The OnePlus 7 Pro is one of the most exciting phones to hit the American market in quite some time. Not only does it have a near edge-to-edge notchless and hole-punchless display, it’s equipped with a 90Hz screen, fast memory and a massive battery. And the front-facing camera mechanically pops up, which is always a cool party trick to show iPhone users that have to deal with that obtrusive notch.
But finding the right case for the OnePlus 7 Pro is a challenge. The phone has a Samsung-like curved display that has the screen melt over the sides of the phone, which makes it more fragile and vulnerable to cracks compared with a more traditional flat display. The longevity of the mechanical camera pop-out mechanism is still suspect. Also, the 6.6-inch phone itself is massive, which makes wielding it a bit of a challenge.
That’s why finding a case for the $669 OnePlus 7 Pro is a must. While it was nice of OnePlus to include a simple, clear-silicone case with every phone, it’s far from sufficient in actually protecting the device from falls. So, to help you choose a case, we’ve gathered some of the best cases around and have compiled our conclusions below.
The Best of the Best
Tech21 has done the best job of creating a case that fully encompasses the 7 Pro’s curved display. The case has a substantial enough front lip that if it were to drop face down, the case should hit, and not the display. The borders of the Evo Check also have Tech21’s drop-protection technology, which, from our drop tests, was sufficient in absorbing shock from 6-foot drops.
The only criticism of the Evo Check is its visual design: The case only comes in black and isn’t that visually appealing. The dark color coupled with the hash pattern on the back hides the OnePlus 7 Pro’s gorgeous back-glass design, which is a shame.
The Clear King
While not packing the same shock-absorbing tech that’s found on the Tech21 Evo Check, OtterBox has come a long way from the giant plastic and rubber tanks design of a few years ago. The Symmetry Series Clear Case is well designed and looks great. This case uses more hard plastics than the Evo Check, but in our drop tests, was sufficient in dealing with the impact. Also, the clear back coupled with the wavy pattern made our OnePlus 7 Pro pop. For most people, the Symmetry Series Clear Case strikes that balance of protection and design that makes it easy to flaunt it in front of friends.
The problem with clear cases is that usually, over time, they tend to yellow, especially with increased exposure to sun. OtterBox does claim that its cases offer UV protection, so let’s hope it doesn’t yellow after a year or two.
The Value Victor
Tudia has taken a far simpler approach to its case design when compared to Tech21 and OtterBox. There’s no special impact-protection technology nor unique wavy pattern on the back. The case is old-school, brute-force design, a layer of rubber surrounded by a plastic backing. This type of design has been around for a while now, and tends to do a solid job of protecting phones. There isn’t a substantial lip around the face of the phone, especially when compared to Tech21 or OtterBox, but our OnePlus screen didn’t break with our testing, although it did make us incredibly nervous.
And considering that this case can be found for around $11 on Amazon, which is about $30 cheaper than Tech21 or OtterBox’s offerings, it can’t be beat for the price.
What to Avoid
A single search on Amazon will pull up a bunch of cheap cases that have tons of great reviews. We ordered some of these cases, like the Ringke Fusion-X and the KuGi Grippy Soft, for this article and were left unimpressed. In the case of the Ringke, while it had a cool design, its materials were of low quality, and we feel would not offer enough protection. In the case of the KuGi, it was literally a thin silicone sleeve with neither thickness nor a front lip to protect against front-face falls. This fact makes us suspect that either one of two things is afoot: either the people who ordered these cases have no idea what they’re talking about, or the reviews are less than legitimate.
Another highly popular case that’s being sold on Amazon is the Spigen Rugged Armor; it is so popular that it was actually back-ordered for about a week. This super-thin case has a great textured feel and wraps the phone nicely in high quality silicone. The problem is that the case offers very minimal protection for the OnePlus 7 Pro. The covering is like a slightly higher quality version of the free case that comes with each device. We would avoid the Spigen, unless you’re someone looking for the most basic of silicone covers.
Another thing we noticed is a Google searches of “best OnePlus 7 Pro cases” will bring up a few articles that were published shortly after the release of the phone. All these lists pretty much compiled the top-rated cases found on Amazon, which we already view with a raised eyebrow. While we can’t disprove the journalistic veracity of these articles, we think it’s within the realm of possibility that these sites quickly compiled a list of cases without actually testing these products, so that it could cash in on early Google search traffic.
Bottom Line
There really isn’t a ton on the market for OnePlus 7 Pro protection, especially when compared to the iPhones and Galaxys of the world. But there are a few good options that are worthy of your money, even if color options are limited. Try and avoid the cheaply put-together products that might become a source of regret in the future. And because, as the adage goes, if you buy it cheap, you buy it twice.