The Best iPhone 14 Pro Cases You Can Buy Right Now
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The iPhone 14 Pro is out now, and you just picked one up. Now it's time to protect your investment. Sure, the iPhone 14 Pro has super strong glass on both sides and an aluminum frame, but if you're anything like me, that phone is destined to take a tumble or four in its lifetime. Personally, I always put my phones in cases, and happily, I have cases from five different case makers to show you.
One of the halo features of the iPhone (in my world) is MagSafe and it's also the feature that can be most compromised by a case. Fortunately, most case makers integrate MagSafe magnets into their cases to keep the technology working — but that's not always a given. If you have a MagSafe charger you want to use, especially if it's a stand or mount, you'll want to make sure your chosen iPhone case is MagSafe compatible.
Most of the cases I tested are MagSafe compatible, but some of them are not. Some of them are only partially compatible because of one rather important and stand-out iPhone 14 Pro trait.
The camera bump
The thing about the iPhone 14 Pro's all-new camera is that it comes with an all-new camera bump. In fact, it's the thickest camera bump on a smartphone that I have tested. When I think about thick camera bumps, the Surface Duo 2 comes to mind, or the Pixel 6. But at 2.8 and 2.9mm respectively, they pale in comparison to the whopping almost 4mm bump on the back of the iPhone 14 Pro.
Adam Doud/SlashGear
For reference, I'm referring to the measurement of the top of the glass on the lens to the glass on the back of the phone, as measured in-house here on the SlashGear review bench. The camera island — as it has come to be called — stands off from the back of the iPhone by 1.7mm and the lens protrudes about 2.1mm further from that.
It's because of this overall bump that third-party MagSafe accessories tend to not work very well. To test, I used an Intelli Step-up Wireless Magnetic Charger and an Anker 622 Magnetic Battery (MagGo). Both accessories work fine on a naked iPhone, but when you add a case, things can go wonky because of the size of the camera bump.
Casetify - Bounce/Impact case (MagSafe Compatible)
Casetify sent over its Impact, Ultra Impact, and Bounce cases, shown above in that order. Casetify made its cases thicker than most to accommodate the enormous camera bump on the back of the iPhone. Because of that, and because of the built-in Magsafe magnets, both the Step-Up charger and the Anker battery pack work just fine. This has made these cases my favorites of the lot, though it comes at the cost of extra bulk.
All the cases have a polycarbonate backplate along with TPU around the sides. The Ultra Impact adds a bit of extra rubber to protect the corners. The Bounce case adds thick TPU material with reinforced corners, precision-cut button covers that are still clicky, and an extra thick backplate with MagSafe magnets built in. The Bounce case is a bit chunky, and it's definitely not subtle. The corners have an extra layer of TPU to protect the phone from falls.
On the back, you get a transparent or semi-transparent backplate with a familiar MagSafe pattern plus an extra rubberized pattern on the inside. The branding around the camera bump is a bit much in my opinion. The edge that holds the branding isn't flush with the rest of the back of the case, so the phone wobbles on a table, but only by a little bit.
Of course, one of the main benefits of Casetify is how you can customize your phone case with text or photos. But if you want to stick with a pre-designed case, you can pick up an Impact case for $78, an Ultra Impact case for $88, or a Bounce case for $92 on Casetify's website.
Catalyst - Crux and Influence (MagSafe Compatible)
The Catalyst Crux case is MagSafe compatible while the Catalyst Influence can go either way. Pictured above are the Crux, Influence without Magsafe, another Crux, and Influence with MagSafe. The Crux adds reinforced corners to the package along with buttons that are hard to press and a cutout for the silence switch that's hard to get into to actually activate the switch, while the Influence is a simpler affair.
Despite the Crux's professed MagSafe compatibility, the ridge around the camera bump prevents the iPhone from sitting well on the Intelli Stand. You can basically hook the phone onto the stand using that ridge and the coils align just enough to start a charge, but I wouldn't bank on that sticking through the night.
Meanwhile, the Influence case has a more subtle look. It has a cutout for impact resistance on the corners. Plus, the Influence case has a knob you can twist to activate/deactivate the silence switch which is admittedly pretty neat. Even if you go with a case that is not MagSafe compatible, you can use either the stand or the battery. There's just enough magnetism through the back of the case to activate the accessories, but not nearly enough to keep them in place. Best to just use your lightning cable.
You can pick up the Crux case on Amazon for $50 and the Influence case, also on Amazon for $40.
Incipio - Grip/Duo (No MagSafe)
Incipio has a pair of cases that are not MagSafe compatible. The Grip is a thick TPU material that snaps onto the iPhone securely with a raised profile over the screen to protect the phone from face-first falls and a tall rim around the camera bump on the back. Buttons are very responsive and clicky and the Grip has textured "X" patterns down each side that earn the Grip its name.
The Duo is one of my personal favorite lines of cases from Incipio. It's a dual-layer of TPU on the inside and a strong polycarbonate shell on the outside. Buttons in this case are also responsive, though a bit more resistant to pushes than the Grip above. Neither of these phone cases works well with MagSafe accessories, but since they're not advertised as being MagSafe compatible, that's no surprise.
You can check out the Duo case on Amazon for $35 and the Grip case on Amazon for $55.
Incipio - AeroGrip/Idol (MagSafe compatible)
Incipio's MagSafe-compatible cases include the Idol (above on the right) which has a smooth TPU rim all around with a MagSafe pattern on the back. Like most other phone cases, the rim around the camera bump is quite tall (as it has to be) and it disrupts the MagSafe pattern on the back. I can get the phone to stick to the Step-Up charger, though the connection is tenuous.
The AeroGrip case has a large camera bump rim and adds a set of TPU runners going down each side of the back of the phone. The idea is that with the camera bump and these runners, the iPhone can it flat on a table with no wobble. That's a good thing, but the result is that the phone can't connect to the Step-Up charger at all since the face of the charger is wider than the phone. Thus, MagSafe can't even make the connection. I like what Incipio was thinking here; an iPhone that doesn't wobble is surely a good thing, but the execution is a bit off.
Check out the Idol case on Amazon for $55 and the AeroGrip case on Incipio's website for $60.
Totallee - Ultra Thin Cases (MagSafe compatible)
If you're someone who appreciates minimalism and rarely drops their phone, Totallee might be a good case for you to try out. Totallee has an Ultra-Thin line of cases made from thin polycarbonate material. Instead of button covers, there are cutouts for the buttons. The cutouts are quite accurate and give you the original feel of the buttons themselves.
These cases probably won't do much to protect your phone from a fall, but they can help keep the finish of your iPhone free of scratches and other minor nicks. There's also a very slight lip over the screen which might help in the event of a face-first drop, but again, it's best if you just don't drop your phone.
Adam Doud/SlashGear
The cases are thin enough that MagSafe works through them, though again, the lip required around the camera bump prevents the phone from latching onto the Step-Up charger. But overall, if you want a little something to change up the look of your phone and keep minor scratches at bay, Totallee is a good choice. You can find it on Amazon for $39.
Zagg - Santa Cruz/Milan/Havana/Denali (MagSafe Compatible)
Gear4 has a quartet of MagSafe-compatible cases with names inspired by locations: Denali, Santa Cruz, Milan, and Havana, pictured above in that order. Gear4 is a subsidiary of Zagg which has a line of products called Snap. Snap is Zagg's version of MagSafe, so it's natural that all these cases work with Snap (and therefore MagSafe).
The Santa Cruz and Denali cases make the backplate of the case thicker to accommodate for the thicker camera bump. As a result, both sit better on the Step-Up charger. All the cases are made from a stiff TPU material with slightly stiff button covers. The Milan in particular has a fun green swirl pattern on the back that reminds me of water.
All four cases are made with D3O which is a plant-based material used in sports helmets, industrial equipment, and smartphone cases which feels rather like TPU. The cases are rated for drop protection from 10 to 15 feet depending on which case you pick up. You can check out the Denali for $60, Santa Cruz for $31, Milan for $60, and Havana for $40 on Amazon.
Wrapping it up
We have a very nice roundup of cases that fill a variety of needs. Overall, I'm most pleased with Zagg's offerings with Casetify being a close second. The branding around the camera bump is off-putting on the Casetify case, but the customizability is very nice. If you don't drop your phone often, Totallee's offerings are nice for the minimalist.
What's irksome about the iPhone 14 is the sheer size of the camera bump. It's larger and deeper than ever before which makes compatibility with third-party MagSafe accessories a bit of a headache. Some of these cases address that. For others, there's not much you can do.
But these are the cases we were able to check out. You should find a good one here regardless of budget or style preference. This list is also non-exhaustive and will be updated with new offerings as we get them, so be sure to check back to see what else is out there.