Pixel: Speck Case Review

The folks over at Speck Products were kind enough to send me over two cases for my new Pixel to review. I received a clear Presidio case and a black Presidio Grip case.

I am a big fan of clear cases because I like to see the color and design of the device I purchased and I like to keep my monthly train ticket inside for ease of display to the conductors. However, I have been preferring the black Presidio Grip over the clear Presidio.

Both cases provide decent drop protection, with the Presidio offering protection of up to 8 feet and the Presidio Grip offering up to 10 feet.  Both claim to be the slimmest cases yet created by Speck.  I did drop my phone off of the coffee table on the firm carpet, about 3 feet and this resulted in zero damage with either case. To be completely honest, given the pricepoint of my Pixel I was not comfortable testing from a higher point, nor onto a harder surface.

Both cases also offer excellent alignment of openings for the headphones, charging port, fingerprint sensor, camera and the speakers on the bottom. The buttons were also perfectly aligned, so much so that taking screen shots gave me no issues and were successful 10 out of 10 times.

The clear Presidio case seemed pretty thick to me on all sides an the back. But more importantly it really provided no grip, and actually felt slippery to me, to the point I was not comfortable making it my daily driver. The black Presidio Grip incorporates raised ridges to give a no-slip grip. Despite these raised ridges, the Presidio Grip really felt a bit thinner to me than the clear Presidio. As a result, I have switched my habits and just keep my train ticket in my wallet as I have made the Presidio Grip my daily protection for my Pixel.

Both cases provided ample protection, but if I had to recommend one, it would definitely be the Presidio Grip.