Is it possible for a case to be thin and protect your iPhone from 6 ft drops?
(Scroll down for the written review)
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Thule Atmos X3 Review – This is a great case
The Thule Atmos X3 for the iPhone 5/5S was one of our favourite cases for that device. Does the iPhone 6 version of the Thule Atmos X3 hold up to that standard? Generally, yes!
During our testing period of the Thule Atmos X3 review, we were impressed with the design and handling of our iPhone inside the Atmos X3 case. The case feels thinner than it actually is and adds a minimal amount of bulk to your iPhone 6 in terms of thickness.
Thule does a great job with the blend of textures on the case as its easy to slide into your pockets but it won’t slide easily off a table. In addition to all that, the Atmos X3 provides drop protection of your iPhone 6 up to 6.6ft or 2 m.
With all that being said, we gave this case a score of 4.5 Eh’s out of 5. This is one of our highest rated iPhone 6 cases as it beats out really great cases like the Tech 21 Classic Shell, the Urban Armor Gear and Incipio DualPro. If you want to see all the slim and protective iPhone 6 cases that we’ve reviewed (iPhone 6 Plus as well!), check out our comparison tool!
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Design – Great materials and its easy to install but what’s with the warping?
The Thule Atmos X3 is fairly thin but one of the oddest features is that the case bows out in the middle. This is the first case that we’ve seen that has this bow and we’re assuming it’s a requirement for the 6.6 ft or 2m drop protection.
We’ve already mention how well-put the Thule Atmos X3 and when we say it feels thinner than it actually is, its because when you’re holding the case, most of the contact is along the edge of the case which is as thick as the iPhone so it feels thinner than other cases with rounded edges.
There is one thing that we’ve noticed that brings down the quality of the case a bit and that deals with the slight warping of the buttons on the case. We’ve brought this up to Thule and they they say that a bit of warping is a characteristic of authentic TPE, the fancy name for the rubbery parts and doesn’t effect protection of the case. The warping does is minimized with an iPhone installed in the case so most people won’t even notice (unless you’ve read or seen my review that is).
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Protection – Slim protection that protects your iPhone from 6.6 ft drops. Awesome!
We’ve been surprised at how few iPhone 6 cases are actually shock proof up to 6.6 ft. Many case manufacturers talk about how tough their cases are but don’t actually post how high you can drop their product. That’s not the case for the Thule Atmos X3. As you can tell in our review video, we have no problem dropping our iPhone 6 in the Atmos X3 from 6.6 ft.
In terms of screen protection, the lip of the case extends past the touchable iPhone screen by 2-3 mm’s. This lip isn’t significant and many cases have a similar lip so if you’re worried about your iPhone screen shattering, we’d recommend getting a screen protector.
The case extends further than the Spigen Tough Armor but not the Speck CandyShell.
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Functionality – Might be an issue with larger headphone jacks
As we mentioned at the beginning, the Thule Atmos X3 case is pretty slick but yet won’t come flying out of your hand like the Incipio DualPro. Using your iPhone 6 in one hand is still quite manageable with this case.
Getting to all the hardware functions of your iPhone aren’t hindered by the case but we will say that you might have a bit of trouble using headphone jacks that are larger than the Apple EarPod. Our slightly larger set of Bowers & Wilkins headphones barely fit the cutout on the Atmos X3.
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Have questions about our Thule Atmos X3 Review? Please ask them on our Google+ page or on our Facebook page.
Matthew Procek
August 9, 2015 at 4:17 pm
I love this case, thanks for the review. My issue is that the thin plastic part above the charging port breaks easily. I have had 2 cases now, same problem, and I’m using apple cables not trying to jam some larger cable into it. Thule has been great about replacing them though. Very impressed. Looks like the X4 won’t have the same issue. I’d be interested in seeing a review of the Lunatik Aquatik when it comes out.
Thanks for the reviews!
Aaron Ho
August 10, 2015 at 2:11 pm
Thx for the comment! You’re not the first tis ay the bottom snaps easily…the X4 has a soft rubber bottom so the breakage won’t be an issue.
Jakob
August 12, 2015 at 1:24 am
Will the white get dirty easily or is it the type of material that doesn’t?
Aaron Ho
August 12, 2015 at 4:26 pm
It won’t get dirty easily…the white portion is hard polycarbonate.
Nigel
September 15, 2015 at 10:19 pm
If the phone is dropped with screen flat,is the lip high enough to protect the screen?Does it has a lip same as UAG?
Aaron Ho
September 15, 2015 at 11:08 pm
Most likely. Case manufacturers say its drop rated but only for the corners. A completely flat drop will most likely pop the screen of the iPhone out of the body…I’ve seen this happen twice to my iPhones. With that being said, most drops will occur on a corner which the X3 will protect against. The lip will keep the iPhone’s screen off a flat surface and is slightly smaller than the UAG.
Ian
December 3, 2016 at 3:57 am
Just got my Atmos for my 6S plus today and it realy dont fit well. Because the 6s is slitely ticker than the 6 the phone look like he is not completely in depth the case. So the lip around is barerly 1/16 over the screen.
Aaron Ho
December 3, 2016 at 2:03 pm
The lip is pretty shallow on this case. I just compared the a 6 Plus and 7 Plus in my Atmos X3 and the lip is about the same. I didn’t notice the extra 0.01 inch thickness of the 7 Plus.