone. The majority of the extra bulk comes from the bottom edge of the case, but again considering the protection offered, it’s a pretty good trade off.
General Use
After using it for about a week I found very few issues with the LifeProof case. The extra size and weight isn’t that noticeable, especially compared to many other cases on the market. The regular speaker and microphone seemed to work just like normal, but the bottom speaker was muffled enough that listening to music through it wasn’t really viable any more. The case also muffled alert vibrations, making it near impossible to feel if it was in my pocket.
The texture on the case is a smooth plastic, allowing it to slide in and out of your pocket easily. The built-in screen protector seemed to work exactly as intended protecting the glass from minor scratches and scuffs.
The buttons are a little stiff to press and the ringer mute switch is tricky to flip, but I got used to that after a day or two. Plugging the charger in also took some getting used to because you have to worm in past the door and push it way in. Overall though it didn’t dramatically affect my general use, which is exactly how it should be.
Protection
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Obviously with a case like this the number one selling point is protection. So I put it through a few “normal accident” type of tests to see how it fared. As you can see in the picture above, the phone is completely submerged underwater and working just fine. That’s a pass.
After dropping the phone dozens of times on to wood, tile, concrete, etc. the case suffered only minor scuffs and there was absolutely no damage to the phone. Another pass.
Finally I dropped the phone in a mud puddle a few times to get it nice and filthy, then rinsed it off well in the sink. While there was a small amount of grit left in the cracks in places, it wasn’t noticeable unless you were looking for it, and obviously much better than the alternative. I’ll give it a pass here too.
For those that are known to abuse their phones more than others, LifeProof has the case for you. You get protection from impact, water, and dirt without all the weight and extra bulk of the other cases on the market. Read on to see how it performs.