Just Shy of Greatness
Have you ever read the marketing on a product package and thought that the company has no idea what they're talking about? That's the Anker Karapax Breeze in a nutshell. Let's start with the Anker's idea of "exceptional grip." My first thought was that the Breeze was a little slippery and after using it for a few days I handed my phone in the Breeze to my sister and asked her what she thought of the grip. Her response was she felt like phone could slip out of her hand. Let's re-read Anker's marketing again....yep, it says "exceptional grip." I've used a lot of cases over the years, and there is nothing exceptional about the grip at all. The next thing Anker markets with the Karapax Breeze is "dual protection." Not exactly, no. Much more like dual-layered. You have a TPU body with a thin plastic border that can be removed. I wouldn't trust anything I can snap between two fingers as being protective. Zero for two for Anker. Next up to bat, "precise port cutout." Okay, well for one they call the speaker a port. That's a problem in and of itself. The speaker and microphone cutouts are precise, I'll give them that. The only thing precise about the lightning port cutout is that it's absolutely massive. It's the largest cutout I've ever seen on a case for the lightning port. The camera cutout on the back is a little off-center and I will count that against them because of their "precise port cutout" marketing. The mute switch toggle is also a much larger cutout than you usually see and you shouldn't have any issues accessing it. Despite the accessibility of the cutouts, I can't give Anker a point for the precision of those cutouts.
What about "protective raised ridges?" Hold on a second, Anker does get a point here. The lip over the screen is actually large enough to be protective and it doesn't get in the way of usage. Good job Anker! And that brings us to our point, the "responsive button covers for effortless use." That's a big claim, Anker. Well, my buttons were incredibly mushy. I took the case off and reinstalled the way the instructions say and it was better. Then I even took the plastic border off and installed the TPU shell alone before putting the plastic edging back on. That didn't help too much. The buttons give no satisfying click, no satisfying tactility, they really are just serviceable. The buttons work even if they are soft and sometimes mushy. No point for you! Let's end on a high note here and give Anker another point. This one for still being wireless charging capable. That's easy enough since the Karapax Breeze is a thin non-metallic case. So far this review has been rather snarky, but don't get me wrong, I don't hate the Karapax Breeze. I just wish Anker had backed up their marketing claims. If they had, and the Breeze had all the things they are touting, it would be a steal of a case for the price.
I've picked apart the marketing on the Anker Karapax Breeze, but now it's time to take a look at the case itself. I went with the golden color option, and unfortunately the shade of brown/gray they used for the TPU really reminds me of clay or dirty palette. Sticking to a black TPU case with a gold border would have looked much better. While we're talking about the TPU portion, the back side of the Breeze is textured, grooved, and has a fair amount of grip. Where the grip fails is the smooth plastic edging on the case. That just happens to be the part of the phone that people grip onto, and it's lacking the grip. Your phone won't slide around on a table though. That TPU is raised above the screen and the textured back helps hold it in place. The textured and grooved back of the case, however, will pick up dirt, grease, and grime from your hands. I work in a lot of dirty environments and I noticed this on the first day. I digress though, Anker just missed the mark on this case though. For me, all they need to do is better align the camera cutout, add some grip to the sides of the phone, and give the buttons more leeway in their movement. With that done, the case has more grip, tactile/clicky buttons, and all the cutouts look great. The color on the golden case is another thing entirely. Those are the only things, in my opinion, keeping Anker from having a fantastic, great, cheap case in the Karapax Breeze. They are just shy of greatness with it.
The Good
The Bad
Conclusion
Don't get me wrong here, at full price the Anker Karapax Breeze is a $12 case, but it's frequently on sale for less than $10 on Amazon. So given the cost of the case, it's a pretty nice case. Sure, if you want grip for around $10 you can get a Silk Innovations Base Grip, but Anker is going to be a little more protective overall and look a little more stylish. If you don't want to spend an outrageous amount of money on a case and get dependable average drop protection, that's around six-foot drop protection, the Anker Karapax Breeze is a solid choice. Just don't believe everything that's written on the box, or the Amazon page. Normally I link to the manufacturer's website, but Anker links to Amazon, so here's the Amazon link.
Have you ever read the marketing on a product package and thought that the company has no idea what they're talking about? That's the Anker Karapax Breeze in a nutshell. Let's start with the Anker's idea of "exceptional grip." My first thought was that the Breeze was a little slippery and after using it for a few days I handed my phone in the Breeze to my sister and asked her what she thought of the grip. Her response was she felt like phone could slip out of her hand. Let's re-read Anker's marketing again....yep, it says "exceptional grip." I've used a lot of cases over the years, and there is nothing exceptional about the grip at all. The next thing Anker markets with the Karapax Breeze is "dual protection." Not exactly, no. Much more like dual-layered. You have a TPU body with a thin plastic border that can be removed. I wouldn't trust anything I can snap between two fingers as being protective. Zero for two for Anker. Next up to bat, "precise port cutout." Okay, well for one they call the speaker a port. That's a problem in and of itself. The speaker and microphone cutouts are precise, I'll give them that. The only thing precise about the lightning port cutout is that it's absolutely massive. It's the largest cutout I've ever seen on a case for the lightning port. The camera cutout on the back is a little off-center and I will count that against them because of their "precise port cutout" marketing. The mute switch toggle is also a much larger cutout than you usually see and you shouldn't have any issues accessing it. Despite the accessibility of the cutouts, I can't give Anker a point for the precision of those cutouts.
What about "protective raised ridges?" Hold on a second, Anker does get a point here. The lip over the screen is actually large enough to be protective and it doesn't get in the way of usage. Good job Anker! And that brings us to our point, the "responsive button covers for effortless use." That's a big claim, Anker. Well, my buttons were incredibly mushy. I took the case off and reinstalled the way the instructions say and it was better. Then I even took the plastic border off and installed the TPU shell alone before putting the plastic edging back on. That didn't help too much. The buttons give no satisfying click, no satisfying tactility, they really are just serviceable. The buttons work even if they are soft and sometimes mushy. No point for you! Let's end on a high note here and give Anker another point. This one for still being wireless charging capable. That's easy enough since the Karapax Breeze is a thin non-metallic case. So far this review has been rather snarky, but don't get me wrong, I don't hate the Karapax Breeze. I just wish Anker had backed up their marketing claims. If they had, and the Breeze had all the things they are touting, it would be a steal of a case for the price.
I've picked apart the marketing on the Anker Karapax Breeze, but now it's time to take a look at the case itself. I went with the golden color option, and unfortunately the shade of brown/gray they used for the TPU really reminds me of clay or dirty palette. Sticking to a black TPU case with a gold border would have looked much better. While we're talking about the TPU portion, the back side of the Breeze is textured, grooved, and has a fair amount of grip. Where the grip fails is the smooth plastic edging on the case. That just happens to be the part of the phone that people grip onto, and it's lacking the grip. Your phone won't slide around on a table though. That TPU is raised above the screen and the textured back helps hold it in place. The textured and grooved back of the case, however, will pick up dirt, grease, and grime from your hands. I work in a lot of dirty environments and I noticed this on the first day. I digress though, Anker just missed the mark on this case though. For me, all they need to do is better align the camera cutout, add some grip to the sides of the phone, and give the buttons more leeway in their movement. With that done, the case has more grip, tactile/clicky buttons, and all the cutouts look great. The color on the golden case is another thing entirely. Those are the only things, in my opinion, keeping Anker from having a fantastic, great, cheap case in the Karapax Breeze. They are just shy of greatness with it.
The Good
- Cheap
- Decent protection
- Two color options
The Bad
- Not that grippy
- Buttons are hit and miss
- Picks up dirt
Conclusion
Don't get me wrong here, at full price the Anker Karapax Breeze is a $12 case, but it's frequently on sale for less than $10 on Amazon. So given the cost of the case, it's a pretty nice case. Sure, if you want grip for around $10 you can get a Silk Innovations Base Grip, but Anker is going to be a little more protective overall and look a little more stylish. If you don't want to spend an outrageous amount of money on a case and get dependable average drop protection, that's around six-foot drop protection, the Anker Karapax Breeze is a solid choice. Just don't believe everything that's written on the box, or the Amazon page. Normally I link to the manufacturer's website, but Anker links to Amazon, so here's the Amazon link.
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