Most people will think you’re a mad man to own an iPhone 5 and not have a case! The same goes for most smartphones these days and it makes perfect sense – most people would want to keep expensive purchases like that in good condition. There are no shortages when it comes to finding a case fortunately.
The Case-Mate Barely There, as you can probably gather by the name, is a case that aims not to be so noticeable when put it on your iPhone 5. Let’s talk about the design first. The case is on the thin side, but not super thin to not be noticeable at all. There’s a bit of weight to it and it does add a slight bit of bulk to your iPhone. The back is a plain soft rubber type surface – I was expecting there to be a pattern considering there’s strangely one on the inside of the case. This seems to be a waste since you’ll only ever see it when you take your iPhone out of the case.
There are cut outs for the volume and mute buttons on the side as well as the camera on the back. I’m not sure if Case-Mate were originally trying to make a universal case as the camera slot on the back is a bit too big. I prefer to have snug cases without unnecessary gaps.
When the case is fitted onto your iPhone, the sides next to the screen stick out a bit. This means the screen itself will not come into contact with a flat surface should you place it face down. However, this also makes it quite noticeable and gives the screen a sunken feel in the case whenever your finger gets close to the edge.
The case has a solid feel to it and would probably provide adequate protection if you were to drop your iPhone – not that I tried it! The pictures show a grey version of the case with a blue interior pattern, however I tried out a fully black version of the case with the interior also being black. There are so many iPhone 5 cases out there that it’s difficult to make one stand out. I don’t feel the Case-Mate Barely There does anything special except feeling nice in the hand. However, if that’s all you want, then look no further. Either way, it’s well worth investing in an iPhone 5 case!














