Anthony Smith - Mar 29 2022

Plastic vs Silicone Phone Case: 5 Pros & Cons. Which one is better? 
Ultimate Battle

Many of you’ve just purchased a brand new smartphone, or are ready to change a new cloth for your phone, chances are you’re looking for a new phone case. The most popular case materials stand out: plastic and silicone phone case. But what are they exactly? More importantly, which one should you choose? Let’s take a closer look at each material and what its benefits are. In the end, we’ll determine which material might be the best for you.

5 Key Differences Between A Plastic And Silicone Phone Case

Feel In The Hand. Feel In The Hand. A bare phone could be slippery to hold sometimes, adding a phone case in general not only makes it less slippery but also more grippy and easier to hold while you are taking a picture or talking on the phone.

Durability.  Smartphones are pretty durable nowadays, but dropping yours from a high point or onto its screen could lead to a costly repair or replacement — and with the latest iPhones coming in at around $1,000, it’s safe to say replacing your device could hurt your bank balance. A durable phone case can protect your phone from dents, scratches, and cracks. 

Protection. For a baseline level of protection, choose a case made of a shock-absorbent material (like a silicone phone case or rubber) that covers your phone’s vulnerable corners.

Style. There’s a whole range of phone case colors and styles to choose from to suit most models.

Green Factor. Obviously, materials are also an important factor for a protective phone case while helping the environment. Is a silicone phone case or plastic a better alternative? 

Finding Your Ideal Case

Plastic is a polymer that comes in many varieties. TPU has a soft, flexible texture. Polycarbonate (PC) instead is a much more rigid and hard plastic texture. Many cases out there fuse two or more plastic types for a unique combination of firm structure and impact absorption. In most case, plastic case is bulk and thick. You may see your fingerprint on your case due to its material, might get dirty quite easily.

Silicone is also a polymer but largely made from the element silicon, along with other elements. Silicone has a softer, rubbery texture. Think of those futuristic oven mitts (used because of silicone’s excellent thermal properties).

Advantages: easy to use, dustproof, fingerprint-resistant, easy to handle or hold, comfortable grip, not too grippy meanwhile; silicone phone case cover will have a certain degree of softness to protect the phone; a variety of different specifications of the pattern, you can change an additional silicone phone case every day or regularly to enrich life like most of us does.

Disadvantages: Despite the fact that the silicone phone case protects your phone, it might collect dust, after approximately 5 years of usage, that's the nature of silicone. Some might suggest coating it with baby powder, but then I don't think you will enjoy the feeling of the case after all. The case will eventually build up natural oils and make it feel less silicone-ish, but it will attract lint, and at the same time, it will affect the heat dissipation performance of the phone and additionally increase the thickness of the phone (less than 0.1 mm), you will bearly notice it, which involves the use of the phone.

Question is...

• Is silicone case better than plastic case?
• Do silicone phone cases attract dust?
• What are the benefits of a silicone case?
• Are silicone cases slippery?

Feel In The Hand.

As we explored, plastic and silicone phone case have different textures.

Although plastic phone case comes in a wide range, generally, the ones used for phone cases are harder. With the help of fusing two or more plastic types for a firmer combination of structure and impact absorption or drop protection. In most cases, a plastic case is bulkier and thicker than a silicone phone case. As the thickness of the plastic phone case, ladies with smaller hands like mine would feel insecure or afraid of dropping their phone easily. 

It may also be affected by the grips of plastic phone case material, most plastic phone cases are matte finish, there is less friction force, as you can imagine when a tire gets slippery on snow or ice surface, because of the force with which the tire can grasp the ground is low, and it is the key as well as cases to affecting the dynamic characteristics of the plastic phone case.

You may see your fingerprint on your case due to its material, might get dirty quite easily. Oily fingerprints, smears and smudges quickly take your devices' screens from sharp to shabby. Plastic phone cases absolutely do not fall into the anti-fingerprint cell phone cases category.

A silicone phone case however does, anti-fingerprint is one of the pluses when talking about it, the material of liquid silicone allows it to feel like a gel phone case and is much nicer than solid silicone. Moreover, liquid silicone cases are more elastic, durable, are light to touch, feature a matte finish, and resist dust and fingerprints too, a huge plus, right?

A silicone case will, therefore, lend a softer touch, which is generally very pleasant. Silicone's rubbery texture also tends to be very grippy, good for those butterfingers among us. Silicone sleeves generally have better durability and are generally resistant to tearing and similar damage. They are antibacterial and many can be washed lightly. All these factors make them have a fairly long useful life, at least 5-10 years. Most silicone cases are very soft and durable, which is beneficial in terms of phone protection.

Silicone case is more resistant to heat, chemical attacks, fungus attacks, UV and Ozone attacks than normal plastic. 

The winner: Silicone

Durability.

Plastic and silicone are generally both extremely durable. That’s why they’re used in everything from microwaves to microchips these days.

Plastic, especially harder plastics, have a tendency to crack or chip when impacted hard enough. However, that’s not always a bad thing for a case. That case crack indicates shock absorption, and it means that the plastic case just sacrificed itself for the sake of your precious phone.

Le't see the pros and cons of plastic case:

Pros:

• ✔ More affordable
• ✔ Easy to customize or decorate
• ✔ Offers basic, limited protection
• ✔ Lightweight
• ✔ Waterproof

Cons:

• ✔ Looks cheap
• ✔ Not sustainable
• ✔ Discolors due to exposure to sunlight
• ✔  Unusable after months

Silicone is also extremely durable. It can bend, twist, and shimmy with no structural damage. However, there is one area where silicone does suffer: cleanliness. Although silicone’s rubbery finish does have its upsides, its downside is that it may attract dirt and grime over time that can be clean by wet wipes.

Pros:

• ✔ Very affordable
• ✔ Comes in a variety of styles and colors
• ✔ Nice grip
• ✔ Lightweight
• ✔ Thin yet protective
• ✔ Sustainable

Cons:

• ✔ Gets dirty easily
• ✔  Difficult to slip in or out of pockets

The winner: Plastic

Protection. 

There are so many variables to your garden variety phone drop. Did the phone land on a corner, side, or front? Did it land on concrete, dirt, tile, or something else? From how high? A drop test may explain it all. 

In general, any case worth its salt will lend some protection against drops, but silicone cases tend to fare better.

Why?

As plastic cases tend to be built up to be much thicker and chunkier than silicone cases, which often come in a single, flat style.

Even the silicone insert that grips the phone in these cases can cause damage to the side of the iPhone. Pressure points created from the way the case grips the phone in everyday usage result in scratches along the sides of the phone. Luckily, IceSword silicone case offers a soft microfibre lining on the inside, for even more protection.

IceSword Silicone Case’s options are various ,sleek, but they are thinner than competitor plastic options.

The winner: Silicone

Style. 

Our styles are all different. However, plastic cases tend to be more limited in style selection, as the form factor remains largely the same (a single sheet of plastic molded to fit a specific device).

Additionally, the plastic phone case yellows over time (especially clear case), making it appear old and dirty.

Silicone cases are more diverse, ranging from thin options that fuse multiple types of strap, to more understated, yet distinctive designs. Also, as we stated, silicone wears the erosion of time much better than plastic does, which mean save you tons of money.

Moreover, silicone phone cases are usually ultra-slim style and carry light and are easy to dissipate heat. There is an array of many colors to choose from and to match your style. Take a look at our signature minimalist style which is characterized by simplicity, clean lines, and a monochromatic palette with color used as an accent. It usually combines an open floor plan, lots of light, and functional furniture, and it focuses on the shape, color and texture of just a handful of essential elements.

Just like the idea of Minimalist Design, the IceSword silicone phone case is about prioritizing the essential - protective yet stylish. A minimalist silicone phone case is stripped to its core function: to protect the phone, realized using limited patterns, minimal recycled packaging, neutral colors, simple forms, and avoiding excess ornamentation to achieve a pure form of elegance, and bring us all closer to the nature. We do believe that 

Less Stimulation Allows for Better Concentration

For many, living a simple life does mean living with less stuff. In IceSword less clutter, fewer fancy packaging, and not as much to deal with on a phone will put you in a better space to focus on whatever you need to – work, hobbies, and conversations with family.

THE CONCEPT OF MINIMALISM. Minimalism is about avoiding the unnecessary, it's about simplicity, utility and elegance. It's all about “LESS IS MORE” in terms of embracing the most of fewer extra.

7 Key Rules of Minimalist Design [For all our silicone phone cases]

• Less is more.
• Keep it simple.
• Leave empty spaces.
• Use only the bare necessities. (We only use minimal packaging!)
• Implement a flat design.
• Keep it balanced.
• Use grids to maintain order.

No one can resist the attraction of enjoying the cleanness of the look as well as the fact that it allows for more creative ideas in your mind while having a sense of happiness. Sometimes we just need a small object, an article, or anything around us to remind us of the beauty of yourselves, all thanks to minimalist design.

The winner: Silicone

Green Factor.

Many consider silicone to be a much greener material than plastic. No, we’re not talking about the color, we’re talking about environmental friendliness.

Part of that benefit has to do with the way a silicone vs. plastic phone case is made, but it also has to do with the way it’s disposed of.

When burned, plastic releases harmful chemicals that are released into the atmosphere. Silicone combusts with no harmful bi-products, giving it an edge in our more earth-conscious world.

Silicone itself is also extremely common. After all, it is the second most abundant element in the core!

The winner: Silicone

Silicone Vs. Plastic: Which Case Is Better? 

Case Study

Drum roll, please— silicone wins!

Although plastic does have its place, silicone still reigns supreme as the top choice for case materials.

You’re in luck because IceSword offers dozens of silicone case options. All part of our signature Protection Silicone Cases, we’re ready to wrap your phone or airpods pro with an array of engineer-designed protective features.

• For more iPhone Cases: https://icesword.us/collections/all-cases
• For more Screen Protector: https://icesword.us/collections/screen-protectors
• For more AirPods Pro Case: https://icesword.us/products/airpods-pro-case
• https://icesword.us/

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