I like thin phone cases. I see everyone around me using fat, thick cases for their phones, and it makes me shake my head because I don't see the reason of increasing the heft of my phone for daily use. I know thicker cases mean you get better protection from the really devastating drops, but I find thin cases like the Spigen Thin Fit case do a great job of protecting a device while being sleek, minimalist, and nice to hold.
I ordered Spigen's thin fit case for the Galaxy S8+ as soon as I got the phone, and I've now been using it for more than two weeks. If you like thin cases, it's one case you should take a look at if you're looking to protect your phone. Hopefully, this review will help you decide if it's the case you should be buying; we'll have reviews of other Galaxy S8 and S8+ cases in the coming weeks.
If you've used one of Spigen's Thin Fit cases in the past, you'll feel right at home with the one for the Galaxy S8+ (or Galaxy S8). It has a smooth matte coating that makes it feel great in hand and also stick well to your palm so that there's no slippage, and it also snaps tightly into place once you slide the phone inside. Well, maybe a bit too tightly, which makes me feel the phone might get scratched when I put the case on, but that thankfully doesn't happen.
On the back, protection is as complete as possible; the camera, fingerprint sensor, and heart rate monitor sit well below the case, so there's no chance of them coming into contact with a surface. Sadly, the fingerprint sensor doesn't have a separate cutout, so if you haven't yet gotten used to the odd position of the sensor, the case won't help. This in stark contrast to Samsung's official cases, which separate the fingerprint sensor for easier use.
The case has cutouts for all the buttons as well, although they are not exactly cutouts, as the buttons and the display around them remains completely open. This means you risk banging your phone and getting scratches around where the buttons are, so that's one area where the Thin Fit case doesn't offer any benefit. But it does mean you can easily get to the buttons when you need. As for the ports at the bottom of the phone, there's a separate cutout for each. The one for the USB Type-C port is also wide enough, so you shouldn't have issues using a fat cable.
There's one thing I don't like about the Thin Fit case, and it's more of a visual niggle than an ergonomic one. For some reason (or maybe because it's easier to make that way), the case has cutouts at each corner of the phone. These cutouts are slight and very thin, but they don't seem to make a lot of sense. It's entirely possible not everyone will mind these, but they do stand out for me in an otherwise well-designed case.
An even bigger problem is that the non-black color options don't seem the same rubberised material on the back. The Orchid Gray version, for example, is made of slippery plastic that defeats its purpose. The color also looks somewhat cheap, so you might want to stick to the black version of the case. Thankfully, unlike last year with the S7 and S7 edge, Spigen isn't putting the words “Auto Focus” at the back of the case, instead opting for just its logo at the bottom right.
What about those edges and the beautiful Infinity Display, though? Does the case protect them well enough? Well, yes and no. The display itself sits slightly below the case, so you can set it face down on a table and the display will not touch the surface. I even dropped my S7 edge on rough tarmac once; the phone fell face down and skidded a few centimeters, but the display remained unharmed.
Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ review: Samsung brings us the future, but it’s not perfect yet
Where the problem arises – and this is not exactly Spigen's fault – is with the edges. There is nothing stopping them from banging on a surface in everyday usage, and the edges next to the volume and power buttons also remain open to contact as there is nothing around those buttons. This remains true of the entire display, of course, so this is where you need to use something like Samsung's Clear View cover if you intend to keep the display as good as new down the line.
Overall, though, I find the Spigen Thin Fit case to be a nice compromise between protection and feel. There are downsides, such as the lack of any protection around the buttons or the unnecessary cutouts on the corners, but other than that, thin cases don't get any better than this. It's certainly not the right case if you think the S8 or S8+ are too thin and could do with some heft, and they certainly aren't as protective as other cases out there. But for everyone else looking for a Galaxy S8 or S8+ case, the Spigen Thin Fit case warrants a good hard look.
Grab the Spigen Thin Fit case from Amazon; click here for the S8, and here for the S8+ (you can find it on your country's local Amazon website as well). Also, take a look at our list of the most value-for-money cases for Samsung's new flagships. Have something you want to point out about the case? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
