The official Galaxy S9 cases that you should and shouldn't buy
Along with the Galaxy S9 and S9+, Samsung has also unveiled a number of interesting cases to perfectly complement its new flagships. As every year, we were particularly intrigued in checking these out, because Samsung has had some wild ideas in the past, including the absurd 2Piece Cover and the innovative Alcantara Cover. This year, the company has unveiled some surprises again: some of them seem like perfectly reasonable cases, while others - not so much. Below you'll find our impressions of the new Galaxy S9 and S9+ cases by Samsung, which will hopefully help you in choosing the most suitable product for you.
The rugged-looking Protective Standing Cover seems to have a satisfyingly good fit, but because sides of the case encompass the Galaxy S9 all around, it looks and feels as one with the phone. The ribbed, plastic material the case is made of is great to hold and touch - it's smooth and grippy, and has a unique look that is half rugged, half stylish. The Protective Standing Cover takes pride in offering a built-in kickstand, which pops out to allow you to place the phone at a comfortable angle for video watching, in landscape mode.
Overall the Protective Standing Cover for the Galaxy S9 is a strong addition to Samsung's portfolio of cases, and comes in black and silver colors for either a more understated, or a more expressive style. If you dig the unique rugged look and built-in kickstand design, this case will definitely be a good option.
The Clear View Standing Cover has an interesting design - the front is a very glossy and very lightly translucent material which allows for some on-screen elements like the clock to be slightly visible with the cover closed. The back of the case is made from a nice and soft rubbery-plastic material that feels good to the touch. Overall, the case is rather substantial and we'd have felt very confident in its protective capabilities; however, the front lid lacks any kind of mechanism to keep it attached firmly to its place, like a magnet or something. When lying down, it stays closed, but as there's nothing to keep it in place, if you happen to drop your Galaxy S9, the lid will likely open and thus subject the phone's screen to damage.
This case would be a decent product if you crave the shiny, glossy front look, as well as the translucent cover gimmick, but we have to say the level of protection provided by this case doesn't completely correspond to the overall bulk is adds.
Samsung's longtime accessory partner, Montblanc, is at it again this year, delivering two new case models for the Galaxy S9 and S9+. The first we'll take a look at is the wallet case, which looks nice and premium, but you'll have to take advantage of the card pockets on the inside of the front cover, for it to close tightly enough. At least the the demo model on display we found the front cover wouldn't close completely, which can be rather annoying. Besides the serious brand and slots for cards, the Montblanc waller case for Galaxy S9 doesn't surprise in any way. It suffers from the same issue as the Clear View Standing Cover, where there's no mechanism to keep the lid in place, meaning that there won't be much true protection for the screen.
Montblanc has another offering for the Galaxy S9, and this is a lightweight and simple back case. At first glance, this case seems very attractive due to its minimal design and nice texture on the back, but there is an issue that kind of makes it a bit of a tougher sell than needed. As the case doesn't have any sides, it attaches to the phone only to the four corners. First, this doesn't provide almost any meaningful protection for any side of the phone other than the back; and second, it doesn't really look too good, with the four corners jutting out from the body. A regular back case design that hugs the phone around the sides would have been a way more practical choice in this case.
Ah, this one is entirely new for the Galaxy S9 - the Hyperknit Cover is made from a knit nylon material that provides more than sufficient protection and looks unique at the same time. The texture reminds of textile a bit, but when you touch it, the harder feeling uncovers the polymer nature of the product. Still, it is a rather nice case with characteristic looks and decent in-hand feel. It's not as comfortable as the Alcantara case, but it's still among the more natual-looking cases you can find for the Galaxy S9.
OK, do yourself a favor and avoid this one. Silicone cases are quite popular (mostly because of their cheap prices), but the silicone material used to make them is often decidedly inferior to... almost everything else you can make a case out of. Aside from the typical rubbery feel, the Galaxy S9 Silicone Cover cases will get dirty extremely quickly. Some of the demo models we checked were just display devices that couldn't be held or put on a phone, yet they were already covered with all kinds of dust and other miniature rubbish. Take a look at the pictures above to see how they look. The bad news is this stuff if very difficult to get off the silicone cases, so they'll essentially never look or feel very clean. One trip to your pocket will be all it takes, and the Silicone Cover for the S9 will never look new again.
What about you? Which case do you think goes best with the Galaxy S9? Share your thoughts in comments below!
Galaxy S9 Protective Standing Cover
The rugged-looking Protective Standing Cover seems to have a satisfyingly good fit, but because sides of the case encompass the Galaxy S9 all around, it looks and feels as one with the phone. The ribbed, plastic material the case is made of is great to hold and touch - it's smooth and grippy, and has a unique look that is half rugged, half stylish. The Protective Standing Cover takes pride in offering a built-in kickstand, which pops out to allow you to place the phone at a comfortable angle for video watching, in landscape mode.
Galaxy S9 Clear View Standing Cover
The Clear View Standing Cover has an interesting design - the front is a very glossy and very lightly translucent material which allows for some on-screen elements like the clock to be slightly visible with the cover closed. The back of the case is made from a nice and soft rubbery-plastic material that feels good to the touch. Overall, the case is rather substantial and we'd have felt very confident in its protective capabilities; however, the front lid lacks any kind of mechanism to keep it attached firmly to its place, like a magnet or something. When lying down, it stays closed, but as there's nothing to keep it in place, if you happen to drop your Galaxy S9, the lid will likely open and thus subject the phone's screen to damage.
In addition to the slightly translucent front cover, which makes for a nice effect, the Clear View Standing Cover can also be setup like a stand so you can enjoy video, although the process here is a bit more of a hassle than the simple kickstand design of the Protective Standing Cover above.
Montblanc wallet case
Samsung's longtime accessory partner, Montblanc, is at it again this year, delivering two new case models for the Galaxy S9 and S9+. The first we'll take a look at is the wallet case, which looks nice and premium, but you'll have to take advantage of the card pockets on the inside of the front cover, for it to close tightly enough. At least the the demo model on display we found the front cover wouldn't close completely, which can be rather annoying. Besides the serious brand and slots for cards, the Montblanc waller case for Galaxy S9 doesn't surprise in any way. It suffers from the same issue as the Clear View Standing Cover, where there's no mechanism to keep the lid in place, meaning that there won't be much true protection for the screen.
Montblanc back case
Montblanc has another offering for the Galaxy S9, and this is a lightweight and simple back case. At first glance, this case seems very attractive due to its minimal design and nice texture on the back, but there is an issue that kind of makes it a bit of a tougher sell than needed. As the case doesn't have any sides, it attaches to the phone only to the four corners. First, this doesn't provide almost any meaningful protection for any side of the phone other than the back; and second, it doesn't really look too good, with the four corners jutting out from the body. A regular back case design that hugs the phone around the sides would have been a way more practical choice in this case.
Galaxy S9 Hyperknit Cover
Ah, this one is entirely new for the Galaxy S9 - the Hyperknit Cover is made from a knit nylon material that provides more than sufficient protection and looks unique at the same time. The texture reminds of textile a bit, but when you touch it, the harder feeling uncovers the polymer nature of the product. Still, it is a rather nice case with characteristic looks and decent in-hand feel. It's not as comfortable as the Alcantara case, but it's still among the more natual-looking cases you can find for the Galaxy S9.
Galaxy S9 Silicone Cover
OK, do yourself a favor and avoid this one. Silicone cases are quite popular (mostly because of their cheap prices), but the silicone material used to make them is often decidedly inferior to... almost everything else you can make a case out of. Aside from the typical rubbery feel, the Galaxy S9 Silicone Cover cases will get dirty extremely quickly. Some of the demo models we checked were just display devices that couldn't be held or put on a phone, yet they were already covered with all kinds of dust and other miniature rubbish. Take a look at the pictures above to see how they look. The bad news is this stuff if very difficult to get off the silicone cases, so they'll essentially never look or feel very clean. One trip to your pocket will be all it takes, and the Silicone Cover for the S9 will never look new again.
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