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Updated February 3, 2014: Added 10 new cases, dropped 10 from list, included “best of the best picks” at the front.
Best iPhone SE and iPhone 5S cases
+45 more
Since the release of the iPhone 5 in 2012 and the iPhone 5S in 2013, this list has been updated several times as new cases have been released (and yes, plenty of new cases continue to hit the market in 2014). There are close to 100 cases in the round up but I’ve front-loaded the slideshow with some brands and cases that I think deserve a little more attention — call them the “best of the best.” I’ve starred (*) those picks to help people narrow down their choices (look for the asterisk). However, there are still too many cases to choose from — and several companies have a few different stand out cases in their line ups. Note that many of the “old” iPhone 5 cases, some of which are still in this round up, fit the new iPhone 5S just fine because the iPhone 5’s design is very close to the iPhone 5S’.
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However, there are two key differences. First, the 5S has a fingerprint sensor, which means any iPhone 5 case that covers the home button technically isn’t compatible with the iPhone 5S (you can, of course, not use the fingerprint sensor, but if you want to, you don’t want anything covering the home button).
Second, Apple has added an additional LED flash to the 5S’ back camera. As long as the hole on the back of an iPhone 5 case is big enough to accommodate the dual flashes, it should be compatible. But the ring around the camera also needs to be black. Word is that if it’s another color, it could confuse the flash’s sensor, which is designed to optimize the color of the flash to bring out the best skin tones in your subjects.
As always, if you have any cases you’d like to recommend (or don’t care for), please add your 2 cents’ worth in the comments section.
