The Artwizz SeeJacket Crystal ($25) case is designed to be a full-protection solution for the iPhone, covering both front and back. While we liked the solid feel and 360-degree protection of the case, we’ve noticed a wear-and-tear problem with clear plastic cases in general, and with the SeeJacket specifically, we had problems with decreased touch sensitivity. That and a few other flaws prevent us giving the case a recommendation.
Right off the bat, we had problems with the ClearJacket. The case is composed of two pieces that snap together around the iPhone. It took us a good 15 minutes to get the tiny grooves that ultimately hold the case together to snap into place. It almost seemed as if the case was made too small. The good news is that once the grooves are snapped into place, the case holds together well—we had no fear of it accidentally coming apart during normal use.
Brand new, the case looks nice on the iPhone. At least from the back. The clear plastic allows for the Apple logo and lettering to show, and when looked at from afar, it may appear as if there’s no case at all. The front of the case is a combination of black plastic frame that covers the iPhone’s own black bezel and a clear plastic casing that covers the iPhone’s screen. Also on the front are two visually odd elements: an “L” shaped cutout for the iPhone’s light sensor as well as a thin disc of plastic that goes over the home button (a complaint about which we’ll get to later).
This is the second clear plastic case we’ve reviewed, and we’re noticing a bad trend. The cases show dirt and scratches too well. After using the ClearJacket for only two weeks, it looked like we had been using it for two years instead. The case was covered with scratches and gouges that were made highly visible thanks to the clear plastic. Likewise, dirt and grime was way too visible. One advantage of opaque rubber silicone cases have over hard plastic cases is that silicone doesn’t display such scratches and darker cases can hide dirt.
But the SeeJacket’s killer flaw is that we found it decreases the iPhone’s touch sensitivity. Right off the bat, the iPhone frequently did not recognize our finger touches. We had to be much more deliberate in our touches to get consistent recognition. Overtime, we got used to touching the iPhone in a certain way so that it recognized our fingers, however, we also found that the extreme corners of the screen became dead spots—a big problem when typing in landscape.
Due to its encompassing design, the case adds a lot of girth and weight to the iPhone, making it feel much chunkier in the hand. Its build is solid and does not bend and creak like some plastic cases. We do have one complaint with its build quality, however, and that’s how it handles the home button. The case covers the iPhone’s home button with a thin plastic black disc. A horseshoe-shaped gap surround this thin disc, and when we dragged our thumbs across it, we that the thin plastic scrapped against a skin in a very unpleasant way.
Conclusion:
The Artwizz SeeJacket Crystal did not perform well in our real-world testing. Its killer flaw was that it descreased iPhone’s touchscreen sensivity, creating many “mistouches,” but we also disliked the case’s ability to collect dirt and scratches and put them on display. We expect better from a premium priced case. We rate it a 5.5 out of 10, not recommended.
