The Ballistic Urbanite case for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus is awesome. That’s all we got.
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In our Ballistic Urbanite Review, you’re going to find out why this is one of our favourite cases.This is a slim iPhone case that you can drop from 6 ft which is fantastic but that drop protection comes at a price. This slim case, really isn’t that slim.
Depsite the bulk, this is still one of our favorite cases that we’ve used so far because of how it feels. The Ballistic Urbanite makes our iPhones feel like tanks. It’s literally a block of rubber that encases your device and the Urbanite would be a good compromise between a really slim case like the Spigen Slim Armor and something tougher like the Griffin Survivor All-Terrain.
Based on my time with the case, we gave it a score of 4.1 Eh’s out of 5. It does better than the Ballistic Tough Jacket is as good as the Incipio DualPro but still falls short of our favourite iPhone case to date, the Thule Atmos X3 and Tech 21 Classic shell.
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Design – The Ballistic Urbanite is a big piece of rubber
Now we were only sent the iPhone 6 plus version of the case but everything we’re going to mention is going to be relevant for the 6 version of the case. We have a Ballistic Tough Jacket for the 6 and 6 Plus and they are identical (except for the size).
As we mentioned earlier, this is a big case. In fact its one of the biggest slim cases that we’ve reviewed for the iPhone 6’s. At it’s thickest point, it is triple the thickness of your device. At the center of the device, the case will double the thickness and since that’s were you’re holding onto the device, you’re not going to notice that triple thickness of the corners. The corners of the case are larger than most of the case but we found that the bumps provided the case with a bit more texture which means its easier to handle the iPhone.
In terms of installation, this case is pretty rigid so it takes a little more effort to install/uninstall. Now if you’re concerned about your iPhone bending, despite being a little tougher to peel back, you’re not going to bend your iPhone while uninstalling the case.
Now, in terms of build quality, the case feels solid, is fairly scratch resistant but if you stare straight at the iPhone, you’ll notice that the edge of the case isn’t equidistant from the edge of the touchscreen.
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Protection – The Urbanite is a slim case that’s actually droppable from 6 ft?
In terms of protection, this case can be dropped from a height of 6 ft. This puts the drop rating of the Urbanite on par with cases that are larger and theoretically tougher like the Griffin Survivor. With that being said, Ballistic is a case that’s know for their tough cases as their Hardcore is drop rated from a height of 12 ft. Now, words on the website are fine but does it protect your iPhone from an actual drop? It does and we filmed it all in our drop test.
In terms of screen protection, your iPhone’s screen is going to be raised 1/4 inch above the ground so its a bit higher than most other cases. You should be able to install a screen protector on the device though make sure you get one that doesn’t go over the rounded edge of the iPhone since the Urbanite does cover more of the iPhone than other cases.
Since the Ballistic Urbanite fits the iPhone tightly, you’re not going to have to worry much about debris getting in between the iPhone and the case.
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Functionality – Those are some big edges
In terms of screen usability, nothing on this case gets in the way of anything but the edges are quite high. On the 6 plus, you might not notice them as much but on the 6 since the screen is smaller and the keyboard is a little smaller, you’re going to notice the edges of the case a little more.
This case also has large cutouts around the headphone jacks and lightning ports so using 3rd party products shouldn’t be an issue with this case.
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Looking for comparable cases? We like the Urbanite better than Ballistic’s own Tough Jacket as it’s one piece rather than two loose fitting pieces. A similar case would be the Incipio DualPro which has a similar level of build quality but is a little thinner.
Have questions about our Ballistic Urbanite Review? Please ask them on our Google+ page or on our Facebook page.
William F.
January 27, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Thanks for this video. I bought this case based on your in depth review. I love this case. I had ballistic cases in the past and didn’t like the two piece design. The rubber was very loose fitting and it made it hard to fit in my pocket. The flexible, bulky corners also would bend and ruin screen protectors. This case has much harder rubber and though it is two pieces it fits like a glove. This case has survived many drops. I now have no problem giving my phone to my one year old because this case is so tough. I wonder if you had any plans to review the jewel case. It looks very similar as far as specs are concerned but it is clear and might be a better way to show off my iPhone 6+. Thanks!
gabriel cua
March 7, 2015 at 10:46 am
Hello … Will my phone bend if i put it in tight jeans thank you
Aaron Ho
March 7, 2015 at 8:37 pm
Yes, if you sit on it.
Jacob
April 3, 2015 at 3:45 am
I bought this case based on your review back in November & it’s awesome! It is beginning to show a little wear & tear. There are a few cracks in the hard plastic backing up by the camera cut out where it’s thin & also by the speaker on the bottom there is a small crack on the corner. But all in all it still does its job & lets very little dust inside of the actual case.
Thank you 🙂 your also the only channel I’ve found that reviews cases the way they should be reviewed:-)
Aaron Ho
April 3, 2015 at 4:09 pm
Thanks for the feedback on the Urbanite. It’ll be useful for others who are looking to get this case!
Andrea
July 21, 2015 at 12:50 pm
I just picked up the Ballistic Tungsten slim from Best Buy. Is it the same drop protection as the Urbanite?
Aaron Ho
July 22, 2015 at 1:43 pm
I’m not sure.
Gerald
November 1, 2015 at 8:50 pm
Would the Sir Lancelot Holy Grail Screen protector work on this case?