When you’re looking for a protective case for your smartphone, two options immediately stand out. Otterbox and Lifeproof own the market for smart phone cases. When you’re looking at comparable cases from both brands, they’re pretty even on protection. Both protect your phone on drops of over 6 feet and both will keep your phone safe from water damage even if they are submersed for half an hour. So what other features come into play to make one better than the other?
Making a Choice
One of the first things to consider when choosing between these two cases is how often you pull your phone out of its protective shell. If you’re content to leave your phone in there, then this is a moot point. But if you’re constantly pulling your phone out, you might want to lean towards the Lifeproof case. Otterbox is much harder to pull apart. On the other hand, the reason Otterbox is so much harder to open is because it gives extra protection to your phone.
Otterbox does not worry about looking pretty. It is all about protecting your phone with giant fenders all over the place. This does make your smartphone pretty invulnerable, but it also makes it a lot thicker and much heavier. Lifeproof still does a pretty good job of keeping your phone safe while still holding to a reasonable size.
Another feature of the Otterbox is a built in screen protector. This thin film helps prevent scratches on your screen. It’s thin enough to keep your touch screen almost as responsive as a bare screen would be. Lifeproof does not offer any screen protection. Because the screen itself is waterproof, this does not affect that feature of the case. While this does leave you open to scratches on your screen, it also keeps you in direct contact with your phone, which means no trouble with your screen not picking up your commands.
Differences with Lifeproof
The Lifeproof case does have some extra features that help contribute to its popularity. The best of these features is its ability to act as a subwoofer. When listening to music through your iPhone’s speakers, this case will improve the bass and mid-frequency sounds.
The downside to Lifeproof is that it is limited to iPhone users. If you are looking for something to protect your Android smartphone, they have nothing for you. Otterbox does sell models that fit Android phones.
Both Lifeproof and Otterbox sell quality cases that will keep your phone safe from most accidental damage, including water submersion. If you are looking for serious protection with no frills, especially for working in construction zones and other job sites, then the Otterbox is most likely the choice for you. If you’d like the protection without a lot of extra bulk and a few extra features, then you may be further ahead with Lifeproof.