Seeking your experiences: PinePhone in snug cases of other phones

[mycycles]

Happy (Gregorian) New Year everyone!

At the moment, the wiki gives brief coverage of the official cases, loose fitting styles, and one line about the OtterBox uniVERSE Case for the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro. I'd like to assemble more info about compatible cases utilizing a snug fit.

I've started by finding other phones with similar dimensions to the PinePhone, which has been relatively easy to do. However, even with a close height/width/depth match, there are still the issues of different size, shape and placement of various phone features, along with any nuances of particular cases. This is where reports from the trials of other people are especially useful. Unfortunately, I'm not finding many.

If you have tried to repurpose a snug-fit case to a Pinephone, please say so here! In particular, please identify the phone model(s) your case was marketed for, whether you made any modifications, and what "works" and what doesn't. Thanks!

[mycycles]

Here are some of the closest-sized phones I know of, but I can't guarantee the table is accurate. I did find that my PinePhone measures a little larger than expected, but the largest excess is 0.3-0.4mm of depth (excluding screen protector), which may not be consequential. The footnotes contain reports of people trying to repurpose a case for one of these phones on a PinePhone. Does anyone else have both a PinePhone and a case for one of these phones, or does anyone know of any other reports I could add to the footnotes?

https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/User:Mycycl...Phone_size

[EDIT: table moved into wiki]

[alaraajavamma]

What a link but I have this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10050043...fje8HXnnQn

Type C black 10 000mah and it fits quite nice. I can post a pic later .
Camera is little bit behind the cover but otherwise looks good

[mycycles]

Thanks alaraajavamma. I haven't given much attention to battery cases. There is a thread about a battery case for the Samsung S20 Ultra, but the fit is not great in my opinion. Since the wiki doesn't have any info on battery cases, I guess I'll start a list here:

Battery cases tried

Code:

166.9   x 76   x 8.8  Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra [2]
157-172 x -    x ?    Universal battery case [1]

[1] https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?...#pid115242
[2] https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=16094

[mycycles]

Tough crowd ;)

I can now report that a case designed for the Motorola Moto G7 Power is a decent fit on a PinePhone.[1]

This particular case design seems commonly associated with the vendor "nakedcellphone", but I ordered elsewhere and mine arrived completely unbranded. It's anyones guess who commissions/makes/sells these. There are versions of this case available for multiple different phones, including others with sizes similar to the PinePhone (e.g. Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro and LG K50/Q60).[1] I chose the G7 Power version because its camera hole is not too close to a corner, and the hard shell attachment points have rotational symmetry. The case arrived with a glass screen protector and a holster with a spring clip. The screen protector is a bit too narrow for the PinePhone, but would still protect most of the screen. I have no real complaints about the belt holster, though I don't intend to use it. Almost all the hard plastic of the case & holster has either a thin rubber coating or a very fine texture. I hope it's the latter for the sake of long term durability, but in either case, repeated use of the holster will wear some areas of the case & holster smooth and shiny. The holster does offer fantastic screen protection, at least while the phone is not in use.

This case does need a few modifications to work well with the PinePhone, but they should not be too difficult. I intend to install the hard shell upside down, so that I can cut a hole for the PinePhone camera without coming too close to the original camera hole.

   
Unmodified. Note the center is fortunately not a magnetic stripe eraser, but just a metal plate.

   
Unmodified.

   
Unmodified.

   
Unmodified.

   
Unmodified. The button depressors somewhat line up. The volume buttons work fine. The power button works but exhibits very little tactile response. I have not decided what to do about this.

[1] Unfortunately, Motorola seems to have used the same model name on phones of different sizes. The Moto G7 Power referenced here is supposedly the USA (or maybe North American) version, measuring 160.83x76x9.4mm. There is supposedly also another version (possibly for the European and/or other markets), measuring 159.43x76x9.3mm. On a related note, the Moto G7 Power, Moto G7 Supra, and Moto G7 Optimo Maxx may have the same form factor in the US (/NA?) market. I do not know whether a Supra or Optimo Maxx is marketed elsewhere, and if so, what dimensions they have. There may also exist another Supra phone with different dimensions.

EDIT: Be sure to read my following posts. This case has some shortcomings.

[mycycles]

I'm now more aware of the shortcomings of this case. I'm almost done with modifications and I hope to write a detailed followup soon.

[mycycles]

Overall, I'm not very satisfied with the fit of this case, despite the modifications.

   
   
Is anyone else reminded of Tux?
To keep the corner as strong as possible, I made the camera and flashlight hole no larger than necessary.
I have not yet made an opening for the speaker. I've considered drilling multiple little holes through both hard shell and rubber, or instead cutting a channel in the rubber from the speaker to the original camera hole.

   
I probably made the headphone port access too big. Notice the negligible, if any, lip at the sides of the screen. Also notice how the hard shell corners seem bent, leaving a gap between the rubber.

   
Notice the different locations where the back planes begin curving to the front.

I think this case would have had a better screen lip on the phones it was designed for. The back of the PinePhone is predominantly planar, but it seems as though the back of the G7 Power probably starts curving towards the front considerably further away from the edge. While the G7 Power may have a depth of 9.4mm, the sides of the G7 Power are probably thinner than the PinePhone, thus the case material won't wrap as far towards the front of the PinePhone.

The shape difference is also likely responsible for the gaps between the hard shell and rubber at the ends. Additionally, the holster does not fit the assembled case & PinePhone. Lastly, the rather narrow button depressors may not be optimally centered (front to back) on the PinePhone buttons, and can slip to the side of a button. Fortunately, this only happened rarely, and can be fixed without disassembly by pulling the rubber edge outward away from the buttons.

I think this case provides decent protection against impacts everywhere except for the screen. Naturally, screens are the most exposed surface, but for the amount of protection this type of case can provide, the lack of a substantial lip around the screen is a considerable shortcoming in my opinion. I don't feel a glass screen protector would really mitigate this shortcoming. In fact, the extra thickness of a glass screen protector only exacerbates the lack of a screen lip.

It's possible that other cases for the G7 Power/Optimo Maxx/Supra will fit a PinePhone better than this case.

[Zweitaktmotor]

Try cases for the iPhone XS Max.

https://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_xs_max-9319.php

I got one from XQISIT, item number 32996, unfortunately now only available on a Spanish site:

https://www.pccomponentes.com/xqisit-fun...one-xs-max

With its clear silicone back and black front flap, it looks really cool and fits perfectly round the phone.

Adaptation was minimal, I just had to punch one hole for the camera and one for the speaker. Also cut the volume buttons free as they kept being pressed.

I should also mention that it only fits with the original back cover on, not with the thicker aftermarket versions (for wireless charging etc.)

[mycycles]

Interesting. Some screen protectors for the iPhone XS Max are considered compatible with the PinePhone. The 7.7mm depth of the iPhone XS Max falls outside the limits of my case search, but it makes sense that a soft shell case that does not need a screen lip can be more tolerant of depth mismatch.

As a side note, the screen of the iPhone XS Max curves at the sides similar to the PinePhone. Many edge-to-edge glass screen protectors for the iPhone XS Max appear to have an opaque border (presumably to hide the lack of adhesion there). I bought one of these edge-to-edge glass screen protectors, but haven't installed it yet. It looks like the installation will need to be very accurate to avoid covering any pixels on the PinePhone.

[67man]

Based on your needs, I’d recommend checking out custom or semi-custom cases. They often provide a snug fit because they’re made to accommodate specific dimensions and features. There are a few companies that specialize in these, and they can create cases that fit your PinePhone perfectly without needing modifications.

I recently stumbled upon a cool site that might be just what you’re looking for. They offer a wide range of cases for various phone models, and it seems like they could have something that fits your PinePhone well. The cases are designed with precise dimensions in mind, which might solve the issue of finding a snug fit. You might want to take a look at https://inarascases.com/ to see if they have a solution that fits your needs perfectly.