The IT Nerd

I’ve recently invested in a dbrand case and screen protector for my iPhone 14 Pro. In case you missed that review, it’s right here. While I was at it, I figured that I would update the protection for my AirPods Pro. Thus I decided to also grab the dbrand Grip Case for AirPods Pro. Here’s the box that it comes in.

Inside the box you get the case, And below it a SIM ejector tool that you can use to thread the lanyard that comes with the case through the case, a black triangle that is meant to help you to remove the case, and to the right a skin for the case and an extra set of stickers for the top part of the case.

Installation was easy enough. But just in case, dbrand have provided this video to help you with that. And that installation took less than five minutes. The net result was this:

The carbon fibre is on brand for me and fits with the Grip Case for my iPhone 14. The lanyard is a nice touch as well. The bottom portion of the case fits really tight. So including a tool to help you to remove it makes sense. But the real star of the show is the fact that the case has a texture that borders on sandpaper along with what dbrand calls grip strips to ensure that your hand. The button is pretty click and the light on the front is clearly visible. No complaints from a fit and finish perspective. The company also promises “military grade drop protection”. But they don’t say what that means specifically. I’ll also note that wireless charging works. But I don’t have the ability to stick the AirPods Pro case to a MagSafe adapter as the magnets in the AirPods Pro case don’t have as much sticking power as it did when it didn’t have a case. Having said that, the case doesn’t really add that much thickness to the overall package.

The only downside that this case is the price. It’s $34.90 USD. You can find AirPods Pro cases on Amazon for less money. So you have to decide if going the dbrand route to protect your AirPods Pro is worth it for you. It is for me as it makes my everyday carry a bit more cohesive. Which is why I’ll be rolling with this case until I need to replace my AirPods Pro. Which hopefully won’t be anytime soon.

Given dbrand’s recent issues with racism, I wasn’t going to do business with them again. But I needed a new case for my iPhone 14 Pro which just had its battery replaced under AppleCare. You see I don’t find the iPhone 16 series a compelling upgrade. And the case that I have been using since I got the iPhone is on its last legs. Likely because it is being used pretty hard for anything like my daily activities, to being in the back of my cycling jersey, to cross country skiing. Seeing as this phone has to last me one more year, I thought about it and decided to give dbrand another chance by ordering their Grip Case. And while I was at it, I also decided to get their Prism 2.0 screen protector as the one on my iPhone has been there since the day I got it.

Let’s start with the Prism 2.0 screen protector. This is billed as an “idiot proof” screen protector. Now I was skeptical of this as if you make something idiot proof, God or whatever deity you worship will build a better idiot. But I think that maybe dbrand is on to something. And it starts with the packaging.

The screen protector comes in a box that feels like it’s oozing quality. Open it up and you get this:

In the middle, you get the screen protector and some documentation along with the cleaning kit which is under the scree protector. dbrand has also made accommodations for all types of users. For those who can read instructions, you’re covered on the left side of the box. But on the right side there’s a QR code that takes you to an installation video. Handy for those who live in places like Florida and Texas where they ban books and by extension don’t want you to read things.

Now I could describe how insanely easy it is to install this screen protector, but I’ll use the video that is aimed at those who can’t read instructions.

Now I have installed lots of screen protectors in my time. This by far was the easiest that I have ever installed. There were no bubbles or dust or smudges after installation. The Prism 2.0 features premium tempered glass which dbrand claims hits a 7 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. I didn’t test that. Thus I will take their word for it. I also note that the coverage of the screen protector looks like it hits the limit of what the size of a screen protector can be on a phone without interfering with a case. I did try the dbrand case and a case from another brand to see if the case interfered with the screen protector and found no issues. You get two of these screen protectors for a rather pricey $34.95 USD.

Now let’s move on to the Grip case. You can buy the case for $59.90 USD and add a skin to it so that it stands out. In my case, I did order a carbon fibre skin as if you’ve seen my most recent Everyday Carry article, is on brand for me. The case is MagSafe compatible which means that it will work with MagSafe devices, but when you put it on your phone it won’t do the MagSafe animation. That I suspect is a non-issue for most. The magnets felt decently strong without the skin on it. But they felt a bit weaker with the skin on it.

Putting on the skin is easy if you watch this video first. I didn’t so I sort of YOLO’ed it. But I have installed enough dbrand products over the years that I know how to do it without screwing up.

Here’s the result:

The case adds minimal bulk to the phone. It’s really thin and it is grippy as dbrand says it is. Here’s why:

The case is textured and has an almost but not quite sandpaper feel to it. Plus the shiny bits are additional “grip strips” as dbrand calls them. Seeing I suffer from “butterfingers”, this case might help with that. Speaking of drops, dbrand claims that this case has “military grade” drop protection. But they never say what that actually means. And for the record, I have not dropped my phone since getting this case. Which implies that the grippy part of this case works as advertised. I should also mention that the buttons on the case have a very tactile feel to them.

There’s as lip around the back of the case that not only protects the camera lenses, but it allows the phone to lie flat on a table. That’s brilliant. And you can see that I applied the carbon fibre skin not only on the case, but around the camera lenses as well. And the carbon fibre feels really nice in the hand. It actually feels like carbon fibre.

One thing that you can’t see from these images is the fact that this case comes with chamfered edges which is along the case’s front lip. That gives you full access to the top and bottom of your screen. And the sides are a bit lower in the middle than on the edge. All of this allows you to navigate your phone a bit easier.

I should note that the inside of the case is lined with microfibre. That’s something should help to make sure that your case doesn’t scratch your phone. The fit of the case is tight which means that it’s more likely to be able to better protect your phone should you drop it.

The only downside to this case is that it collets lint like a lint roller. Well maybe not that bad. But it’s not uncommon for me to pull my phone out of my pocket and have lint all around the edges. If that’s something that you think might bother you, you might want to look elsewhere for your phone case needs. Plus it is a pricey case. That will turn some people off for sure.

Hopefully this combo will keep my phone protected for another year until hopefully a compelling iPhone comes out that will entice me to upgrade. Do I recommend the dbrand Prism 2.0 and Grip Case? Well, in the few days that I had them, they seem like they deliver on what the company promises. We’ll see long term if that changes. But in the here and now, both products seem like winners to me.