Photos reveal why you might want to buy a third party case for your Pixel 9 series phone

If you've purchased a new Pixel 9 phone and one of the official cases from Google, you might end up wishing that you went the third-party route for your case. According to one Pixel 9 Pro XL owner, he shelled out $35 to purchase one of the cases hawked by Google. When he first received the case, his initial impression was that while on the pricey side, the accessory had a premium "fit and finish," and the quality was high.

A week later, pictures of the case show that one of the corners is cracked and is falling apart. What the Pixel 9 Pro XL owner discovered from the crack was that the case is made out of plastic with a very thin layer of silicon sandwiched inside. He originally thought that the case was made entirely of silicon which might have held up better than the plastic used on the outside of the case.

There is a mystery here. The disappointed Pixel 9 Pro XL owner says that he never dropped the phone and the only thing he can come up with as an explanation is that he frequently placed and removed the phone into and out of his back pocket. But even he calls that a stretch. He plans to exchange the case for a new one and hopes that his experience was due to a defect with the material.

Other commenters on this social media site weighed in with their experiences. "Every Google case I ever got was crap. Don't know why a cheap Amazon case will always beat them," said one. Another subscriber to the site wrote, "Every Pixel case I've gotten has had quality issues since the 6. They're the best. But they are absolute garbage. Think they're meant to never be taken off."

On the other hand, a few were praising the Pixel 9 case they bought from Google. "I've had good luck with mine so far! I dropped my phone and the case did not take any damage or get hurt," said one.

Still, if you are considering the purchase of a Google Pixel case for your Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, or Pixel 9 Pro XL, you might want to taker a look outside of the Google Store. I've had great protection, first for my Pixel 2 XL, and then my Pixel 6 Pro, from Spigen and if I recall correctly, I paid under $20 for each case. The case protecting my Pixel 6 Pro still looks great after 32 months so you might want to consider one of their Pixel 9 series cases.