Hi I recently purchased both the lifeproof fre case and the otterbox preserver for iPhone 5s. I just thought I'd do a review because when I was choosing which to buy I found that not eveything was covered and I've found flaws with each that makes it difficult to decide which is better so here's my review.
aesthetically:
aesthetically I feel the preserver looks much smarter. I have both the pink preserver and the magenta fre cases. but the preserver looks a lot nicer, it's less plasticy and cheap looking. although feel wise, the fre is much smaller and compact. the preserver feels like the defender in that it's bulky but I must say I feel my phone is safer in the preserver.
PRISMATIC EFFECT: a lot of reviews talked about the prismatic rainbow effect that occurs with the cases and their built in screen protectors. now I got the preserver because reviews said it doesn't get the rainbowing where as the fre does, I found it to be opposite. I didn't have the prismatic effect with the fre but I had it very bad with the preserver. now I have a little bit of OCD so I hated this. so fre is better in this regard.
INTERNAL PROTECTION: I am OCD with caring for my phones. I loved the fact that the preserver had the soft cushioning in the rear of the case, I felt this was much nicer and less abrasive on my phone. the fre is pretty much pure plastic which I feel makes it less able to absorb shock. however I don't drop my phone often so I guess it's not a real issue.
sound:
sound quality is perfect in the fre, no issues in call both on receiving or outgoing end. however the speaker output sounds muffled when playing music or ringtones, even the tapping and lock sounds are different with the fre case.
on the other hand the preserver has an EXTREMELY muffled and distorted ear piece when in calls. it's frustrating as people on the other end have trouble understanding me. but in saying that the speaker output is clear as day, like there's no case on it at all. so I guess it's up to you if you prefer clarity in calls or clear speaker. there are ways to minimise the problem with the preserver, you can simply use the iphone headphones and that eradicates the problem.or you can do what I did and activate hearing aid mode, it seems to make the earpiece louder and clearer, but it seems to echo and squeek. speaker phone isn't real good as like I said the speaker is distorted.
this isn't as easy with the fre as you need the headphone adapter, a bonus to this is that it's still waterproof where as the headphones on the preserver won't be waterproof. but yeah, that's sound covered.
also the fre tends to vibrate as sound passes, you feel the vibrations up the back of the phone which can be annoying but it's not too bad.
button accessibility:
people said in reviews that the preserver case renders the silence button inaccessible. I didn't have this issue I found both cases were equally stiff to change from silent to loud but not overly hard.
the proofing:
the lifeproof fre is said to be drop, water, dust and snow proof. now I know it's waterproof, but I did find dust and hair particles on my phone after taking off the case which makes me question it's dust proofing.
the preserver kept my phone dust free but tended to leave a few marks on the sides which I easily cleaned off.
overall.
of waterproof cases, these two are nicest on the market. I hope this info can help you decide which to buy.
at $80 odd each, it's a hard choice
aesthetically:
aesthetically I feel the preserver looks much smarter. I have both the pink preserver and the magenta fre cases. but the preserver looks a lot nicer, it's less plasticy and cheap looking. although feel wise, the fre is much smaller and compact. the preserver feels like the defender in that it's bulky but I must say I feel my phone is safer in the preserver.
PRISMATIC EFFECT: a lot of reviews talked about the prismatic rainbow effect that occurs with the cases and their built in screen protectors. now I got the preserver because reviews said it doesn't get the rainbowing where as the fre does, I found it to be opposite. I didn't have the prismatic effect with the fre but I had it very bad with the preserver. now I have a little bit of OCD so I hated this. so fre is better in this regard.
INTERNAL PROTECTION: I am OCD with caring for my phones. I loved the fact that the preserver had the soft cushioning in the rear of the case, I felt this was much nicer and less abrasive on my phone. the fre is pretty much pure plastic which I feel makes it less able to absorb shock. however I don't drop my phone often so I guess it's not a real issue.
sound:
sound quality is perfect in the fre, no issues in call both on receiving or outgoing end. however the speaker output sounds muffled when playing music or ringtones, even the tapping and lock sounds are different with the fre case.
on the other hand the preserver has an EXTREMELY muffled and distorted ear piece when in calls. it's frustrating as people on the other end have trouble understanding me. but in saying that the speaker output is clear as day, like there's no case on it at all. so I guess it's up to you if you prefer clarity in calls or clear speaker. there are ways to minimise the problem with the preserver, you can simply use the iphone headphones and that eradicates the problem.or you can do what I did and activate hearing aid mode, it seems to make the earpiece louder and clearer, but it seems to echo and squeek. speaker phone isn't real good as like I said the speaker is distorted.
this isn't as easy with the fre as you need the headphone adapter, a bonus to this is that it's still waterproof where as the headphones on the preserver won't be waterproof. but yeah, that's sound covered.
also the fre tends to vibrate as sound passes, you feel the vibrations up the back of the phone which can be annoying but it's not too bad.
button accessibility:
people said in reviews that the preserver case renders the silence button inaccessible. I didn't have this issue I found both cases were equally stiff to change from silent to loud but not overly hard.
the proofing:
the lifeproof fre is said to be drop, water, dust and snow proof. now I know it's waterproof, but I did find dust and hair particles on my phone after taking off the case which makes me question it's dust proofing.
the preserver kept my phone dust free but tended to leave a few marks on the sides which I easily cleaned off.
overall.
of waterproof cases, these two are nicest on the market. I hope this info can help you decide which to buy.
at $80 odd each, it's a hard choice