Jiří Filip Does your smartphone often fall out of your hand? Then you might like this review very much. The ULTIMATE CASE covers from Picasee, which combine extreme durability with a pleasing design and high-quality workmanship, arrived at our editorial office for testing. And since we have already crash tested them - literally - all I have to do is present you their (great) result. And I say in advance that in the following lines you will find something that we rarely bring to you in our magazine.
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Apple picker Technical Specifications
The Picasee ULTIMATE CASE covers are made of a relatively inflexible silicone-plastic skeleton that surrounds both the sides and the back of the phone, including the photo module. Thanks to this, only the camera lenses, which are recessed slightly below the level of the cover (at least in the case of the iPhone 12 tested by us), "see" from the back, so that they are protected in the event of falls on the back, and it always captures their surroundings rather than the glass on the lenses. The back is then protected by a shiny hardened plastic, under which the manufacturer can insert his own print and thus perfectly adapt the cover to each user. On the sides of the cover, there is no lack of button protection or special surfaces for a more secure grip. You will also find holes for threading a string through, for example for attaching to keys or any pendant.
On the front side, the edges of the cover have a slight overlap over the display, so it is not a problem to place the phone down with it, as there is no risk of scratches. It goes without saying that it is also compatible with tempered glass, the use of which is recommended by the manufacturer to maximize protection, and with which I also tested the covers.
Processing and (own) design
I admit that I was very interested in the processing of the covers after I learned about their loan to the editorial office. Practically all extremely durable covers that have passed through my hands so far have been very robust, which indeed provided them with a high degree of protection, but usually it was not possible to talk about comfortable use (and pleasant design). I was even more surprised when I unpacked the box containing the classic-looking covers, which do not offend me at all, because the phone is held in the hand almost as well as without them. When you look at them more closely, you can also see that the manufacturer really cared about them, as they are tightened in every place and because of this they look really high-quality.
However, ULTIMATE covers are not "only" pleased with their classic design, but also with the possibility of customizing them. Under the rear hardened plastic, the seller will print practically anything you can think of, thanks to which you can perfectly customize your phone. It's just a pity that currently only covers with a black "skeleton" are available, which may not fit perfectly with every user's graphics. But if you're fine with black, there's really nothing to read here.
Testing
Testing Picasee's ULTIMATE covers was honestly quite a ride. The manufacturer trusts them so much that he wasn't afraid to send me a brand new iPhone 12 with the words "it's for crash tests". Of course, Picasee has never made a secret of the fact that it has unlimited faith in the cover, which it tries to prove with a lifetime warranty, but I was honestly surprised that it came to this extent. After all, dropping phones is always a solid lottery, and taking the risk that the cover won't work and the phone will be damaged is really brave in my eyes. With the passage of time, however, I have to say that maybe it's more of a safe bet.
Gallery
Of course, I was happy to take advantage of the offer to try to eliminate falls and throws on the iPhone 12, because I myself was very interested in how the vaunted cover would handle them. I dropped the phone repeatedly, specifically on a laminate floating floor backed by a classic insulating pile, which was on concrete (for these purposes, I built a test floor in the yard of my house, which you can see in the video below) and then directly on concrete, or concrete garden paving. The phone hit the ground at different angles and from different heights, starting at about a meter and a half and ending at about three meters, values that the cover should not have a problem with. The manufacturer boasts that it has passed crash tests from up to five meters. Throwing it from such a height seemed a bit pointless to me, because as a result, the phone usually falls from much lower heights anyway. And how did the drop test go?
When falling on a laminate floor, which is logically softer compared to concrete, there was absolutely no damage to the phone despite many repetitions, even in situations where my phone bounced off the floor and landed on the pavement next to it. As for the condition of the cover, it didn't change after repeated falls and still looked like new. There was nothing on the floor to rub against, so you always picked it up in the same state as you threw it on the ground.
I admit that I kind of expected the success of the cover on the laminate floor, but in the case of concrete I wasn't completely sure of the result. I was even more surprised when, after the first few drops, the phone still looked like new - whether we're talking about the display, glass back or aluminum frames, drops from 1,5 to 1,7 meters didn't affect them, even if that the phone in the cover bounced off the ground in different ways or hit the ground at different angles and rotations. In my opinion, this is an absolutely impressive result, because these falls most faithfully simulate real life, in which people usually fall like this. Of course, in this case you will already find some scratches on the cover, but in my case it was at most small dents or grooves - that is, nothing that would make the use of the cover impossible in any way.
The phone enjoyed the last falls from a height of about three meters, again onto hard concrete. I have to say that here I was honestly expecting that some kind of damage simply had to show up, because it is a decent height and an impact on a brutally hard surface. The phone flew from this height twice in total, and after the first fall, the bottom corner of the tempered glass was slightly chipped. As for the second fall, I thought it was the final one. The impact was quite ugly, as was the sound that came out of it. After lifting the phone from the ground, the tempered glass was relatively solidly split, but after peeling it off, I discovered (honestly with relief) that the display was undamaged, and the same was true for the back of the phone.
In addition to falls, I also tested the resistance of the back plastic against scratches or other types of damage. It should be said here that although the covers managed to be scratched quite brutally, it always required both a relatively sharp tool and solid pressure. In addition, I have never "scratched" all the way to the motif under the plastic, which really lasts undamaged even in the event of major accidents. So if you carry your phone, for example, in a bag with keys, small coins or other sharp objects with the potential to scratch the phone, know that if they rub against the cover only slightly, scratches should not appear on it.
Summary
To be honest, I haven't gone as far with a review as I did with testing the ULTIMATE cover from Picasee. I am even more pleased that after all the vicissitudes I put the cover through, I can say that it is really great and can protect the phone in an absolutely extreme way. Honestly, I really didn't expect a similar result, because I've already seen a lot of phone falls in covers and with glass, which turned out to be absolutely fatal. It's also great to see that first-class protection doesn't have to be provided by non-compact monsters with steel frames, but also by classic covers that you don't have to be ashamed of in society. So if you're looking for a piece that you can customize to your own image and at the same time provide you with excellent protection, I think you've just found it. CZK 748, which the cover costs, is definitely worth paying for it - all the more so when you now also get tempered glass with it for free.
You can buy Picasee ULTIMATE covers with your own design here
