The 7 Best iPhone 16 Cases | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Roderick Scott

Roderick Scott is a writer who reviews smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches. He has tested 160 phones over 16 years.

After testing 16 iPhone cases, we’ve added new picks such as the Incase Slim Case Clear and Totallee Super Thin Case.

If you just bought a new iPhone 16, you’ll want to protect it and use it as long as you can. And while iPhones have become more durable in recent years, we still recommend covering it with a case to help keep it in pristine condition. We tested 65 options to find the best ones, whether you want a simple case that balances protection with cost, a clear case to show off your expensive new phone, or a more rugged case to protect it from dents, nicks, and dings.

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The Gripmunk has been our pick for the best basic iPhone case for years. It has a slim profile, a great grip, excellent protection, and easy access to the new Camera Control button.

Also available for these iPhones:

MagSafe compatible: Yes

There’s a reason why the Smartish Gripmunk has been our favorite case for as long as it has: It’s the best combination of coverage, protection, and affordability—all for slightly more than you would pay for coffee and breakfast at Starbucks. We’ve tested cases that cost double the price with fewer features.

The Gripmunk is made of a soft, rubberlike plastic (TPU, or thermoplastic polyurethane) that has enough give to make it easy to install the case on your phone, but not so much that it will stretch out. The case’s corners stay put, too. Its back is smooth, and the sides have a pebbly texture with three small grooves that provide the right amount of grip. The Gripmunk case covers the iPhone’s buttons, which are still easy to press, and it leaves a concave cutout for the new Camera Control button to make presses and swipes feel natural. The slightly raised edges around the camera lenses provide protection while allowing your iPhone to sit flat on a table. The case had no problem surviving a few 6-foot drops during our testing. The soft microfiber interior lining adds a nice touch as well; it covers the MagSafe ring without adding any noticeable bulk. Smartish does offer a non-MagSafe version of the Gripmunk for those who don’t want to charge their iPhone 16 wirelessly.

The Gripmunk cases don’t come in many color options and look a bit plain. But if you think the colors are too bland, you can pick one of Smartish’s prints. You can even create your own custom design, available for a premium through the company’s website.

If you want a more rigid build and metal button covers for your everyday case, the Caudabe Sheath is a good alternative. It has a minimalist design, which is good for an everyday phone case, but is made of different materials from the Gripmunk. Instead of TPU, Caudabe uses a flexible polymer the company calls ShockLite, which feels slightly sturdier than the material of our pick. The case has a textured feel, a microfiber lining, and nice clicky buttons. It also has solid coverage around the screen and rear camera bump and precise cutouts for the phone’s speakers and USB-C port. Caudabe provides a handy cutout for the iPhone 16’s Camera Control button, making it easy to access while still protecting it.

High-quality leather with clicky metal buttons, earth-tone colors, MagSafe support, and an easily accessible Camera Control button all make Mujjo’s case the best leather option.

Also available for these iPhones:

MagSafe compatible: Yes

The Mujjo Leather Case has been our favorite leather case since Apple stopped making one a few years back. It’s an all-leather case, save for the buttons, interior, and camera bumper. Mujjo uses high-quality, vegetable-tanned leather with a soft finish that matches Apple’s leather quality. (The leather on Mujjo’s case will patina and wear over time and is prone to scuffs and discoloration, like other leather cases.) It has an aluminum camera bumper to protect your iPhone’s camera lenses from drops and tactile metal buttons for the Action, Power, and Volume buttons. Mujjo opted for a concave cutout for the Camera Control button, which makes it easy to reach the button while still providing protection. The case also has a microfiber interior and MagSafe charging support.

Leather can wear unevenly with time and heavy use. Similar to other full-leather cases, the rear leather portion will get worn and develop a patina over time, for better or worse. We plan to test it long-term to see how the leather holds up, but colorful leather can become discolored and scuffed, and a MagSafe charging puck can leave an imprint over time. Also, Mujjo does not make a case for the iPhone 16 Plus.

Since Mujjo doesn’t make an iPhone 16 Plus version of its case, the Nomad Modern Leather Case is a great alternative, even though it’s not made entirely of leather. Nomad’s case is made of leather and TPU, which provides a better grip and can take more wear and tear over time compared with other leather cases. The rear leather panel will get worn and develop a patina, giving it a more rustic look. The case has a hard plastic camera bumper, MagSafe support, and clicky aluminum buttons for the Action, Power, and Volume buttons. Nomad uses a cutout to make the Camera Control button accessible. We’ll test the case long-term to monitor the durability of the cutout piece.

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If you’re looking to ditch your wallet, this case holds up to three cards firmly without sacrificing design or Camera Control access.

Also available for these iPhones:

MagSafe compatible: No

We haven’t quite made it to the wallet-free future where you can use Apple Wallet to pay for everything (though we’re getting close), but the Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol.1 might be the next best thing. With enough space for a physical ID and a couple of credit cards, it’s the best option for combining a wallet and a phone case.

The Wallet Slayer Vol.1 resembles the Gripmunk with a complete TPU build, air pockets in the corners, and pebble-textured sides for grip, but it swaps the Gripmunk’s microfiber interior with rubber. It also has rubber covers for the iPhone 16’s Action, Power, and Volume buttons, but has a Camera Control cutout. The wallet pocket on the back adds just over half an inch to the case’s profile. It has a card slot on the right and a smaller hole on the left to push the cards out. It’s easy to slide cards in and out, and cards stay secure, whether you’re storing one, two, or three.

Along with the thicker profile, the trade-off of a wallet case is the lack of MagSafe support. So you’ll need to switch cases to use wireless charging or magnetic accessories.

This case is a great option for people who prefer extra protection with a thicker build and air pocket corners but without the bulk. It also allows easy access to your iPhone's buttons, USB-C port, and Camera Control button.

Also available for these iPhones:

MagSafe compatible: Yes

If you need as much protection as possible for a reasonable price, check out the Smartish Gripzilla. It’s still relatively slim, unlike other cases that come with extra protection.

The Gripzilla is a slightly thicker and taller version of the Smartish Gripmunk. It adds minimal thickness to your iPhone with an extra 0.2 inch in height and 0.1 inch in thickness over the Gripmunk. The Gripzilla also adds a 1-millimeter lip to guard the camera and a 1.5-millimeter lip to protect the screen from drops. Despite being marginally thicker, it supports MagSafe charging and protects your Action, Volume, and Power buttons, while providing an accessible cutout for the Camera Control button. It has recessed finger ridges on both sides of the case to provide a secure grip for those who are prone to dropping their devices. It survived several drop tests from a 6-foot height, without any visible damage.

And like the Gripmunk case, you can create your own custom design, available for a premium through the company’s website.

The larger corners give it a little more bulk, which tends to be the trade-off with a protective case. The difference is really noticeable only when you’re holding a Gripmunk, or another case, in one hand and a Gripzilla in the other, as both can slide comfortably into your pocket or purse.

The Casely Bold case with MagSafe is another good option if you prefer a protective case without the thicker corners. It uses hard plastic for the rear and TPU for the sides for a tougher build than most. It provides air pockets to protect the corners from drops, textured lines on the sides for extra grip, raised bumpers to protect the screen and camera sensors, and strong MagSafe support. It also covers your phone’s buttons and has accessible cutouts for the USB-C port and iPhone 16’s new Camera Control button.

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This case has strong magnets, a hardshell rear, added protection around the camera and its corners, and accessible buttons. But we’ve never found a clear case that doesn’t discolor to a noticeable degree after six to 12 months.

Also available for these iPhones:

MagSafe compatible: Yes

If you prefer a clear case that showcases your iPhone’s color and design while adding protection, we recommend the clear version of Incase’s Slim Case. It has a transparent hard plastic back with frosted TPU borders and air pockets across all four corners for extra protection. It also has a raised camera border but maintains a sleek profile. Incase’s frosted and mildly textured sides offer a grip better than most clear cases we’ve tested, and they don’t turn your case into a fingerprint magnet. The case covers all of the buttons, save for the new Camera Control button, which sits in a concave cutout. It also has an integrated lanyard loop, which is a handy feature we don’t see often on clear cases.

The case also comes in several color options, including transparent black, pink, blue, and green.

Every clear case we’ve tested has eventually yellowed and collected grime over time, which may also be true of this case—despite the frosted areas. We plan to test it long-term to see if and when that happens.

A minimal case that is easy to grip, protects your iPhone’s buttons, provides simple access to the Camera Control button, and has zero bulk.

May be out of stock

Also available for these iPhones:

MagSafe compatible: Yes

If you’re seeking the thinnest case you can slap on your phone, we recommend the Totallee Super Thin Case. It lives up to its name with a superthin design that’s only half a millimeter thick and weighs less than an ounce. While the protection is minimal here, it does offer a bump to protect your camera lenses, covers your phone's buttons, and provides accessible cutouts for its USB-C port and Camera Control button. It also supports MagSafe for wireless charging and attaching accessories.

The Totallee case doesn’t provide the best grip and won’t protect your phone much against drops. It also doesn’t handle scratches well—they are noticeable in good lighting, which is an issue we’ve found with other superthin cases.

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The Peak Design case easily attaches to a wide range of mounts, including those for your bike and car, through a combination of a locking clip and MagSafe-compatible magnets—all while protecting your iPhone.

Also available for these iPhones:

MagSafe compatible: Yes

While Peak Design is known for its camera accessories and backpacks, it also makes superb phone cases. Its Everyday Case brings a combination of style and protection to your iPhone within a thin profile. It has a polycarbonate body covered in a dark gray nylon both inside and out that does a pretty good job of repelling water and other liquids. Peak Design also offers a vegan leather option at a $10 premium. Its TPU border has small ridges along the inner edge that should help absorb damage from drops, along with snappy metal buttons and a handy, indented cutout for the Camera Control button.

However, the standout feature of this case is its MagSafe system for attaching accessories and charging. You can attach your phone to mounts for your car, motorcycle, and bike, as well as a tripod mounting system and wallet.

I’m a staff writer at Wirecutter covering smartwatches, smartphones, tablets, and their accompanying accessories. I’ve been reviewing iPhones and their accessories since 2011.

For this guide:

Previous versions of this guide were written by Nick Guy, Wirecutter’s case reviewer since 2014. Nick reviewed around 2,000 iPhone cases across multiple generations of Apple devices, including every iPhone since the iPhone 4 and every iPad.

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When we’re choosing the best iPhone cases, we consider a huge number of factors for such a seemingly simple item. These factors include objective metrics, like physical dimensions and the level of protection, as well as subjective assessments, including look and feel.

Wirecutter has been testing cases for many years and has had some consistent picks across multiple iPhone generations. But no case automatically becomes a pick just because past versions of it have been a pick. With the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max in hand, we put all new cases on the phones to see how well they fit and function. As is common, cases made for older iPhones won’t fit the iPhone 16 lineup due to the new model’s vertically stacked rear cameras, new Action and Camera Capture buttons, and the size increase for the 16 Pro models.

Although we have a variety of recommendations across various styles, we consider all of the following criteria when making our picks:

The Apple Silicone Case is a grippy case with complete coverage and a microfiber interior. The case fully covers the Camera Control button while still letting you press and swipe as usual. Unfortunately, it's a magnet for dust and lint and costs nearly double the price of our top pick.

The Beats Case is a glossy, hard plastic case with a microfiber lining. It has button protection, including full coverage of the Camera Control button. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide the best grip, and the bottom portion leaves the speaker and USB-C port completely exposed.

The ESR Soft Case with Stand is a silicone-based case that doesn’t provide much of a grip but has ample coverage and a solid kickstand built into the camera bump.

Spigen’s Thin Fit case is made primarily of hard plastic, with a TPU border to provide some flexibility for installation and removal. It offers MagSafe support and a cutout for the Camera Control button. It's a nice case, but our picks provided better overall coverage for drops.

Spigen’s Liquid Air is an extremely basic TPU case with easy access to the Camera Control button. It lacks MagSafe support or any distinguishing features to make it worth your money.

Zagg’s Manhattan Snap, London Snap, and Milan Snap are fine cases with sufficient coverage, MagSafe support, and a cutout for the Camera Control button, but didn’t stand out against our pick.

Moft’s Snap Case Movas is a vegan leather option with a microfiber interior and an option for lanyard support. Its metal buttons are solid and it handles scratches better than most leather cases. However, the leather doesn’t feel as nice as Mujjo’s and the cutout for the Camera Control access is unnecessarily large, exposing around the button to possible scuffs and damage.

Otterbox’s Symmetry Series comes in a leather-like option that the company says is made from cactus. While it won’t wear like leather over time, it does handle scratches better than all of the leather cases we’ve tested. The case has a microfiber lining, MagSafe support, and metal camera bump and button covers. But we dismissed it because it has a massive cutout for the Camera Control button that exposes the side rails around it to potential damage from drops.

Apple’s FineWoven MagSafe wallet has a strong magnet and can comfortably fit two cards at once. Like last year’s iPhone cases, they are made of suede-like microtwill materials that scratch easily and can look worn.

The Moft Snap Phone Stand & Wallet is made from beautiful vegan leather and has an attractive $30 price tag. The magnetic stand worked well, but the wallet holds only two cards comfortably.

The Mujjo Leather Magnetic Wallet is a MagSafe accessory that can be used on your iPhone or separately. It can comfortably fit up to three cards with openings on the bottom and the rear for easy access to add and remove cards. It also has silicone stripes on the rear intended for slip resistance but they didn’t work. The wallet would constantly detach from the iPhone when adding or removing cards.

Mujjo’s Full Leather Wallet Case is made entirely of leather. It also has an aluminum camera bump and clicky aluminum buttons, with a cutout for the Camera Control button. The card pocket can fit two cards, but adding a third makes it difficult to add and remove them. We have concerns that the wallet portion will wear out over time due to being leather. Also, it's only available for the 16 Pro models.

The Smartish Wallet Slayer Vol. 2 is a slimmer version of the Vol. 1 wallet case with ample coverage and protection and a cutout for the Camera Control button. But I found it difficult to add and remove cards from its wallet sleeve when using more than one card.

Casetify’s Bounce Case has thicker borders, an integrated camera lens covering, a hardshell backplate, thick bumpers for corner drop protection, and the option to customize it. But it’s expensive, and our protective case picks cost less than half its price.

Mujjo’s durable Shield Case resembles a thicker version of Nomad’s Modern Leather Case, with a plastic body and rear leather panel.

The Otterbox Commuter and Defender Pro XT provide a considerable amount of protection—but also a substantial amount of bulk. The Commuter uses a combination of a TPU case and a hard plastic shell, and the Defender Pro XT has a glossy rear back. Both cases have a large Camera Control cutout that exposes too much around the button for potential damage.

The Rokform Rugged Case might offer the most protection on a case we’ve tested. The case is made of carbon fiber-textured plastic and grippy TPU, which adds noticeable bulk and weight to your iPhone. It has a strong MagSafe magnet and offers access to the Camera Control button, however, it costs twice as much as our pick.

Speck’s Presidio2 Grip with MagSafe does a good job of protecting against drops with ridges along the rear and sides for a better grip, and a well-placed cutout for the Camera Control button. But it’s hard to justify paying the full retail price of this case when you can pay less than half that for similar protection from Smartish’s Gripzilla.

Spigen’s Optik Armor has a shell that’s made from TPU with a hard plastic camera cover and air cushions within its corners. It’s a solid case that offers good protection, a dipped Camera Control cutout, and MagSafe support. But it doesn’t have much of a grip, the camera cover feels wobbly, and I don’t trust it to last long.

The UAG Civilian has a hardshell rear with TPU sides, a slim profile, and a lanyard. It protects all of your iPhone’s buttons and has a cutout for the Camera Control button. But its lanyard points are located on the bottom corners of the case, which can expose them to damage and debris.

Zagg’s Denali Snap has a rubber shell with MagSafe support and a cutout for the Camera Control button. It also includes a built-in metal kickstand, which makes it easy to watch videos hands-free in horizontal and vertical orientation, although a kickstand case may not be ideal for everyone.

Apple’s Clear MagSafe case protects the Camera Control button with a pressure-sensitive, responsive button built into the case that lets you swipe, press, and half-press to control the camera. But it doesn’t offer the best grip and leaves the entire port and speaker section exposed.

The ESR Hybrid Case with Stand has a solid kickstand built into its camera bump with an easy-to-reach cutout for the Camera Control button, but it doesn’t have the best grip.

The Moft Snap Case isn’t as stiff as models for older iPhones, but offers less coverage than last year’s version. It exposes both side rails of your iPhone to potential damage, and it’s also a fingerprint magnet.

Smartish Gripmunk with MagSafe in the Clearly Clear color option has a raised camera bumper and thick, frosted edges with textured grips around all of the edges—save for the Camera Capture area, which is unfrosted with an accessible, exposed button. However, a previous version of the case turned yellow really fast, so we have similar concerns about this one.

Speck makes several clear cases, including the Presidio Perfect-Clear MagSafe, Presidio Lux, Presidio Lux Glitter, and Presidio Perfect-Clear Grip MagSafe. We’d recommend the Grip versions, because the non-Grip versions can be slippery in hand. The Grip versions, with plastic grips raised along the edges and inverted on the back, offer a different look and feel than any other clear case. We’ve found the non-Grip versions have a smaller cutout for the Camera Control button, which can be difficult to reach for those with larger hands.

Spigen’s Ultra Hybrid T MagFit case is a great clear option with MagSafe support. It offers hard-plastic TPU borders along with a raised camera bumper and corners for additional protection. Spigen covers the new Action and Camera Control buttons, the latter of which is responsive to swipes and half-presses, like Apple’s case is. But it’s only available for the iPhone 16 Pro.

The UAG Plyo is another protective clear option with a thicker profile, corner, and camera protection, and accessible Camera Control cutout. But the larger MagSafe magnet ring design is polarizing.

Caudabe’s Veil is our previous superthin pick. The new version has pebbled dots on the sides for an improved grip, a bump to protect your iPhone's camera lenses, and cutouts to access your Action and Camera Control buttons easily. However, the case is only available for the Pro models of the iPhone 16.

Pitaka’s Tactile Woven and Ultra-Slim Cases are thin yet solid options with minimal overall protection. Both cases are rear shells that leave the Action, Camera Control buttons, and USB-C port completely exposed. Both have aluminum camera bumps and MagSafe magnets, but there’s not enough coverage to make these cases worth buying.

The Latercase Thin Case is similar to the Pitaka case but is slightly thinner, and it doesn’t feel as sturdy. The case completely exposes the phone’s buttons and port and has a skin-like cover over the camera module instead of a bump. We don’t recommend it.

This guide was edited by Signe Brewster and Caitlin McGarry.

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Roderick Scott

Roderick Scott is Wirecutter's staff writer reporting on smartphones, tablets, and accessories. He is the former publisher of TechGuySmartBuy, where he reviewed everything from phones to headphones to smart speakers to cars. He is also a former aspiring songwriter, music producer, and A&R working with local talent.

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