Phone (1) Case - Not great

M477

I had my Phone (1) arrive today along with the screen protector and case.

Phone: Great! I love it!

Screen Protector: Easy to apply. Barely noticeable. Great!

Case: This makes me sad.

The Phone (1) case is currently on sale for £25 in the UK. Described as being made from clear polycarbonate, it sounds quite good. Only now I have it in my hand, it looks and feels like the cases OnePlus (and a lot of other brands) used to throw in the box for free. £25 ought to get me a premium phone case and this simply isn’t premium at all.

It will likely do a reasonable job of protecting the phone. It allows for wireless charging and being clear doesn’t obscure the glyph interface. There ends the positives.

This thing feels cheap and makes the phone look cheap. While considerable effort went into sourcing a material that was optically very clear, whilst also being flexible and protective (they’ve achieved this) and I appreciate R&D and the tooling to make products like this is expensive but I’m really struggling to justify the £25 price tag.

I’m relieved to say I didn’t have to pay full price and with the pre-order accessory discount, mine cost me £15. Still a little too expensive for what it is.

The Phone (1) feels really premium. The materials are beautiful and the device itself is absolutely gorgeous. It’s truly excellent product design. It’s a product that deserves a case with some of that same design thinking, attention to detail and materials.

I would really liked to have seen a carbon/Kevlar option. Something low-profile, snaps on tightly and still feels premium in the hand. I wouldn’t expect it to cover the back/glyph just the corners and sides (more like a bumper style case). Cases like this at around the £25/30 mark was something OnePlus had managed to achieve with almost every major phone release and I didn’t think I’d miss it as much as I do.

I know you’re not OnePlus, you’re a smaller team with less resources. I get it. I can’t even imagine all the constraints you must have been working to. I’m just saying, if the phone (1) sales have been as good as I think they have been, there’s going to be a lot of people looking for a case as premium and as well designed as the phone and I hope you can put something out before a third-party beats you to it.

I’d love to see some of the case design ideas that didn’t make it into production. Maybe without the launch pressure and a better idea of sales, some of the rejected ideas could get put back on the table?

Thanks for listening to my feedback.

- Customer too scared to not use a phone case.

MargaretLuby

M477 I’m also too nervous to be without a case, think you made some good points

DhruvMewada

M477 I am using the case from quite some time, I have some pros and cons about the official case here:

pros:
- the main surface of is quite hard
- it completely covers the camera bumps in it, which means the phone will be lying flat on desks
- sides are thick enough to protect the phone
- sides are raised to protect the screen, you can put the phone on desk with screen facing down wards.

cons:
- fingerprint magnet
- it scratches easily

hafizrahman

Agreed with you quality of case is not good

IlDavo

I would add that the case is not oleophobic at all and when the case is cleaned inside, that’s the end: in fact, the case will continue to stick to the back cover, forming some bubbles. By the way, this is a known problem with transparent cases, which some manufacturers have solved by inserting small holes to prevent air from being trapped.

CharlieHasdell

They should have made a iPhone 4 style Bumper case. Interesting to hear your feedback though. I usually put my phone in a case the moment it arrives - maybe I’ll skip the Nothing one when I can finally order my phone (1)…

DeeDee

CharlieHasdell a bumper case is a great idea.

ElliotKing

CharlieHasdell

I ended up buying the 8g 128 gb black phone 1 . The way the release cock up was handled I lost faith but as an investor i wanted to experience the phone first hand with out paying for the top spec version. I’m glad I did as it’s a solid and enjoyable phone to use daily.

Any how, the reason I’m replying is to recommend the phone case I ended up purchasing.

It works a treat and looks good

Foluu for Nothing Phone (1) Case, for Nothing Phone (1) Case Clear, Scratch Resistant Reinforced Corners TPU Rubber Soft Skin Silicone Protective Cover for Nothing Phone (1) 2022 (Crystal Clear) https://amzn.eu/d/b0rSS14

MikaAleksandroff

Am I the only one wanting and considering a non-slippery case to be a MUST for a phone?

Case in point:

Which of the phones would you think is going to fall off? And no, it’s not the 1+ with sandstone cover.

I too get it that transparency is The Thing for (1). A gimmick, sure, but I guess a good one and hopefully glyphs get better and better over time.

For right handed user the protrusive cameras definitely need a case of some kind. Haven’t ordered the one that is available and probably won’t. I want something better.

It’s been 8 years since 1+1 with sandstone, which, from usability and user friendliness’ point was the best feature of that phone - and any phone since. If you can’t see that you are just too detached from average user and so called everyday use.

I understand it’s important (especially nowadays) for a phone to look cool and premium and all that. I get it. But for everyday use - you know, when you are sitting at a coffee/conference room table with other people for whom you want to show off your cool phone - a phone is just a tool to get stuff done and perhaps relax reading something. And when you do that the last thing you want to do is worry and having to hold your phone to make sure it stays still or doesn’t fall to the ground. Or perhaps I’m wrong and all the other people want that?

Even so, could someone from the design department explain why and how this “slippery as hell”-design is a Good Thing? Especially from user friendliness and usability standpoint?

I’m not asking for sandstone, there a probably all kinds of issues preventing others from doing that. But in 2022 I do think that it is possible to do something similar with either glass or ceramic so that instead of looking (and feeling?) cheap, it would look stylish and enhance the usability of the phone.

There are good points already mentioned like holes for glyphs.

Thank you for reading.

.mika

MargaretLuby

I agree the case bfeela inferior to the phone, but I have to admit that I like how the torch relfects out through it and kind of diffuses along the edges

ecastanyos

With some chargers I can’t charge the phone with the case, I have to remove it

MargaretLuby

ecastanyos me too, and then I worry about hurting the phone

MargaretLuby

That’s sounds good. How do chargers fit? With the case I got from Nothing dinner chargers don’t plug in fully.

ElliotKing

MargaretLuby

All the charging cables I’m using fit without any problems, happily 😁

ElliotKing

DhruvMewada

And the cost of the official case is eye wateringly expensive 😥

Not anywhere near value for money unfortunately…….

CharlieHasdell

Bought a screen protector from nothing and a case from Amazon, Both have worked out really well. The screen protector comes with a fitting frame which makes it easy to line up and apply perfectly first time. The case from Amazon does everything I need whilst showing off the phones Gliph interface and transparent back.