Materials Commonly Used in Phone and Tablet Cases
The number of phone and tablet cases on the market is staggering, and they come in a variety of colors, designs, and materials. Below is a quick look at some of the materials that are commonly used.
PU Leather PU leather is also known as bicast leather and is a type of synthetic leather. It is comprised of a split leather backing that is covered with a layer of polyurethane, and the polyurethane keeps it looking new, which means that cases made with it tend to be dirt-resistant. New PU leather cases may give off a chemical smell, but that should dissipate in no more than a week. These types of cases are usually good at protecting against bumps and scratches and tend to be fairly low in price.
Genuine Leather Unsurprisingly, genuine leather is also used in phone cases. While PU leather does contain some genuine leather, it only makes up a small part, and thus, differences between the two materials do exist. Both full-grain and top-grain leather are used to make phone cases, with full-grain leather considered the highest-quality leather and top-grain the second highest. Full-grain leather is a strong, durable, and breathable material and is extremely wear-resistant, while top-grain leather has less breathability because of the finish coat added to its surface. This coat does make top-grain leather more resistant to stains, however, as long as it remains intact. Like PU leather, genuine leather cases are adept at protecting against bumps, scratches, and scuffs, and though they cost more, they are also a more luxurious and elegant adornment for phones and tablets.
Polycarbonate Polycarbonate is often used for the housing bracket within phone cases because it is a durable material. These housing brackets tend to be hard to break and will reduce the impact of drops. However, polycarbonate fares poorly against scratches, and for this reason, it usually only comprises part of a phone or tablet case when used, with another material that can better protect against scratches making up the majority of the case.
Microfiber Microfiber is a type of synthetic fiber that is often used on the interior of phone and tablet cases. As a synthetic fiber, microfiber can be selected for specific characteristics, and the type used in protective cases is made to be soft in order to prevent damage to phone and tablet screens. In this respect, they are similar to the microfiber cloth included with new MacBooks that are used to clean the laptop screens. The microfiber used for protective cases is usually colorfast as well, ensuring that stains will not occur on either one's phone or tablet or on the case on itself.
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