Best iPhone 16 cases for 16 & Plus, 16 Pro & Pro Max
Description
<body>
The first thing you should do after buying a new iPhone 16, be it an iPhone 16 Plus, Pro or Max, is to admire it and then swiftly cover it up. Buy yourself an iPhone 16 case to protect your precious mobile after splashing a ton of cash on it, and add some style to make your new handset more personal.
Cases come in more shapes and size and with more functionality than you’d believe. We have hand tested the best to find the perfect case for your iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max.
- Best clear iPhone 16 cases
- Best-looking iPhone 16 cases
- Best protective cases for iPhone 16
- Best leather and leather-alternative iPhone 16 cases
- Best iPhone 16 cases with wallet
- Best iPhone 16 case with built-in keyboard
- Best iPhone 16 cases with lanyards
- Best phone slings
iPhone 16 case: Protection
The most common causes for accidental smartphone damage are: dropping your phone on the ground, it falling from a pocket or bag, or it being knocked off a table. The main results of such phone accidents are cracked and scratched screens, followed by chipped corners and sides. In fact, research shows that within 10 weeks of purchase, half of all new phone users will drop their handset. D’oh!
PROMOTION
ESR iPhone 16 Pro Max Case
Powerful built-in magnets with 1,500 g of holding force enable faster, easier place-and-go wireless charging and a secure lock on any MagSafe accessory. Plus robust and durable zinc-alloy construction ensures stand stays looking like new while hinge is lab tested to retain its strength after more than 3,000 uses.
Even a basic phone case will offer some protection against such everyday drops and knocks, and some are built to withstand more catastrophic accidents. A few years ago, such ultra-protective cases meant you’d be carrying around something the size and weight of a brick, but modern materials mean that protective cases can be relatively slim and light. Clever design and tough-but-thin materials such as Kevlar and Graphene are key to the levels of robustness—but it remains the case that the bulkier the case, the more protection it will offer as long as it is also clever and made of the right stuff.
Let’s face it the iPhone is basically made front and back of glass—even if it is a new version of Ceramic Shield that Apple claims is “two times tougher than any smartphone glass”—and glass dropped on the floor usually ends in despair.
Look for raised edges (known as a bezel) around the screen that will protect it from drop cracks and scratches. Another point of obvious weakness is the camera lens area, and you should go for a case with a raised edge around that part, too. Where we have the exact dimensions, we have included this information in our case reviews below.
Look for button covers—in metal or plastic. Some cases prefer cutouts but may offer less protection as a result.
The iPhone 16’s new Camera Control on the right side of all the iPhone 16 models may take third-party case makers time to catch up as most won’t have seen the latest iPhone before Apple announced it to the world. This “button” is capacitive so it can’t be covered using standard materials in the same way as the other iPhone buttons can. In its own cases, Apple (and Apple-owned Beats) utilizes a piece of sapphire crystal coupled with a conductive layer to communicate finger movements—including taps, slides and swipes—to the button below.
That means it retains all its functionality, including the half-press and swipes. At launch, only the OtterBox Lumen iPhone 16 cases, reviewed below, feature the same Camera Control covering. This case is the only third-party case on sale in the Apple Store so it’s likely that OtterBox was briefed earlier than other case makers. However, we’d expect some of the cases reviewed below to replace Camera Control cutouts with similar coverings in the weeks and months ahead as they play catch up. A similar thing happened with the new Action button on the iPhone 15, and third-party cases changed their cutouts for buttons quite quickly.
iPhone 16 case: Style
Apple makes the iPhone a thing of sleek beauty and offers a small range of colors (exciting for the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, but rather dull for the Pro and Pro Max). If you want to keep this Apple elegance while still protecting the phone, choose a clear case that won’t detract from the Apple designers’ art. If you want to add more personality—if only to distinguish your iPhone from those of your family, friends or colleagues—there are hundreds of designs to choose from. Some are quite beautiful, some fine art, and some I wouldn’t want to be seen with in a dark room.
And iPhone 16 cases come in many forms: wallet cases, cases that support bike and car mounts, phone pouches, sleeves, slings and cases with belt-clips. Here we keep adding the best we can find as they come in for testing.
iPhone 16 case: Fit
Ensure you choose the right case for your exact model so that it fits correctly over the buttons and camera lenses for uninterrupted use. Where possible we have linked to the buying pages for each model: iPhone 16 (6.1 inch), iPhone 16 Plus (6.7 inch), iPhone 16 Pro (6.3 inch) and iPhone 16 Pro Max (6.9 inch).
Don’t think you can squeeze your new 16 model iPhone into a case for an older model. Sometimes a new iPhone is the same size as the previous model, but not the 16 unfortunately. Upgraders need a new case.
iPhone 16 case: magnetic wireless charging
Also make sure that the case is MagSafe compatible so that you can charge wirelessly with a MagSafe charger while your iPhone 16 stays in its case. So-called “clear” cases sadly require a huge white ring on their back to be compatible with MagSafe charging. Colored, patterned or leather cases hide their magnets better.
You can, of course, still charge via a USB-C cable—which will always be the fastest way to charge an iPhone—and an iPhone charger.
Best clear iPhone cases for iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max
If covering up Apple’s iPhone offends your inner Jony Ive, look for a clear, transparent case that keeps the iPhone’s looks as wonderful as they were straight out of the box.
1. Apple iPhone 16 Clear Case with MagSafe – Best clear iPhone 16 case
<figure class="wp-lightbox-container" data-wp-context='{"uploadedSrc":"https:\/\/b2c-contenthub.com\/wp-conten
United States
