Urban Armor Gear is known in the accessories world for their awesome products for devices from Samsung, Google, and even Apple. This is no different with their UAG Plasma case for the iPhone 7 Plus.
Said to work with both the iPhone 7 Plus as well as the iPhone 6s Plus (which I think might actually look a little bit weird due to the spacing of the camera), the Urban Armor Gear Plasma case I received in the Ash color is also available in ice (Clear), magma (Red), cobalt (Blue) and citron (Yellow). Available for $39.95, the case is not only affordable for the price, but the features of the case hope to protect your phone from a drop or tumble off of your nightstand.
Urban Armor gear states that the Plasma case does meet military drop standards which is pretty much the company telling you that “you can comfortably drop this from waist height without heavily damaging your phone”. This is good because I’m pretty hard on my devices, and no matter how much I love a naked iPhone (or super thin case), I must have some sort of weighted protection of my iPhone 7 Plus in order to feel like I can carry it without care. Urban Armor Gear also states that the case is impact resistant all while featuring a feather-light construction, which I stand by. This case is absolutely light, despite the rugged look. Putting the case on my phone made me remember everything I loved about the case I used for my iPhone 6 Plus.
The UAG Plasma is made from a hard polycarbonate shell with rubber edges on both ends that add to the triple layer of protection that the company offers with this case. It feels great in the hand, and with slightly recessed sides, not only is the case grippy, but there are even ridges on each end that allow the case to be held without slipping out which I really do enjoy.
When you put the phone in the case, lying flat on a table you can see that the edges are indeed raised so if by chance the phone calls flat on its face, there’s an added bit of protection to it. Saying that to say, with the raised edges one concern I do have is when using edge-to-edge screen protectors. I currently am using a standard privacy glass screen protector by Invishield, and the edges don’t bother this protector at all, but if you happen to have an edge to edge screen protector, I suggest making sure the ends of each side of your protector sit in a position that will not cause the case to lift it up, causing air bubbles.
Compared to cases like the Otterbox, or even Speck cases, the UAG Plasma isn’t overly heavy in the hand, but you can obviously tell that there is a case on it. There’s something to be said about a phone case that looks like it adds substantial weight to your phone, but when in hand, feels almost like you do not have a case at all.
What’s more important is the attention to detail with this case. From the buttons to the lightning port, everything is strategically laid out to function accordingly. There hasn’t been one iPhone lightning cable that I’ve used, from Apple’s very own cable to Nomad’s Universal Cable that didn’t work with the Plasma case. As you can see the cutout is square, rather than rounded like other cases on the market giving enough space for used to be able to plug the device in without a care. Although I do not dock my phone at all, I am told that despite the rubberized side panels on the bottom of the UAG Plasma, the phone can be docked. This is great because now you never truly have to take your phone out of the case to dock it.
On the sides of the Plasma case you’ll see that the buttons are covered, and again you see the company’s attention to detail, even adding indicators for the buttons to let you know when you press them. Sure, a lot of people may not care about this, but from someone who does like little added details like that, it was pretty nice to see.
One thing that was a bit odd though is that Urban Armor Gear states that their cases are “Apple Pay Compatible”. Maybe it’s just me, but I have yet to run into a case that was not, but then again when I use Apple Pay, but I guess there may be cases on the market that either has RFID so you cannot use the functionality, but I’m glad that this case does.
Overall I love this case, and it’s been on my phone the past few weeks daily when I go to work. While I still absolutely love my thin cases like the Peel and Totallee cases, when I know that I’ll be on the move, the UAG Plasma is not quite far behind.
For more information on the UAG Plasma case for the iPhone 7 or iPhone & Plus, head over to their site today.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review unit
What I Like: Super durable case that looks great to hold and to use
What Needs Improvement: You can’t really improve on this quality case, but edge to edge screen protectors may raise when applying this case
