Cases are no new concept when it comes to protecting our phones, smartphone or not. Although it would be nice if our phones could be stable enough on their own, sometimes it’s worth the extra bulk and loss of design in order to protect our rather pricey investments.
Most of the time, cases describe something meant to protect the back and sides of the phone; at least, this is what they’ve traditionally done. Lately, though, there seems to be a trend in producing cases with flip covers over their faces. Even more recently than that, these front-facing flip cases also feature a cut-out in the center of the phone so that you can use certain key features while keeping your phone’s precious screen mostly protected.
The windowed cases started popping up last year. Initially we saw the S-Flip Cover case for the Samsung Galaxy S4. It was a unique idea, and at the time I thought it was really cool. After all, why waste all of that screen when you only need a portion of it to make a phone call or switch the song in your music player? LG made a similar case for the G2 with the QuickWindow Folio case, and they’ve apparently decided to continue the trend, as well as enhance it, this year with their new QuickCircle case for the suspected LG G3.
The QuickCircle case is different than the other windowed folio cases from the get go in the fact that instead of having a rectangular window, LG has chosen to go with a rounder, “more stylish” approach. More importantly, though, LG refreshed the UI inside of the QuickCircle as well, giving you easy access to phone calls, notifications, music, camera, and even health tracker information from the small 2-inch window.
The idea of these windowed flip covers seems like a good solution to the average folio flip cover, which would require you to open the entire cover no matter if you wanted to watch a movie or check your notifications, which would increase the risk for potentially fatal damage if you were to drop your phone while the front cover was still open. Still, I can’t help but wonder if these cases are actually something I would want for my phone.
I was never sold on the concept of traditional folio cases. Without the window, the fact that I had to keep flipping the case open seemed like more of a hassle than a saving grace. With these new windowed cases, though, I think that there’s real potential there. Checking notifications, listening to music, and using my camera is probably what I spend a good portion of my time doing on my phone. Once again, why do I need all of that wasted space on the rest of the 5.5-inch display when I only need a small 2-inch or so window to do so? It could really help with battery management as well, as the large screens can suck up a lot of battery power over the course of a day.
I also like that LG went with a circle display rather than a rectangle. Kind of like how the Moto 360 manages to look better than its more rectangular competitors, the G3 QuickCircle also seems to be a little more fashion-forward than the others before it.
I wouldn’t say that these windowed folio cases are the solution to people who aren't particularly fond of extra large screens, because the phone itself is still quite large; that being said, though, it is good that companies like Samsung and LG recognize that you don’t need that entire large area of screen in order to do some of the more mundane tasks on a phone.
So, in the end, when it comes to cover cases, I feel like my opinions on them are changing. I still don’t fancy the traditional ones with no windows, but these new cases with windows are intriguing to me.
Readers, what are your thoughts on these windowed folio cases? Do you wish more manufacturers would make cases like these, or do you think the trend will wear out? Let us know in the comments below!
