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I bought one today at Best Buy. Other than the longer screen protector with the cutout, it appears to be identical in design and materials to the iPhone 5 Defender. The screen protector did sit flush with my screen. I can feel the edge of the cutout scrape my thumb when I click the home button, but it does not cause me any discomfort or appear to be a defect. Time will tell if dust and other grunge gets underneath the screen protector.
 
Got mine today - seems fine although the whole fingerprint thing had forced a difficult compromise as it no longer completely envelops the phone. Supposedly the home button is a hard to scratch sapphire so hopefully it will be alright.
Also I suspect this version will be more suseptible to stretching like the first 4 series were. The home button plug on the last version gave the rubber an anchor point that's gone now.
Still mostly effective protection with a solid belt clip - I don't think there is a viable alternative for now.
 
update to my comments yesterday- I cut the plastic screen protector out of the case as I have done with all my previous defender cases as the thick plastic screen protector does not allow a good touch screen experience- what I learned was my case is almost impossible to remove - the top and bottom hard pieces would not come unclipped - I had to use so much force it cracked one of the tabs and I had to use a small screwdriver to pry the tab- way too hard to revive- Im gonna keep mine as I need a rugged case with a belt clip and I don't have to take my phone in and out of the case all the time but if your the type that likes to change cases a lot you will not be happy with this case- I have had four or five defenders for iphone and i do know that some of the early defenders for iphone 5 where loose, I have one of those and I solved that by cutting a sliver of an old credit card and used it as a shim inside the case. On my new 5's defender there is no doubt they still have not got it exactly right. On a side note I dropped my i5 while riding my bike and the case saved the phone but the case did in fact crack on the plastic piece that is on the side where it makes contact with the holster.
 
The only way i can open my 5 case is with a nail file?

How is the swiping up for control centre?
 
Control center is fine because the hard plastic is under the home button. But to be honest I had no issues with my 4S Otterbox. The case is tight, but I got it reopened without any other tools, but I rarely change my case.
 
Anyone with a 5 defender and a 5s defender, does the back plate of the 5 fit with the front of the 5s? I sometimes mix and match the fronts and backs as far as colors go and it would be cool if I could use some of the backplates I've already got.
 
further observation after a few days with my defender for 5s- the rubber at the bottom is so thin it's probably gonna stretch- the channel that it fits in is not very substantial- time will tell but Im pretty sure after a few months the rubber is gonna not stay where it's supposed to ???
 
anyone find any other color other than black in a retail store?

Yes, my local AT&T store had four colors. I went for the black on black and love it. I also always remove the Otterbox screen protector as I use the power support, so I have no information if the thumb hole is a dust dirt magnate or not. This is the best fitting Otterbox case I've had to date.
 
Just got an otterbox for my 5S while at vzw. I have a glass screen protector on, but the employee said no issue. So I proceeded to install the phone and it basically had to be forced into the back half of the case which was weird. Worried about scratching the phone for sure. Then once I got the front on which was very very tight, the built in screen protector was far from flush. Anyone else had these issues? Surely it isnt the glass protector bc that has nothing to do with the fit with just the back half of the plastic case. I also never seem to get an otterbox that has a flush sitting screen protector. Seems odd if they do quality control. Typing is a nightmare lol.
 
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