Ultra-thin cases for your Apple iPhone 16 Pro and your Pixel 9 Pro Fold tested — not for the clumsy butterfingers

Most of us undoubtedly use a case on our smartphones but not all of us love to do so.  I’ve never used a case on my phone until I started my current job a couple of years ago where I take my phone in and out of my pocket many times a day – my work software is accessed from my phone.

For this reason, I started using a case but the problem is that a case can add unwanted size to your phone, something not ideal given how big many smartphones are these days.  

I only need a case that offers basic drop protection but good scratch protection so when I came across the ultra-thin cases from Pitaka it piqued my interest.  Not only are they thin cases but they also offer MagSafe/Qi2 connectivity, which I’m not entirely sure how given how thin their cases are.

As such I decided to give one a go and see just how good they are.  Luckily for me, Pitaka sent me, not just a couple for my iPhone 16 Pro but also one for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.  

iPhone 16 Pro

The two cases we received for the iPhone 16 Pro were their Tactile Woven Case in two different colours – the No Problemo Aries Collaborative Luminous case and the Sunset Moonrise case.

The cases are hard cases that snap on easily to the phone and then once in place are secure and won’t come off unless you want them to.  Each case has a space open for each button, there is no coverage of the buttons at all so you don’t have to worry about the buttons being inhibited by the case.

The front of the phone, with the case on, is protected by the lip of the case, preventing the display from touching the desk or table should you place the phone face down on it.

The rear of the phone is entirely covered by the case, excluding the cameras of course.  The cases do has a silver ‘lip’ that sits around and above the camera island, preventing the cameras from touching the flat surface that you have laid your phone down upon.

Now, these woven cases are not Pikaka’s thinnest cases so they do offer ‘some’ drop protection but I would still be very careful to not drop your phone and test that out.  The hard case does prevent scratching and some smaller drops onto surfaces from small distances – and they have possibly saved my bacon a couple of times already.

In the hand, the cases are relatively slippery but the ‘woven’ nature of them does offer some form of grip in your hand – hence the word ‘tactile’ in their name.  They are not as grippy as a silicone version but it also means it will slide into your bag or pocket a lot easier.  

They aren’t overly slippery though and won’t slide off your desk any time soon should your desk not be totally flat.

Now, while the case is incredibly thin, it still includes MagSafe compatibility which works amazingly.  The case will attach to a MagSafe charger strongly, so strongly that you can use a MagSafe car phone holder and go over all types of bumps and jumps and the phone will not detach itself from the holder – just as it should (or shouldn’t).  I’m not sure how they’ve included such a strong MagSafe surface in such a thin case, but they have. 

These iPhone 16 Pro Tactile Woven Cases from Pitaka offer great scratch protection for the phone without any interference of the buttons or cameras without adding much thickness to the entire package at all.  You will barely notice any difference between having the case on or not in everyday use, in the hand or putting or removing it from a pocket or bag.

Both cases charge as designed by Apple with the cases then clipping onto the magnetic chargers I have on hand and then charging at full Qi2 and MagSafe speeds.  

Funnily enough, this is not the only type of case you can buy from Pitaka for your iPhone 16 Pro.  They also offer an “Ultra-Thin Case,” such as the one reviewed below for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and a “Military-Grade Protective Case” which also looks incredibly thin but adds a layer of soft TPU to the inside of the case to cushion your phone.  

If I had a choice I think I’d opt for the “Military-Grade Protective Case” given it offers more drop protection to the phone along with scratch protection and not too much bulk.

The Pitaka iPhone 16 Pro cases can be seen here and start at US$49.99. A case of ‘You get what you pay for.’

Pixel 9 Pro Fold

The Pixel 9 Pro Fold from Google is an amazing phone and while Google has done an amazing job in limiting its thickness, it is also a very expensive phone that no one wants to break.

The problem is that by the time you add a case to it, the phone is quite thick.  Personally, I don’t want to use the phone without a case entirely but I still want to feel and use it with its thinness as Google intended.  For this reason, the Ultra-Slim case from Pitaka is perfect for me.

Pitaka sent us their Ultra-Slim case for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and it is as advertised – ultra-thin.  It is so thin that you feel that it may snap when putting it on or removing it from your phone – but it does not.  

I actually tested this out as Pitaka sent me one originally with Google’s universal Pixel Qi charging coil location which doesn’t actually work for charging thanks to Google deciding to move the coils from their usual location, just for this device.  I bent it slightly while taking it off the phone a lot and the case was none the worse for it.  

Google eventually sent out the correct Qi coil location to case manufacturers and hence Pitaka corrected the location of their Qi2 magnets so now the case not only snaps onto the MagSafe and Qi2 chargers but it will now secure itself to the charger and then charge due to now having the correct location.

The case does include the same type of lip on the rear of the device to protect the cameras in the camera island and it does so very well.

The Ultra-Slim case is not tactile like the iPhone cases we were sent so it is a bit more slippery but not as slippery as not having any case on the phone at all.  The main point of this case though is basic scratch protection and also to add Qi2/MagSafe connections without adding very much thickness to the phone at all.

As the Fold has a hinge in the middle, the case can’t cover the entire way around the phone and snap onto the phone correctly (both sides).  For this reason, the hinge side of the case has a small, thin line of adhesive material to complete the attachment of the case to the phone.  Removing the case too often from the phone will slowly decrease the effectiveness of the adhesive so I recommend not removing it too often.

Now my only problem with the case is that it is only for the rear of the phone.  There is no protection at all for the display.  It would have been nice if they had included a small ‘frame’ for the front of the Fold and it is strange they have not, especially given the price of it.  Pitaka does not hide from this omission though, with a note on the case page saying:

“Please note: The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold case only covers the back (camera side), and doesn’t include the screen cover. If this is your concern, please think carefully before your purchase.”

At this stage, this is the only case they have for the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.  Hopefully, in the future, there will be a “Military-Grade Protective Case” for the Fold too – there is a placeholder for it on the website but at this stage only says “Unavailable.”  I will test one out if/when it is made.

The Ultra-Slim Case for the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is available from Pitaka now for US$59.99.

Other accessories

I have been extremely impressed with the quality of the products I have seen from Pitaka so I also tested out their MagEZ Car Mount Pro 2 Qi2.  The quality of the product is better than the expensive Journey one I purchased from JB Hi-Fi a couple of years ago.

It secures into the air vent of my car like so many others using hooks which is incredibly secure.  The charging plate uses magnets to secure the supporting phone to it.  One thing you do need to be careful with is tightening the plate as much as possible as the weight of the phone can cause it to tilt down if not tightened enough.

The power cable is plugged into the bottom of the charging plate to provide power to the Qi charging cables in the plate.

At the bottom of the plate is a switch with three different positions, each corresponding to a different NFC chip in the plate.  What this means is that you can have the NFC chip in the plate trigger an action, event or automation on your phone when placing the phone near it (ie. as you are about to plate it on the plate) but depending on which position the switch is in a different NFC tag is activated.  

This means you can have three different actions for the plate, eg, one for work hours and one for after hours.  For work hours I have set mine to open Safari and Chrome so I can easily switch between the two apps for my worklist of jobs.  This NFC activation works on both Android and iPhones.

While not cheap at US$53.99, it is well worth the price given that car holders are such hit-and-miss when it comes to quality and pricing.