Bric Plus Extreme Review – iPhone 5/6/6 Plus

Design – Uniquely designed iPhone case with build quality issues

With the Bric+ Xtreme, there are 3 parts to the case (4 if you count the screen protector) that you need to install. The final installed case isn’t too bulky but the 6 version is much larger than the 5S version despite the fact that the 5S is a thicker device.

As we mentioned at the beginning, the Bric+ Extreme is a uniquely designed case but we feel the build quality is a little lower than average as the case doesn’t fit too well together after a bit of usage. Installing the case is fairly simple and despite having 3 pieces, there aren’t any screws. The aluminum fronts and backs have little latches that fit in the groove found on the TPU body. When the frame hasn’t been deformed slightly, everything sits together very well. However, after dropping it, there is a noticeable gap between the TPU and aluminum bumpers.

The iPhone 5S version (which we’ve had for over 6 months) feels quite loose but given that Bric is still fairly new, we’re going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they’ve improved the 5S version since then. It took us 2 different Bric+ Extremes to find the pieces that all fit together without any gaps.

We do like the materials of the case but really wish that it was better as being a little rough with this case has resulted in some pretty noticeable damage to the case as we mentioned earlier. The design is smart, another example is that they designed the TPU bumper to extend far enough out that regardless which way you place the iPhone, it’s not going to easily slip away.

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Protection – This is not an “Extreme” case. At all.

In terms of protection, dropping your iPhone in this case is most likely going to result in one of the front aluminum bumpers coming off but despite that flaw, this case is going to offer as much protection as any other plastic wrapped case. According to Bric+, this iPhone case has 3 layers and the Aluminum Frame disperses impact which is evident when the force is enough to uncouple one of the frames? This case is by no means a tough iPhone case in our opinion but will definitely protect your iPhone from any sort of day-to-day drops.

The 6 version of the case isn’t waterproof but the 5S version was marketed as a water-resistant solution as it came with a sealed back. We didn’t really test the water protection of the case since the backing is glued and in the process of taking our iPhone out of the case, we tore the back off the TPU bumper like we did. The Bric+ Extremes do come with optionally installable screen protectors and are compatible with third party screen protectors. During the testing period for this Bric Plus Review, we had a Tech Armor Ballistic Glass screen protector on it.

In terms of bend protection, the aluminum frame on this case isn’t thick enough to provide any decent amount of bend protection. After dropping our iPhone in this case for this Bric Plus Extreme Review, we tried to bend the aluminum frame and was able to do so incredibly easily.

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Functionality – Buttons are tough, flash isn’t great, can’t use larger cable accessories?

In terms of accessing your iPhone inside the case, the Bric+ Extreme for the iPhone 6 has extra large ports for larger than average cables and headphones but the 5S is a little more picky about which cables its lets into the iPHone. The 5S version has buttons that are nice to use unlike the iPhone 6 version but the mute switch is about as useful as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking competition. In terms of sound, Bric+ claims that there is a sound projecting feature so that sound is redirected forward rather than bottom BUT from our usage, it mutes the sound coming out of the case slightly.

The 6 version doesn’t have a back cover on it whereas the iPhone 5 version does. The clear back on the 5S does result in the flash spilling into your flash photographs which isn’t too great as your photos have an interesting flare effect.

The texture of the case is really nice and unless you’re terrible clumsy, the iPhone isn’t going to go flying out of your hand. We didn’t notice any sort of signal degradation of our devices in the Bric+ Xtremes but that is quite specific to where we are so it might change for other users.

Screen usability of the provided screen protectors is decent and generally don’t get in the way of the accessing your iPhone. The edges of the screen are quite high and you’ll have to adjust how you access the edges of your iPhone a little. The edges will be more noticeable on the 6 version than the 6 Plus version due to the size difference of the screen.
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