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Tech21 Evo Clear with MagSafe

M

Madtiger27

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Original poster
Nov 17, 2020
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Anyone has this case? Your experience? Does it yellow? I know that grip is not the greatest…OK with that. Does dust/lint get to back of case easily?

Thanks.


EDIT: since i ended up getting Tech21…i will change title to Tech21 Evo Clear review. I got this from BestBuy while it is on sale for $30.
 
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Madtiger27 said:
Anyone has this case? Your experience? Does it yellow? I know that grip is not the greatest…OK with that. Does dust/lint get to back of case easily?

Thanks.
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It’s not a bad case. I had it on my 13 mini. It’s super slippery which made me end up dropping the phone twice the same day I started using it. I ended up putting a pop socket on it which made it much easier to take video and snap pics while out walking my dog on trails. I’ve since returned the mini, but it is a good case. Protective and the buttons have improved a bunch since the last speck presidio clear I used on my 12. It does get greasy and scratches easily. The MagSafe white out line is bold. I guess it’s bold with any clear case. It’s a super super tight fit. Especially on the mini. I purchased it on sale from Best Buy at $20+tax. I think total was around $22-$23. If you can get it on sale it really is a deal and a well made case. I forgot to mention it has a substantial lip around the front screen. Even with a spigen ez fit glass screen protector it still had a very noticeable raised front lip. I still have the case. I didn’t use it long enough for it to yellow, but I’m assuming it’ll change to some sort of color in time. Either yellow or darken. They all seem to after a while.
 
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I ended it up getting the Tech21 Evo Clear with MagSafe. I took about 30 min comparing Speck to Tech21.

Speck Perfect Clear:

Pro: very protective, tight fit, lips are good all around, anti-bacterial coating, camera lip is more attractive (simple) vs. Tech21, very strong MagSafe magnets.

Cons: very very slippery (almost to same level as Apple Clear case), slightly thicker and wider (in all dimensions) than Tech21 (and of course Apple Clear case), the sides are not clear (cloudy due to shock absorbing rubber they use) and the finish of the cloudy finish is not uniform (some areas had clear defect in the rubber coating on side of case), the back polycarbonate has some sort of coating (clear) that seems to attract dust and hard get rid of dust once on it.

Tech21 EvoClear:

pro: very protective, tight fit (similar to speck), lips are good all around, anti-bacterial coating, just a shade slimmer in all dimensions than Speck (just ever so slightly wider than Apple Leather case; same thickness as Apple’s), the sides are not crystal clear but clear enough and finish is impeccable, very strong MagSafe magnets.

Cons: slippery but better than Speck/Apple, the camera lip is kinda over-done (thick and weird finish), less drop protection than Speck by 1 foot.

BOTH cases have mild softness of rubber/lip around the buttons…maybe a tad softer than Apple Clear case but I doubt that there is a significance difference in terms of keeping dust out of the sides of the case.

BUT, both have a rubber (clear) lining around the edge of the back of the case. The Tech21 has a more defined rubber edge around back of case than the Speck. Why is this important? Because this hopefully prevents dust bunnies from invading the back of the case. This is one weakness of Apple Clear case (esp 2021)…dust bunnies invade the back fairly easily.
 
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Here are pics of Tech21 front and back with 13 PM.
 

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Tech21 camera THICK lip (odd design, very thick and plastic distortion)…looks unique i guess…but at least it fits well around the camera bump and raises significantly above camera lens.
 

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“Cloudy” or frosted sides. Looks good enough. I would have prefer Apple Clear case sides but i guess that this may hide some dust bunnies unlike Apple clear case.
 

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In some of the photos above, you can see rubber lining running around the edge of the back case…i think that this is a GREAT design to limit dust/dirt/etc from invading the back side view of the phone. Point of entry of these dust bunnies usually from below near charging port and speakers and the sides. The camera lip on the INSIDE of the case is slightly raised…so that helps limit dust bunnies fro entering thru camera bump.
 

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Magsafe magnets are easily equal to Apple’s if not slightly stronger it seems. I did not like Speck’s Magsafe magnet design. The white outline on Speck’s is thick and no separation b/w the circle magnets and aligning magnets. The Tech21 magnet outline is thinner and more similar to Apple’s design.
 
One more nice gesture of Tech21 that is not present on Speck case. This feature is similar to many Otterbox cases.

As you can see, the case edge/lip above the speaker is “carved out” so that your ears can get closed to the speaker. More comfort for your ears. And for iPhone 13, this is a good thing since the speaker moved higher on the phone.
 

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Update. 3 days. Put in my pants pocket. Full time using it. Not a single speck of dust in the back of case!! Maybe one or two dust bunnies on the side of the case. Wow
 
Update time.

Found one speck of dust next to camera opening on the inside. Not a big deal.

BUT, all of a sudden, without ever dropping the case, there is now a creaking/popping sound when i pick up the phone or just squeezing the sides. It was not there at beginning. I have NOT taken phone out of the case since day 1. The case is just now make sounds when you squeeze the sides. Odd. And, for me, THAT is a big deal because it is annoying.
 
Madtiger27 said:
Update time.

Found one speck of dust next to camera opening on the inside. Not a big deal.

BUT, all of a sudden, without ever dropping the case, there is now a creaking/popping sound when i pick up the phone or just squeezing the sides. It was not there at beginning. I have NOT taken phone out of the case since day 1. The case is just now make sounds when you squeeze the sides. Odd. And, for me, THAT is a big deal because it is annoying.
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I’m really interested in purchasing this case but I’ve heard it is hard to take off. Is it true? I want to be able to remove it and change cases every now and then!
 
bonjourx said:
I’m really interested in purchasing this case but I’ve heard it is hard to take off. Is it true? I want to be able to remove it and change cases every now and then!
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Nah. It’s tight but I have no issue.
 
bonjourx said:
Are you 100% on this? Not difficult to take off at all? I saw that’s it’s on sale in Best Buy so I’m thinking of getting it.
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Pop out the corner next to camera lens…always a weakness on any case. Then pop out the rest.
 
bonjourx said:
I just got it! But I can’t remove it ??‍♀️
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For cases that are difficult to remove, I grab the edges of the case with my fingers and push my thumb (or both thumbs) through the camera hole.
 
Like this case but too many scratches on the back, there are some deep cuts, I usually put on table and in pockets, no idea how I got those
 
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Tgrey said:
Like this case but too many scratches on the back, there are some deep cuts, I usually put on table and in pockets, no idea how I got those
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That’s why polycarbonate sucks. Apple clear case is better because it actually had coating.
 
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I just returned mine yesterday and got an Apple clear case. First off, the Tech21 Evo Clear MagSafe case wouldn’t work with my car mount because of how the camera protection protrudes. Second, it was showing scratching in less than 24 hours without an drops. I had it in my pocket (alone) and sitting on my desk.
 
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I’ll also add that the clear Apple case I got actually fits very well. I got one a few weeks ago that was too loose and annoyed me. I’m hoping this one doesn’t loosen up much. As usual, there are just QC differences I think between cases. So if you get an Apple clear case that’s loose in a corner, try to exchange it.
 
How is the apple clear case holding up to scratch’s and dust ? If I get this one I may add a dbramd to the bottoms exposed area .
 
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