A quick look at a variety of Smartish iPhone 14 cases, accessories
The folks at Smartish have released several cases and accessories for the iPhone 13 line-up I’ve had a chance to play around with the ones that are compatible with my iPhone 14 Pro Max. Here is my mini-review round-up.
THE CASES
The $24.99 Wallet Slayer Vol. 1 is like a Kung Fu Grip case with enough room on its back to stash up to three credit cards and a few bills. That’s still not enough wallet space for me, but your mileage may vary. However, one nice touch is that card slot has a clip in it that pushes against your cards to keep them from falling out. It’s available in black tie affair, purple reign, blues on the green, and white. However, it’s not MagSafe compatible.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★
The Waller Slayer Vol. 2 is the “sequel” to the previous case, it’s available in the same hues, but comes with a higher (but still reasonable) price: $29.99. The difference? There’s a little groove in the plastic near the side of the wallet that allows you to pop the edge of a credit card in it and use the Wallet Slayer Vol. 2 as an iPhone kickstand. Also, the sides of the Q Card Case have a rougher finish to improve grip-ability. But it’s also not MagSafe compatible
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★
The $14.99 Gripmunk Slim Case is a tough case with a solid amount of grippability. It’s very light and relatively durable thanks to its air-pocket corners that, in the words of the folks at Smartish, are like “airbags for your phone.”
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★
The $34.99 Gripzilla (pictured above) is my favorite Smartish iPhone case. It’s an armor case and arguably the toughest case that Smartish offers. It has protective air pocket corners and extreme grip-ability thanks to its grooved sides. Like the previous Smartish cases, it offers wireless charger compatibility. The durable case is available in black tie affair, minty fine, and white flavors. And it IS MagSafe compatible.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★
It’s hard to go wrong with any of the Smartish cases as they’re so friendly on the wallet. Also, the company makes an iPhone accessory that will interest some folks, though it’s not for me.
THE CHARGE ISLAND
The $29.99 Charge Island is a universal wireless charger that’s compatible with most cases. It has “overheat-resistant technology” to prevent, well, overheating. It’s a nice enough accessory, but doesn’t seem to work well with MagSafe cases that aren’t made by Smartish.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★
THE CABLE WRANGLER
The Cable Wrangler ($24.99), a really smart gizmo that keeps your Lightning charging cables from dangling all over the place.
The Cable Wrangler looks like a small, uncomfortable pillow, covered in either “lightly toasted beige” or “No. 2 pencil gray” cloth. The bottom of the unit has a 3.24 x 3.24 inch (82.3mm x 82.3mm) non-slip bottom, and it’s surprisingly heavy. Why? Well, the Cable Wrangler contains a strong magnet inside it. Hint – you probably do NOT want to place your credit cards atop the Cable Wrangler.
That magnet has a natural affinity for the charging tips on your Lightning cables, which means that if you just place them on top of the Cable Wrangler, they’re going to stay in one place. If your cables don’t have a lot of “stick”, there are little magnetic collars that are you can place on cables so they remain stuck to your Cable Wrangler. If my experience is any indication, you’ll have nothing to worry about — the Cable Wrangler grabs all of my Lightning Cables.
The Cable Wrangler is perfect for those of you who are cat owners. By keeping those dangling cables out of the way, you’re keeping your family felines from using them as a toy.
In real-life usage, I find the Cable Wrangler to be an awesome little product. For a charging hub we have in our kitchen, it keeps cable ends from flopping onto the floor where they can be a nuisance and require bending over to pick up. Instead, the charging ends of the cables are now always an arm’s reach away on top of a wine fridge, quite easy to grab when charging is needed.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 STARS): ★★★★★
THE PROP TART
I’ve never been into selfies, but I seem to be in the minority here. If you take a lot of selfies, you’ll probably find the $9.99 Prop Tart ) handy. It’s a slim fit collapsible loop and phone grip that makes it easy to take stable selfies or do one-handed texting. It also doubles as a kickstand for your iPhone.
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★★ (if you take selfies)
Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★ (if you don’t)
