Thanks to OtterBox, I have the chance to test out the OtterBox Armor Series of casing. It is, in one way, fulfilling my ‘dream’ of dropping, crushing and throwing the phone without worrying that it will be damaged. For the review, I used the Apple iPhone 4s.
BTW, they have OtterBox Armor for iPhone 5 and the Samsung GALAXY S3 too. The only reason why I choose the iPhone 4s is because it is my spare phone (and I do not have GALAXY S3 or iPhone 5).
First Look
The OtterBox Armor casing is very thick. It is not meant for anybody. For those who wanted to protect their phones from water, scratches, drop, crush and dust, this will be the casing you can consider.
Here is the top view
The bottom view
The side view (with the latches)
Another side with volume buttons and silent on/off switch (usually – depending on how you configure it).
The OtterBox Armor casing is super easy to install and dismantle. In my opinion, it is much easier than the OtterBox Defender series. The OtterBox Armor is basically an air tight box where you put in the phone. Here is a video of putting in and taking out the iPhone 4s from the OtterBox Armor casing.
Close Up
And here are some of the close ups of the OtterBox Armor.
The top piece.
Back view.
The bottom piece
The back view.
Close up of the buttons.
The latch in close position.
The latch when opened.
The ports are protected. However, they can easily be accessed by opening the rubber protection. Notice that the rubber pieces that are protecting the ports have O-rings. This is very important to prevent water from seeping in.
Here is a view of how it looks like with the iPhone 4s placed inside.
OtterBox is very detailed. It even has the rubber piece to allow you to switch your phone to silent and vice versa. Here is a close up of the area around the iPhone 4s silent selector switch.
Some people might want to know how bulky is the OtterBox Armor casing, here is a shot of the OtterBox Armor casing in my hand.
The Tests
I don’t call them torture tests as I think that they are not torturous enough. Anyway, the point I wanted to prove is that if any of these scenarios happens to you, your phone should be protected from any damage if you have the OtterBox Armor casing.
Drop Test
3 scenarios:
- Drop from pocket
- Drop from ear height
- Drop from raised hand
Here is the video.
As you can see, at the highest point, it does damage the cover but you can be sure that phone is ok.
Crush Test
I uses two types of bike (Foldable and Mountain bike) to run through the cover. To dramatize it, I used the iPhone 4s camera to record the video of the bicycle running through it.
Do note that it is not possible/logical to crush the OtterBox Armor casing with the screen facing up. The reason is because the OtterBox Armor screen has only a very thin membrane protecting it from basic scratches only. It is not meant for such high crushing power. Here is the video.
Here are photos of the casing after the foldable bike went through it.
The damage is even worse after the mountain bike went through it.
Finally, I decided to do a bonus video since the tests did nothing to the internal of the casing. I decided to throw the casing with the phone on the ground.
Throw Test
As expected, the phone is functioning properly after the test. Here is video.
Summary
This OtterBox Armor casing is not for anybody and it is not cheap. It costs USD99.95. If you are the outdoor type who may encounter such situations as described above, you should invest in this casing.
BTW, I need to highlight that once the phone is in the casing, the sensitivity of the screen will be affected. In my opinion, it is still ok. My only complain is the reflection. It becomes worse after putting in the casing.
I did not execute the water test but I guess with those O-rings and the lining around the casing, it should be fine. That is it. Thanks for reading it.
[ad#boxlist]