Why I Chose the Peak Design Case Over Apple’s Silicon Case
Several friends have highly recommended the iPhone cases produced by Peak Designs in the past. They said they had solid construction and an excellent magnet grip. They also liked the attachment, which fits many different accessories designed to attach the case to objects such as a bicycle mount, car mount, or photography mount.
In the past, I’ve always opted for the Apple silicon case, but this year, I decided to break tradition and try the Peak Design case.
Early Warnings: Why Others Were Opting for Apple’s Case This Year
After I ordered the Peak Design case, I heard one of the hosts on the Basic AF podcast say that this year, he was buying an Apple case because he wasn’t sure how third-party case producers would handle the new camera button.
That hadn’t even crossed my mind as a concern, but as it turns out, the podcaster’s decision was spot-on.
User Experience: How the Peak Design Case Hinders Camera Use
Unfortunately, I made a mistake by buying the Peak Design Everyday Case. Peak Design’s handling of the new camera button is a design flaw. Peak has opted for a curved cutout that gives my finger only partial access to the camera button. While the curved design might be aesthetically pleasing, it comes at the cost of functionality.
I don’t have large fingers, but this design restricts my access to the button. Due to the downward-sloping curved cutout design, only a part of my finger reaches the button. My wife, who also does not have large fingers, has the same issue with the cutout in the Peak Design case.
• Because of the design of the cutout, I can’t fully slide my finger along the button to its full extent and off the side to change the magnification. Using the Peak Design case takes me more swipes than using the plain iPhone or an Apple case.
• I also find it more challenging to access the slight press feature. Taking photos becomes a bit of a finicky process. The curving cutout reduces the sensitivity of my finger on the button since it restricts contact. It turns a great new feature of the iPhone into a source of aggravation and frustration.
Exposing the camera button with a cutout also allows dirt and grit to access the side of the iPhone, yet another negative aspect of this case design.
A History of Design Flaws: Peak Design’s Troubles with iPhone Cases
This is not Peak Design’s first issue using cutouts in its iPhone case designs. Just last year, they also used a cutout for the iPhone 15 Pro action button. It didn’t work well, and an upgrade and store credit program was implemented to fix the flawed case and placate unhappy customers.
They’ve also had problems with the sensitivity of the buttons on their cases. iPhone 15 Pro case buttons were triggering too easily, and they had to come up with a fix for that issue.
One would think that Peak Design would have learned from its botched cutout design last year and not repeated the same mistake this year. This doesn’t speak well of their decision, design, and production process.
It may be that Apple did not provide Peak Design and other third-party designers with the information they needed to compete with Apple’s conductive layer case buttons before the iPhone 16 launch. However, Peak Design’s decision to prematurely rush its cases to market before the iPhone launched has resulted in yet another flawed product that will likely frustrate many customers and continue eroding customer trust and satisfaction.
I wrote twice to Peak Design about this problem and received a response a week after my first email. The customer service representative apologized for the delay and explained, “We are experiencing a high volume of support requests.” I’m guessing I’m not the only customer who finds the case design flawed.
The Apple Solution: Why I’m Switching to the Apple Clear Case
In contrast to Peak Design’s flawed curved cutout, Apple cases use a button that allows full and unhampered access to the camera button on the side of the case. The Apple site says, “This case works seamlessly with Camera Control. It features a sapphire crystal coupled to a conductive layer to communicate finger movements to the Camera Control.”
In my experience, Apple’s claims are accurate. I can’t tell any difference between using the actual button on the iPhone and the button on the Apple iPhone case. The functionality feels the same.
Given these issues, I’ve returned the Peak Design case and am switching back to an Apple case. My wife purchased an Apple Clear Case for her iPhone 16. It works flawlessly with the camera button. I’ve ordered the same case style my wife has for my iPhone 16 Pro Max.
If you have a Peak Design Everyday Case and are unhappy with it’s design, I urge you to write and express your views to Peak Design. Customer Service offered to waive the $8 return shipping label fee and refund the initial shipping fee. I’m guessing that in the next few weeks they will offer some type of revised design and an update, refund, or exchange program as they’ve done with prior botched designs.