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Leather Cases - Patina Proud Photos

Any more Bullstrap photos and reviews/comparisons with Apple? Something with patina, especially the blue or bourbon?

I got them to email me a few patina photos of the Sienna, and while beautiful, I think I want to start darker and closer to where I want to end up. Surprisingly hard to find patina photos of their cases anywhere.

Attaching the ones they sent.
 

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Reading through this, also a first time leather case guy, these are main decision points for me, in case it helps anyone:

1) Is the extra magnet in the Apple case worth whole for those who want to magnetize this to a mount, irrespective of charging? Not having an extra slab of steel in my case would be wonderful.

2) Open or closed bottom lip. I think I prefer the open for a few reasons on all phones X+: without that lip open, it's hard to figure out which way is up without feeling for the speaker—the phones are nearly symmetrical in all directions, it's easier to swipe up, and in three years I never damaged the phone despite abusing the crap out of it, seems that area doesn't matter much. Apple could solve this if the phone UI would flip in all directions.

3) Buttons. I hate molded buttons. This eliminates most cases. Real clicky buttons are as important for feedback and which side you're holding as the lip for which way is up.

4) Bulk. Sturdy but not heavy. I'm not gonna drive my car over it.

5) Patina. I love the colors but they look like crap as they age (to me). I hate the saddle brown but it looks beautiful aged. Will mine ever get there? One person mentioned the Apple buttons are too bright for agin, and now I can't unsee it.

6) Grippiness. The more the better since phones are already heavier than I like, and require more pressure to hold. I have heard mixed things with leather. I might need to scratch up the sides or dry them out with isopropyl.

Ultimately I suspect I'll order the Bullstrap in Bourbon which appears to hit all points except MagSafe magnet (TBD on weight and texture). I might grab the Apple case to see if/what I am missing with the magnet for car mounting.

Hope that helps someone! Will send pics in the next few weeks!
 
flashpirate said:
1) Is the extra magnet in the Apple case worth whole for those who want to magnetize this to a mount, irrespective of charging? Not having an extra slab of steel in my case would be wonderful.

5) Patina. I love the colors but they look like crap as they age (to me). I hate the saddle brown but it looks beautiful aged. Will mine ever get there? One person mentioned the Apple buttons are too bright for agin, and now I can't unsee it.

6) Grippiness. The more the better since phones are already heavier than I like, and require more pressure to hold. I have heard mixed things with leather. I might need to scratch up the sides or dry them out with isopropyl.
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1) I mount mine the same way in my car and just use a thin piece of metal. I haven’t tried it without.

5) Agreed. I’m not a fan of the saddle brown in its brand new state, but love the photos I’ve seen of it aged. Gonna give it a try and hope I can last until it ages.

6) I was surprised at how grippy the Apple leather is. It’s not a silicone case, but provides me with enough grip to feel confident holding my phone one handed.
 
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Always forget how light Saddle Brown looks when new. From left to right 2 year old X case, 1 year old 11 Pro case, new 12 Pro case. The 11 Pro case didn’t age quite as nicely as my X case. I really liked the red tones the X case developed. I will also be interested to see how much patina my 12 Pro case develops. With the new boxy design this year, I am anticipating using my 12 Pro without a case most of the time since the flat sides make the phone much easier to grip.
47E1A952-B8E1-47D5-92AD-1B30F267B618.jpeg
 
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Did Apple do something special to the 12 line of leather cases? Every other saddle brown I’ve had over the years had developed a patina within a few days. This one I’ve had for a week now and it is showing zero signs of patina.
 
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Cryates said:
Did Apple do something special to the 12 line of leather cases? Every other saddle brown I’ve had over the years had developed a patina within a few days. This one I’ve had for a week now and it is showing zero signs of patina.
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They "fixed" it 😂
 
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sughosh33 said:
Is the corner popping out issue real or should I go ahead and purchase a leather case for my 12? I don't have a good replacement/return policy in my country.
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Where do you live? I'm guessing you're in India. Apple Store online offers 14 day exchange. They won't change colors or sizing, but they will exchange the exact same product in case of defect. There is no return though.
 
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Cryates said:
Did Apple do something special to the 12 line of leather cases? Every other saddle brown I’ve had over the years had developed a patina within a few days. This one I’ve had for a week now and it is showing zero signs of patina.
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I would assume so. My Nomad is showing signs of patina and I’ve only been using it for 2 weeks (11/02).
 
Cryates said:
Did Apple do something special to the 12 line of leather cases? Every other saddle brown I’ve had over the years had developed a patina within a few days. This one I’ve had for a week now and it is showing zero signs of patina.
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Same with my Baltic Blue case. I was actually thinking of another Saddle Brown case to alternate with but if there’s no patina I might just go with black.
 
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So the Apple leather case arrived and all I can say is that I am ecstatic. Super happy with how it fits, how the leather feels, the color, how accurate the cutouts are and specially how great the buttons are!!!

Cannot believe how a case is such a huge part of the whole experience. My previous Spigen Thin Fit case was giving me bad vibes regarding the 12 Pro Max but now with this case I’m completely thrilled!!! Definitely would recommend and will probably also purchase a black one 👌🏻

E016E6A1-91AE-48EC-9C08-4B4E8D88C0E8.jpeg
 

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gjr74 said:
Same with my Baltic Blue case. I was actually thinking of another Saddle Brown case to alternate with but if there’s no patina I might just go with black.
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It’s leather, so I definitely think it will patina over time ... just how long is the question. The older cases seemed to patina much quicker.

Then again, maybe since I’m washing/sanitizing my hands more and living mostly a home-body life due to the virus, it’s just naturally taking longer.
 
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I think these leather cases are even worst than previous 11 models. I don’t think we’ll see nice patina from apple cases ever again
 
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The other day I took a rough-ish dish towel (clean of course) and vigorously scrubbed my Apple leather case—in past years, particularly during the Artificial Patina craze, there was a belief that Apple applied a waxy coating to delay the onset of patina. So I’d hoped to scrub off the wax.

I have no hard evidence, but the phone now feels somewhat different in the hand, and I see what might be the very beginnings of color change around the edges. Could be wishful thinking or could be actual change, we’ll see. But it’s something to try if you’re curious.
 
Cryates said:
Did Apple do something special to the 12 line of leather cases? Every other saddle brown I’ve had over the years had developed a patina within a few days. This one I’ve had for a week now and it is showing zero signs of patina.
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Same, I'll give it a couple more weeks until I pick up a Bullstrap case.
 
nekron99 said:
The other day I took a rough-ish dish towel (clean of course) and vigorously scrubbed my Apple leather case—in past years, particularly during the Artificial Patina craze, there was a belief that Apple applied a waxy coating to delay the onset of patina. So I’d hoped to scrub off the wax.

I have no hard evidence, but the phone now feels somewhat different in the hand, and I see what might be the very beginnings of color change around the edges. Could be wishful thinking or could be actual change, we’ll see. But it’s something to try if you’re curious.
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Did you use a damp cloth?
 
afonsomduarte said:
So the Apple leather case arrived and all I can say is that I am ecstatic. Super happy with how it fits, how the leather feels, the color, how accurate the cutouts are and specially how great the buttons are!!!

Cannot believe how a case is such a huge part of the whole experience. My previous Spigen Thin Fit case was giving me bad vibes regarding the 12 Pro Max but now with this case I’m completely thrilled!!! Definitely would recommend and will probably also purchase a black one 👌🏻
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I got the same black phone/saddle brown leather case combo but with the iPhone mini. I love the classic look of the brown leather case - and by far this is the color that ages the most gracefully.
 
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Strangedream said:
I got the same black phone/saddle brown leather case combo but with the iPhone mini. I love the classic look of the brown leather case - and by far this is the color that ages the most gracefully.
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Nice! Let’s hope that it will. Even if it doesn’t age as well as previous leather cases, it will retain most of its original color which is fine by me 👍🏻
 
Speaking of saddle brown leather cases for iPhone 12, I hope it will not patina like saddle brown for iPhone 5/5S/SE(1st gen.) which someone posted few pages ago.
 
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scarrz said:
The leather cases didn’t get released until Nov 6th, so I can’t think 2 weeks of use is gonna patina much. I’ve had a leather case for my X and it did take time.
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My previous leather cases, like four of them, would start to patina within a few days.
 
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