I'm a pretty big fan of the BookBook series of iPhone cases by TwelveSouth. I decided to replace my wallet with a combo case way back when I got a 5s and, after a careful search, decided that BookBook had all the features I wanted and none that I didn't. Loved the thing, and have pre-ordered one for every iPhone I've owned since the moment it became available.
I've loved every one of them equally, up until the vol. 2 for my iPhone 11 Pro showed up today.
- The card and money slots are all identical to the past few versions--good, although the ID slot is as usual annoyingly tight if you need to remove your ID regularly (I do, to badge in at secure locations). Likewise for the outer--crisp, attractive, feels good in the hand.
- The new magnet is sort of a trade-off.
On the plus side it's way more convenient to remove the inner case now, and there's no longer the annoyance of having the little teeth not line up right when you put it back together. You could also now conceivably use some other magnetic holder in the car or something. ApplePay still (of course?) works fine with the leather outer on.
On the minus, you now need to remove the phone from the leather case to use an inductive charger, and a bigger annoyance is that it sort of slides around if you push the sleep button, and after just a few hours I've noticed having to re-center it to get the thing to close smoothly. I'm nearly certain the inner case is going to go flying out some of the time if it gets dropped, but I'm not going to throw it at the ground to find out.
- The magnetic clasp is also a mixed bag, depending on how you want to use the phone.
It definitely keeps it closed, which is nice some of the time, and the magnet feels nice. A really nice touch is that the phone detects the clasp closing like the lid closing on one of Apple's cases, so it will lock itself when clasped and wake automatically when you open it. That, at least, is cool.
On the minus, I'd gotten really used to taking my phone out and flipping it open with one hand to quickly check the time or notifications, sort of pocket-watch style, and the clasp totally screws that up--it's now more of a process to open it than a gesture. Also sticks out, so tends to catch on the edge of the pocket.
- Then there's the new inner case. I am sorely disappointed in it.
On the plus side it's squishier and thicker, so it's presumably more protective of the phone inside, although I dropped my old BookBooks many times and never got so much as a scratch on the phone. It has a tiny bit of a lip at the top now so if it's not in the leather outer and you put it down face-down it won't touch the table... but I don't really know what the point of that is since it does have the leather outer.
What I hate is that the new case covers up the buttons. Apple spends Lord-only-knows how much money designing and building those perfect little waterproof buttons, and as with so many cases (but not the old BookBook!) they're now covered up with a fat, mushy layer of rubber that feels unsatisfying and requires pushing significantly harder to actuate. It's a small thing, sure, but I press those buttons dozens of times a day, I do not like cases that cover them up, and if I'm going to spend a small fortune on a wallet/case, I'd like it to be as close to perfect as possible.
Also, the mute switch is at the bottom of a deep well, which is really awkward to actuate. Maybe if you have thin fingers or long nails it'd be less annoying, but I flat-out can't reach it with my thumb or middle finger, and it's an effort to dig in there and hit it with the remaining three fingers. Sure, I'll never hit it accidentally again, but it's a mystery to me how anyone thought this was a good design.
In all, if you prefer extra protection to exposed buttons and don't mind a deep well around the mute switch maybe this is an improvement, but it's a deal-breaker for me.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to return this one in favor of a Pad & Quill case (although I don't like the strap on those and think the BookBook looks better), and even if I keep this one I'm sad that I won't be buying a BookBook for my next iPhone if it has the same design.
I've loved every one of them equally, up until the vol. 2 for my iPhone 11 Pro showed up today.
- The card and money slots are all identical to the past few versions--good, although the ID slot is as usual annoyingly tight if you need to remove your ID regularly (I do, to badge in at secure locations). Likewise for the outer--crisp, attractive, feels good in the hand.
- The new magnet is sort of a trade-off.
On the plus side it's way more convenient to remove the inner case now, and there's no longer the annoyance of having the little teeth not line up right when you put it back together. You could also now conceivably use some other magnetic holder in the car or something. ApplePay still (of course?) works fine with the leather outer on.
On the minus, you now need to remove the phone from the leather case to use an inductive charger, and a bigger annoyance is that it sort of slides around if you push the sleep button, and after just a few hours I've noticed having to re-center it to get the thing to close smoothly. I'm nearly certain the inner case is going to go flying out some of the time if it gets dropped, but I'm not going to throw it at the ground to find out.
- The magnetic clasp is also a mixed bag, depending on how you want to use the phone.
It definitely keeps it closed, which is nice some of the time, and the magnet feels nice. A really nice touch is that the phone detects the clasp closing like the lid closing on one of Apple's cases, so it will lock itself when clasped and wake automatically when you open it. That, at least, is cool.
On the minus, I'd gotten really used to taking my phone out and flipping it open with one hand to quickly check the time or notifications, sort of pocket-watch style, and the clasp totally screws that up--it's now more of a process to open it than a gesture. Also sticks out, so tends to catch on the edge of the pocket.
- Then there's the new inner case. I am sorely disappointed in it.
On the plus side it's squishier and thicker, so it's presumably more protective of the phone inside, although I dropped my old BookBooks many times and never got so much as a scratch on the phone. It has a tiny bit of a lip at the top now so if it's not in the leather outer and you put it down face-down it won't touch the table... but I don't really know what the point of that is since it does have the leather outer.
What I hate is that the new case covers up the buttons. Apple spends Lord-only-knows how much money designing and building those perfect little waterproof buttons, and as with so many cases (but not the old BookBook!) they're now covered up with a fat, mushy layer of rubber that feels unsatisfying and requires pushing significantly harder to actuate. It's a small thing, sure, but I press those buttons dozens of times a day, I do not like cases that cover them up, and if I'm going to spend a small fortune on a wallet/case, I'd like it to be as close to perfect as possible.
Also, the mute switch is at the bottom of a deep well, which is really awkward to actuate. Maybe if you have thin fingers or long nails it'd be less annoying, but I flat-out can't reach it with my thumb or middle finger, and it's an effort to dig in there and hit it with the remaining three fingers. Sure, I'll never hit it accidentally again, but it's a mystery to me how anyone thought this was a good design.
In all, if you prefer extra protection to exposed buttons and don't mind a deep well around the mute switch maybe this is an improvement, but it's a deal-breaker for me.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to return this one in favor of a Pad & Quill case (although I don't like the strap on those and think the BookBook looks better), and even if I keep this one I'm sad that I won't be buying a BookBook for my next iPhone if it has the same design.
Last edited:
