Spigen Tough Armor Designed for Samsung Galaxy S5 Case (2014) - Gunmetal

My Galaxy S4 (no protective case installed of course) took a face plant on the sidewalk and cracked the screen, so when I replaced it with a new S5, I did a lot of research to find the best case for it. I ended up focusing on the Spigen case, mostly because I liked the looks best.I read all of the negative reviews for this case before I made up my mind. Let me say, I just shake my head over the people who bought this case and gave it a negative review because it wasn't the one they should have ordered for their model phone. How is that the manufacturer's fault, or a reflection on the quality of the product?Discounting these reviews, there seemed to be two negatives regarding this case. First were times when the phone was dropped but still broke. I'm sure there are circumstances where, depending on how the phone lands, it will still break. I'm thinking if the phone lands face down on a small rock that is bigger than the depth of the protective lip, the rock is going to hit the glass and break it. I'm certainly not disputing the reviews' claims that their phone did indeed break. For me, these instances were offset by an overwhelming majority of reviews that praised how well the case protected the phone when dropped. I guess there will always be some probability that a phone will break when dropped no matter what case it's in. And the Spigen case seemed to be better in this regard than other cases, based on the posted reviews.The second concern was with the buttons not working properly through the case. Most of those comments were older reviews, and there was one reviewer who stated that he received an updated case from the supplier. My take here is that there were early design issues that were corrected. Ultimately I decided this was worth the risk, and if the buttons didn't work correctly I could always return it.So I purchased the case and installed it on my new phone yesterday. The fit is great, and yes the buttons work properly. One review comment was that the case has a slippery feel. I agree that it does, but once it was placed on the phone the extra weight tended to offset that. It appears to be getting less slippery after spending the day in my pocket. It's probably a result of the molding process, I'm guessing a thin film of silicon oil on the surface of the parts. We'll see how it feels in a week or two.I haven't experienced a drop yet, and hopefully I won't.The bottom line? I recommend this case based on my initial impressions of it. If any problems crop up as time goes on I'll edit this review.(UPDATE) Well, three months on with this case and I'm sold on it! The slippery feel has gone away with use, and I've not had any problems with button operation. The phone has taken a few shots without any damage whatsoever, including flying off the console of my truck after I was rear-ended. It still looks great, there are no signs of wear or discoloration. Still recommended!

This case was honestly better than I had expected. The back is rigid and the sides are firm with just enough "give" to allow the rim of the case to fully and safely grasp the phone. Not bulky at all. The fit is so smooth and firm that is doesn't look like a case. It looks as if it's the body of the phone. The buttons on the side of the case are not rubbery silicone, nor are they cut-outs for the phone buttons. They are hard, smooth buttons that are built flush to the case. There is a bit of good and bad to this. The good: non protruding buttons make it less likely to turn the phone off or on unintentionally when sliding it in or out of your pocket. It also adds to the very sleek and polished look of the phone. The bad: I keep my phone by the bed all night and when I need to use it, my fingers have a tough time figuring out the orientation and quickly finding the button(s). As it is, I just keep pressing along the sides until something happens. For their next version of the case, I would suggest they feature a small raised dot on the on-off button. That would make it easy to orient the phone quickly and activate it in the dark. As it is, a minor annoyance of little consequence.The case openings are precision cut and well located exactly right. Some people have complained that the case made it difficult to use the heart rate sensor. I have never experienced a problem with this, and I have large fingers. Works every time. It did not interfere with the fingerprint scanner either, but that was only a short lived trial as I don't use that feature.The charging port on the phone uses a hinged cover (to keep its water resistance integrity). The case fits well and the hole location is spot on, but it does add a little difficulty to open the charging cover. I view this as a minor annoyance as the cover alone gets in the way while trying to attach the small charging plug. Even without the case, inserting the cable with the hinged port cover is a bit of a hassleThis brings up a future consideration. To keep from plugging in the phone at night, I want to use one of the inductive (wireless) charging backs. They add thickness to the case, however. Not much, but this case is such a precision fit,that any added thickness precludes using it. If they offer a variant case to accommodate the thicker back, I'll jump on it.Overall, the case is great. It looks sleek and actually looks like it's the phone, not simply a phone with a case. It does a great job of protecting the phone all around (I do use a Zagg High Def screen protector on the front). I would heartily recommend this case.

Looks good. Works good.