The new iPhone 4S has a minor physical tweak that makes it difficult to fit into some cases. The culprit is the silent/ringer switch which has been moved down slightly towards the bottom of the phone. Since I’ve had a few reader queries about cases for the iPhone 4S I thought I’d share some information about cases I have on hand.
I have six iPhone 4 cases that I either purchased or received for review and surprise a that a lot of them fit just fine for regular use. Only one of them wouldn’t fit at all. If you have one of the other five you’ll be just fine when you upgrade to an iPhone 4S.
The only case out of the six I have that wouldn’t work was my iPhone 4S was my Otterbox case (not pictured). The hard plastic shell inside of the outer rubbery shell wasn’t tolerating the slightly modified silent/ringer switch. I could not get the two pieces of the hard shell snapped together. It’s possible that Otterbox now offers a model that is more flexible. Check with them to find out.
The next two cases, the Survivor from Griffin Technology and the Ballistic SG from Ballistic, both had a rigid internal or exterior shell and a soft silicone layer that fits the iPhone 4S fine for regular use. No issues there.
The last three cases are all made of soft silicone and worked just fine too. They are the iSkin Solo, iSkin Duet (which is just the Solo with a holster), and the iSkin Revo made by iSkin. Personally I use the iSkin Revo4 every day so I’m glad it fits the iPhone 4S.
If you’ve upgraded to the iPhone 4S try the cases you own on your new phone. You might find one that fits so you won’t have to spend more money. If you know about any other iPhone 4 cases that work with the iPhone 4S please leave a comment and tell everyone about it.
David W. Martin has more than 20 years of experience in the industry as a programmer, systems and business analyst, author, and consultant. David has written for CNET’s iPhoneatlas.com, MacLife.com, CultofMac.com, BYTE.com and recently for aNewDoman.net. He comes to Cult of Mac’s website with deep knowledge and passion for the all things Apple. Follow David on Twitter @david_w_martin or see what he’s up to now at davidwmartin.com.
