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Logitech Case+ Review

Bill Gates was wrong: The computerized hub for our lives isn’t the PC. The smartphone is.

Don’t be too hard on the guy...he was only half wrong. The smartphone is still a computer, and a very personal one at that. And as they get more powerful, our phones will soon make Batman’s utility belt look like child’s play. Today you can control locked doors, pay for purchases, watch movies, and even start some cars, all from a simple phone.

See also: 11 Sleek iPhone 6 Cases and Accessories

But it isn’t the perfect Leatherman — far from it. The iPhone 5 and 5S are small, fragile, and run out of juice before you’ve finished that first cup of coffee. Logitech’s Case+ helps MacGyver the iPhone in every way that matters. If you're running around with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, you'll have to wait for your turn at the accessory game. Thankfully plenty of us haven't parted with our 5/5S, because it's still so darn good.

Case Plus Everything

The Logitech Case+ is a transformer... just without so many moving parts or explosions. Originally sold in the U.S. as a $200 all-in-one system, Logitech now sells the parts individually in Australia, the UK and Europe.

The system comprises five parts for all walks of life: a case, kickstand, wallet, battery, and car mount. The company also bundles the case+ with the battery pack, driving mount or kickstand in Australia.

It all evolved from an original product from TT Design Labs, which Logitech purchased last year after the successful TidyTilt Kickstarter campaign. Logitech put out a few similar products, but retracted them all. The Case+ is the final evolution of the TidyTilt, and it shows.

The Case+ ($29.95 AUD) itself — the case part — is a shell for the iPhone, a snap-on snap-off holder to keep the phone securely in place. It fits well, and annoyingly so: Removing the case always feels like it’ll break one of the iPhone’s volume buttons or the mute switch (but I guarantee it won’t).

Black on the sides and metal on the back, the case won’t win any hearts over on looks alone. That’s okay though; it’s the glue that keeps everything together. Every accessory adds a layer to the Case+, thus the name.

+tilt ($5 AUD) is the first layer, a leather cover for the back of the Case+ that doubles as a kickstand and a headset cable organizer. It also adds a bit of much-needed thickness to the iPhone, which makes it easier to type on and more comfortable to hold. The leather is comfortable to the hand and it magnetically sticks to the Case+ firmly. It's a godsend for sports events; unfurl the tri-fold and set the iPhone in landscape for some proper soccer.

+wallet ($29.95 AUD) is a four-card micro wallet that sticks to the back of the Case+ directly (making it the Case+wallet) or to the +tilt (Case+tilt+wallet). It’s also magnetic, and sticks much better to the +tilt than to the Case+ directly. The +wallet is made with a microfiber mesh instead of leather for better grip, both for removing cards and for holding the phone when connected. Unlike other iPhone wallet cases, the +wallet holds one, two, three, or four cards securely; others require a minimum number of cards, or else the rest can fall out.

And when power is low — which can be every other five minutes on the iPhone — pack away the +tilt and +wallet in place of the +energy ($59.95 AUD), the 2,300mAh (milliamp-hour) battery that snaps onto the Case+. Tap the button on the back and charge like a bull. It’s clad-black and doublethick, and doesn’t play well with any other accessories. It’ll also fully charge your iPhone 5S from nothing with some left over, just in case.

For the car, +drive ($49.95 AUD) is a high-powered magnet that’ll keep an iPhone in place even if the car is cut in half. Connect the Case+ straight on or with the +tilt and stick the +drive on your windshield, mirror, or on the dash with an included stick-on panel. And if you share your car with someone who doesn’t own an iPhone, the box includes a metal tile that’ll stick to any phone with a flat back panel.

Life+... Some Restrictions Apply

Like any good utility kit, the Case+ makes the most important tool in your arsenal even more powerful. It adds features to make the iPhone more capable for everyday life, and more importantly, does so in a way that makes all of the pieces work together.

The case provides protection and connects to every other piece. The +tilt makes the iPhone more comfortable to hold and is an instant kickstand, should you ever need one. An easy-access wallet saves time and space in the pocket. And an instant car dock is one of those things that we should all have as an inherent, inalienable right.

The Logitech Case+ system is awesome, especially for city dwellers and iPhone aficionados. It’s the whole package, or as complete a package as you can get. If only everything fit together. Then everything would be awesome.

+energy is a big battery, one that snaps comfortably onto the back of the Case+ and will provide a full charge to the iPhone 5S. Image: Mashable, James Pikover

Arguably the most important set piece is the +energy, an extra battery pack that over the years has become a mainstay requirement for iPhone owners. Yet it doesn’t work with any other accessory. Sure, it’s too thick for the +tilt or +wallet, but a battery for driving? That’s a match made in heaven, one that’s completely missing here. The only way to make that wedding is to stick the included tile to the back of the battery. So tell your significant other to suck it up — your phone’s better.

Other pieces fit together strangely. The +drive fits with the +tilt, but the magnet in the +tilt makes it connect off-kilter. The +wallet doesn’t fit with the +drive at all and the +energy works with nothing else. And the +wallet fits with the Case+, but not good enough to walk around with just the two comfortably; it needs the +tilt. It almost feels like Logitech needs to include a chart that shows what works and what doesn’t.

An iPhone+ World

There are thousands of iPhone cases and accessories that provide some extras that we all want Apple’s smartphone to provide. Battery cases, wallet cases, waterproof cases, camera cases... a case a day keeps the broken iPhone away. So one case that has multiple functions is the future, and the Case+ is a great start to it.

It isn’t the only option. Patriot has a similar system with four parts: a case, dock, charge station, and car adapter. The company also sells all of the pieces separately, though each piece is highly independent: the case fits to everything, and that’s it. Nothing is stackable, and there are no extra features. What you see is what you get: a case, a dock, a charge base, and a car mount.

The Case+ offers much more, and the individual pieces also work in conjunction. You get a case, kickstand, cable wrap, wallet, battery, car mount, plus a tile for another device with the car mount. What’s more important is that the pieces actually make the iPhone better; the leather +tilt feels great to hold.

Combined with the +wallet, the iPhone is easy to grip and even easier to type on. The same is true of the +energy, which has a grippy rubber backing that’s easy to hold. All of these pieces are so finely tuned that they don’t just work with the iPhone, but with each other, too. Each piece makes the other more powerful, more useful.

That’s what the Case+ does: It makes the iPhone more useful, more powerful, and better. With it, you don’t need to carry anything else around except for car keys, and maybe not even that. With the Case+, the iPhone is the physical and digital hub of your daily life. Welcome to the future.