Speck Presidio Series cases for iPhone 7: Slimmer design, more protective

Speck's new Presidio Series is 20 percent thinner than its earlier Candyshell Series and 52 percent more shock absorbent, drop tested to 10 feet.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews

Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.

Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials

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David Carnoy

Sept. 7, 2016 12:19 p.m. PT

2 min read

Watch this: Speck's new Presidio Series iPhone 7 cases get slimmer, more protective

01:33

Speck makes some of the most popular cases for the iPhone and for the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus it's not only changed the name of its core case line, but it's upgraded the design, making the cases thinner and more protective.

The two anatomical changes concern the hole on the back for the camera: it's larger to accommodate the new lens design of the new iPhones (the iPhone Plus has dual lenses). Also, there are cutouts for the dual speakers on the bottom of the Phone, but there's no cutout for the headphone jack, because, well there's no headphone jack in the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus.

speck-presidio-series-for-iphone-7-and-iphone-7-plus-05.jpg — The Speck Presidio's secret sauce: Impactium
Sarah Tew/CNET

The case does fit an iPhone 6S -- the iPhone 7 is basically the same size -- but you can't access the headphone jack, so you'd have to use a Bluetooth headphone. Conversely, the only thing preventing you from using an iPhone 6S case with an iPhone 7 is size of the case's camera hole and anything that might cover the second speaker.

According to Speck, the new Presidio cases are 20 percent slimmer than its earlier Candyshell cases. And Speck says that thanks to this new inner layer of shock-absorbing material, which it calls Impactium, it's 52 percent more protective.

The Grip, Inked and Wallet versions of the case have been drop tested to 10 feet while the Clear versions are drop tested to 8 feet. (Note that the Grip has been redesigned with a new pattern).

Speck Presidio Series for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (pictures

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Prices start at $40 for the iPhone 7 cases and go all the way up to $50 for the iPhone 7 Plus cases. That's pretty pricey, but they are good cases and should come down in price after the phones have been out on the market for a little while.

Here's the pricing:

iPhone 7

Presidio, Presidio Grip, Presidio Clear: $40

Presidio Inked, Presidio Wallet, Presidio Clear + Glitter, Presidio Clear + Print: $45

iPhone 7 Plus

Presidio, Presidio Grip, Presidio Clear: $45

Presidio Inked, Presidio Wallet, Presidio Clear + Glitter, Presidio Clear + Print: $50

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