iPhone 14 Silicone Case Review: One year later

Over the last few iPhone generations, I’ve tried out most of the Apple cases, and while the Product (red) silicone case I’ve used over the last year on my iPhone 14 Pro has fit perfectly, it hasn’t held up to the test of time.

I typically enjoy manufacturer cases for phones due to there being a high chance of a perfect fit. Alongside that, I generally trust Apple products and expect them to feel well-thought-out and reliable. However, that trust has been shaken since my iPhone 14 Pro silicone case has broken down considerably over the past year.

Since I take so many photos of phones, I often need to pop the devices out of their cases to take a clean picture. This added wear and tear is a little more than what most people might put their cases through, and in my instance, it’s caused a lot of the silicone that covers the exterior of the case to peel off and reveal the hard plastic underneath. This has happened in three of the four corners of the case and around the mute switch. It started at about six months with the phone and has gotten considerably worse over the few months following that.

That all being said, I’ve only had the case for 11 months total, which means it’s still covered by Apple’s one-year warranty. So after a brief bike ride to the Apple Store and a short five-minute wait, an employee checked out my case and ordered me a replacement that should arrive in a few days. The store was out of red cases, and the policy wouldn’t allow me to just swap it out for another colour, but overall I’m impressed with the service. The high $69 CAD price tag becomes a tiny bit closer to being reasonable, considering it’s easy to get it replaced when it breaks.

I think going forward, what I’ve learned is my lifestyle is a little hard on Apple’s silicone cases, and while the warranty coverage is generous, I’ll likely be better served by a case with a slightly harder shell to better stand up to being removed often.

Other thoughts on iPhone cases

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Overall, I liked the bright red of the case when I bought it, and I’m happy to get it replaced under warranty. The new case also comes with a 90-day warranty. Looking back, bright red was a strong colour choice to commit to for multiple years. It’s good for camping and using outdoors because it’s easy to see if you drop it, but the bright case made it hard to match to a lot of more formal outfits.

With the iPhone 12 Pro, I used the clear Magsafe case, and years later, it’s still clear since the plastic didn’t yellow. With the 13 Pro, I had a leather case that held up slightly better than the silicone option with no peeling, but the small part of the case that goes around the volume buttons did crack at one point. However, I didn’t get that one replaced by the warranty in time.

For the 13 Pro, I also used cases from Casetify, which were super secure and fit great but felt bulkier than the Apple case. The MagSafe versions of these cases are also very pricey. I also had a great case from Moment that I liked, and it even had a spot to put a wrist strap on it, which was also good for camping. It looked very cool, but the thin-line texture on the back gathers a lot of grime and requires cleaning more often than most cases.