GoKawiilThanks to the rising cost of memory and storage, smartphones are more expensive than they've ever been, and the prices won't be coming back down any time soon. Even budget phones are getting a price hike. Meanwhile, we rely on our smartphones to manage more of our lives every day. For an increasing number of people, a phone is a lifeline to work and family, a wallet, a keyring, a banking terminal and so much more. Breaking your smartphone is no small inconvenience, and it can be impossible to get back all the crucial data it contains. Let's be real: You probably weren't lucky enough to drop it down a sewer grate immediately after performing a complete backup.
It's no wonder that the vast majority of users choose to shield their phone with a case of some kind. A bit of plastic or rubber might not look as nice as a naked iPhone, but we all know that person who carries around an uncased phone with a shattered screen. Nobody wants to be that person.
But phone cases have a Grand-Canyon-sized range of prices. Some are suspiciously cheap, while others are so expensive you'd think they were made of solid gold. The price of a phone case doesn't necessarily correlate with its quality, and overpaying for a case that still doesn't save you from butterfingering your expensive pocket computer down a flight of stairs would only add insult to injury.
Thankfully, choosing a great phone case at the right price point doesn't need to be a guessing game. Once you know which materials and designs are the most protective, the only decisions left boil down to design and feature sets. Here's how to shop smart when choosing your next smartphone case.