Review: OtterBox DEFENDER SERIES Case for Samsung Galaxy S7

• September 18, 2016
• James Skemp
• review

The following is a review of the OtterBox DEFENDER SERIES Case for Samsung Galaxy S7, received as part of the Amazon Vine program.

Bulky, but definitely secure

I’ve always preferred slimmer cases for my phones, so when I picked up a Samsung Galaxy S7 a handful of months ago I ultimately decided upon the tech21 EVO ELITE Protectective Case for my device.

However, my girlfriend uses an OtterBox, specifically one of the DEFENDER SERIES cases for her Galaxy S6, and I recently picked up a bike, and we were going to be out biking, with our mobile devices in tow. So when I saw Amazon had OtterBox cases available for review I decided to try them out.

I’ve always preferred slimmer cases since they fit well in my pocket, along with my wallet, and in particular I’ve always associated OtterBox cases with being rather bulky.

The OtterBox DEFENDER SERIES Case for Samsung Galaxy S7 is definitely bulky, with an inner case that’s wrapped around the device, and then a rubber case that’s wrapped around the outside of that. This outer wrapper allows the inner shell to be rather hard, with very straight edges around the various ports and buttons. The DEFENDER SERIES cases wrap the entire phone, so the screen itself is covered with a thin piece of plastic, that actually feels a little flimsy, but seems to cover it well enough.

Buttons are covered by both the inner shell as well as the outer rubber, and did seem to add a slight ‘delay,’ or tiny amount of difficulty, when pushing them. The headphone and USB ports are also covered, but only by the rubber, with them hinging out. I haven’t used them enough, but my girlfriend’s case seems to be holding out rather well, with the rubber only softening a bit.

As I mentioned above, the plastic covering the touchscreen seems a little flimsy when it’s not on the device, but I had no issues with responsiveness, even with another, standalone, screen protector on.

Personally, I can’t stand the extra bulk that the OtterBox DEFENDER SERIES Case adds to my phone. However, I can see using this in particular cases, when I might want to make sure that the device is secure from dust and dirt, and possibly even slight rain (not that this case is waterproof). Personally I give this case four stars of five, with the one star knocked off only because of personal bias toward slimmer cases.

• review