RIP leather iPhone cases (alternatives?)

General Forum
1

For the iPhone 16, Apple no longer offers leather or FineWoven options, which honestly sucks. I really loved their leather iPhone cases. Yeah, they had wear and tear pretty quickly, but I drop my phone a lot, and since I started using Apple’s leather cases, none of my iPhones have broken in over 5 years.

I reaaaaally don’t want a silicone case. The plasticky feeling in my hand is the absolute worst. But I do think a case made by designers who actually know the phone (and have access to all the technical specs) has an edge over something random from AliExpress.

The Apple silicone case is just not an option for me—again, I hate how it feels, and if you work with animals (or anything fluffy), everything sticks to it.

So now I’m looking for a leather case with similar performance to the Apple ones. Does anyone have recommendations?

2

Nomad and Bellroy are awesome.

Have a Nomad brown and Bellroy black… like them both.

3

Take a look at Bullstrap.

4

Zeke said:
Take a look at Bullstrap.

I use a Bullstrap on my 15 and it’s held up well. I’m not much of a dropper though so I can’t say that way. They have a sale going too.

5

Daryn said:

Zeke said:
Take a look at Bullstrap.

I use a Bullstrap on my 15 and it’s held up well. I’m not much of a dropper though so I can’t say that way. They have a sale going too.

I use Bullstrap too and I’m a dropper. About the same as the Apple leather case. They have a warranty for replacement as well but I have had mixed results with getting the replacement.

6

@Linden
For me it’s always been easy. Send them a photo of damage and receipt, they send me a new case.

7

Zeke said:
Take a look at Bullstrap.

I might actually buy one. I’m just trying to convince myself to spend $95 (I always add sales tax when considering a purchase, of course) on a phone case. lol

8

Or you can put a leather sticker from dbrand, are very sick!

9

I use a Ryan London on my 16 Pro, quality is very good!

10

I have a Nomad leather case and it’s been great.

11

Drew said:
I have a Nomad leather case and it’s been great.

Oh nice, does it protect the screen well when dropped on a corner?

12

Quill said:

Drew said:
I have a Nomad leather case and it’s been great.

Oh nice, does it protect the screen well when dropped on a corner?

Yeah it’s got a pretty good lip on it. I do also use a screen protector though.

13

For pure protection, what about OtterBox? I used a (plastic) “Defender” + screen protector on my first smartphone (Samsung Galaxy) and no breakage (except the Defender itself eventually wore out).

My problem is that the OtterBox “Strada” is no longer offered (after iPhone 14). It was a 4-side and back leather case with a folding cover over the front screen. I dropped my (8 and 11) iPhones a few times and never had one break, including the screens. Darn! Why did OtterBox discontinue the Strada?

I am considering an iPhone 16 Max Pro, so I will look at the other leather cases mentioned here.

14

@Micah
OtterBox has moved to cactus leather. YMMV but definitely not as soft or supple as real leather.

Vegan/plant (I’ve heard of banana or pineapple) leathers are the current trend.

15

I was skeptical at first but the OtterBox Cactus leather case is surprisingly well made, feels and looks very similar to real leather and is decently priced. You might take a look here.

16

I have zero complaints with my Bullstrap leather case.

17

Torro have amazing leather cases.

18

MUJJO - https://www.mujjo.com/

19

Ky said:
You can find a million of them on Temu… can’t believe people still buying accessories from Apple in 2024.

Edit: downvote me if you can’t take the truth haha. Truth always hurts you people here.

I’ve done that, and in my experience, my phone broke a LOT; I’d rather buy a €50+ case if that prevents me from having to replace a €300+ screen.

20

@Quill
I must say; those were older iPhone models, thus could have been that but I’m scared to risk it again.