The IT Nerd

Today I’m having a look at the Otofly Ocean Band For Apple Watch. It’s a more affordable alternative to the Apple offering and looks pretty much the same based. Let’s start with what you get in the box:

You get the two parts of the band along with a metal clip that you can use to make sure that the band stays in place. While the metal used in the band is not titanium like the Apple offering, I doubt anyone will complain about that. I should note that the lugs fit well in my Apple Watch Ultra, so no complaints there either.

The band has a lot of adjustability in it which means it will fit big and small wrists with no issues. And the entire time that I wore it, it felt comfortable on my wrist. I did test it doing some Apple Fitness+ workouts and it stayed secure on my wrist for the strength and HIIT workouts that I did. I also did go for a swim in my condo’s pool and had no issues there either. If you wanted to actually use it for diving, there is an extension band available. Though I couldn’t find it on the Otofly website at the time of writing this review. But as far as I am concerned, this band is a total win as it works for those want a band that is going to stay on your wrist no matter what at a lower price point than what Apple offers. The Otofly Ocean Band For Apple Watch currently lists for $25.99 on their website and comes in 25 colours to match your style.

The iPhone 15 might be about to ship on Friday, but I have an iPhone 14 Pro case to talk about. This one is from Otofly and it’s their iPhone 14 Pro Silicone case, which to be fair is available for other phones such as the iPhone 15 Pro as well. I got a black and a green one from Otofly that I’ll use to illustrate the key features of this case:

The outside of the case is made of silicone that is very grippy. The inside has a microfibre lining that makes sure that your phone doesn’t get scratched. The only thing I would point out is that silicone can pick up the oils on your fingers, as evidenced by the black case. But given the fact that this case was comfortable to hold in my hand and doesn’t pick up lint in your pockets, as well as not adding any bulk, that’s far from being a deal breaker.

The case provides good protection for your camera so that lenses don’t get scratched. You can also see the sleep/wake button which has a pretty decent feel when you click it. As do the other buttons on the case.

The speaker grills and the Lightning port are the only things exposed on the bottom.

As for the most important part which is the screen, it works with screen protectors and provides a bit of a lip so that screen doesn’t touch the table if you lay your phone face down.

As for drop protection, I am going to guess that if you drop your phone in this case from say three feet, it will be fine. Dropping your phone from something above that height might be an issue. But having said that, you’re likely getting this case to express your individuality as there are 25 colours available. The only thing that is close to negative that I have to say about this case is that it lacks MagSafe. That was a bit of an issue for me as I have a couple of MagSafe accessories that I use on a regular basis. One is this MagSafe charger which worked mostly fine as it had just enough magnetic strength to stick to the charger and charge my iPhone, and the other being this MagSafe wallet which wouldn’t stick to this case at all. Having MagSafe would have been the cherry on top of the sundae so to speak as this is otherwise a very good case. Especially given that it is $18.99 on Otofly’s website. I’d be giving this case a look if you want a good quality case that’s easy to hold and offers some amount of drop protection.

Today I am reviewing the Otofly Apple Watch Magnetic Buckle Silicone Band which is the latest in a number of Apple Watch bands that Otofly sent me to review.

Now this looks like a typical silicone band. But it has a cool trick.

It has a magnetic folding clasp that holds everything together. It snaps together and my attempts to get it to pop open via shaking my arm failed miserably. I also took it on a 42K bike ride and had no issues with it staying on my wrist. However, I did once get the clasp to pop open by having the buckle hook on the edge of a TV that I was installing. I am guessing that this is due to the fact that the clasp is a bit thick which makes it likely to catch on something. But that situation should be an edge case. Pardon the pun.

You can adjust the size of the band using this clasp. And my testing, it didn’t come loose. Thus the use case for this band could be for everyday wear. Seeing as it comes in 15 colours, you can likely find a colour that works for you. And while wearing it, it felt comfortable on my wrist. Even while sleeping.

The Otofly Apple Watch Magnetic Buckle Silicone Band goes for $29.99 and it’s one of those bands that is totally worth looking at if you’re in the market for an Apple Watch band that is a bit different than what’s out there.