totallee iPhone 11 Case REVIEW | Mac Sources 7.7
If you are looking for a slim, ultralight minimalistic case consider totallee.
One of my favorite aspects of the modern smartphone is the ability to customize them with cases. No matter what your taste nor your style, you can add some flare. From the minimalist to the fully armored Hulkbuster style cases, to folio wallet style cases, we can choose to add a case for fun, for function, or for both. When I received my new iPhone 11 Pro Max, I wanted to try a variety of cases and to step out of my comfort zone. For the past three phone generations, I have relied upon fully enclosed, waterproof cases. However, I have jealously observed others with minimal bumper style cases from afar. When I heard about the minimalistic cases from totallee, I wanted to give them a try.
The totallee iPhone 11 cases arrived in rather large 4 3/4 inches wide by 8 5/16 inches tall by 11/16 inches thick white cardboard package. My eye was immediately drawn to the “totallee” company name inscribed on the cover in bold black font. I loved the stark contrast between the totalle name against the clean white background. However, I found it odd that the top, side and bottom panels were completely devoid of imagery or verbiage. The back panel displayed the www.totalleecase.com website and copyright information. As a consumer and a regular product reviewer, the packaging did not describe the product nor did it provide additional information about the features, safety, or color of the device. To learn more about the product, I decided to delve into the packaging. I gripped the small 5/8 inches wide by 5/8 inches long nylon pull strap and slid the inner black box out of the outer white slipcover. Within the box, I found a black ziplock bag that measured 4 3/8 inches wide by 8 inches tall.
Similar to the outer packaging, the inner ziplock bag utilized a similar black-on- white color scheme, but this time they reversed it. The front panel of the ziplock bag had a solid 1/16 inches wide white border and “totallee” inked onto the panel. Again, the use of the white on black color panel was visually appealing. Flipping the ziplock bag over, I was pleased to learn some information about the case. Along my right, I found “a slim and minimal phone case,” and along the top left “ california based — two year warranty.” Along the bottom, I found the same website information as detailed above. Behind the ziplock baggie, the company included a rather thick piece of card stock that requested for you to leave a review: hello@totalleecase.com, 855–855–2627. As noted above, I found it rather odd that there was no mention of color or any other details about the case other than the words slim and minimal. Another oddity was the location of the tear notches inferior to the ziplock mechanism. Unfortunately, the bag became unusable once I tore it at the notches.
I tore open the bag and removed the 0.17 ounce thin semi translucent phone case. There were cutouts for the 1 inch wide by 1 1/8 inches tall camera, 11/16 inches wide by 1/8 inches tall power button, 7/16 inches long by 3/16 inches tall lightning port, a 1/4 inches wide by 1/8 inches tall volume toggle, and the 1/2 inches long by 1/16 inches wide volume up and volume down buttons. The case was truly minimalistic and lived up to the promise on the zippered pouch. Unfortunately, like a blind bag or a pack of trading cards, I did not know what was inside of the package until fully committed and opened. I wish that there were more clues that would have suggested that the 5 5/8 inches tall by 2 3/4 inches wide by 5/16 inches thick case would not fit my iPhone 11 Pro Max. I opened a second totallee package, identical to the first. Inside of the same zippered pouch was a 0.63 ounce clear phone case. The second 3 3/16 inches wide by 6 1/4 inches tall by by 3/8 inches thick case had a 1 1/8 inches square camera cutout, a 7/16 inch long by 3/16 inches tall lightning port, a 3/8 inches long by 1/4 inches wide volume toggle port, and 3/8 inches long by 1/8 inches wide and 5/8 inches long by 1/8 inches wide speaker ports. Besides the obvious differences between a semi-translucent and fully translucent surface, and the larger size, the clear case also had silicone covers for the volume up/down and power buttons.
To install the larger case, I slid the upper edge of my iPhone 11 Pro Max into the case and then walked my fingers around the case. Once fully installed I marveled at the lightweight nature of the 8.50 ounce combo. The ports/cutouts aligned perfectly and the silicone buttons were markedly more responsive than I expected. I absolutely loved the clear backing and the ability to see the midnight color of the phone. I also did not mind that the semi-sticky surface absorbed smudges and fingerprints, as they were easily wiped away. However, more than minor scratches or scuffs, my biggest concern for my iPhone 11 Pro Max was protection from falls. Without any sort of promise of protection, I turned to totalleecase.com to learn more about the $29.99 translucent case. The webpage listed the 0.02 inches thin, 0.1oz light, camera protection, branding free surface, wireless charging support, and precise design but failed to mention anything about drop protection. I loved the look, the feel and the clear backing of the case but it did not satisfy my primary requirement of drop protection. There was no screen protection at all. If the case is dropped onto the front, the screen will crack. I was pleased to see a rim around the back camera, but rather shocked to find the absence of a raised rim around the screen. I cannot truly mark these as negative features because they never claimed that the case would protect from a drop. Alas, I could not help but feel that the lack of documentation partially deceived by omission.
Pardon the pun, but if you are looking for a truly minimalistic, ultra-lightweight case to protect from bumps, scuffs, and minor dings, this is totallee the case for you. The buttons were responsive, the ports were fully accessible, and the camera even had a small rim of protection. However, I need a case to protect from the off-chance of a 4–6 foot drop. I can attest to the functions/quality of the case, and that the company product lived up to the details listed on the website. Ultimately, you will have to judge what is important for your >$1000 dollar iPhone 11. My preference is that the case is too minimalistic for my needs.
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Originally published at https://macsources.com on October 1, 2019.
