There are two types of iPhone waterproof cases.
There's cases that protect against accidental
spills and semi-wet environments, and then
there's cases that allow you to do this...
This is the ProShot case for iPhone and quite
honestly it's the case I've been looking for
since I got my first iPhone five years ago.
ProShot was kind enough to send me these cases
for review, and in this review we'll put them
through their paces to show you why this is
the only case you should trust to take your
iPhone out on the open water.
I used to really like everyday waterproof
cases and have reviewed a couple of the best.
However the compromises you have to make in
order to make your phone waterproof were too
much for everyday use.
The cases are bulky compared to standard iPhone
cases and they make accessing your ports and
screen difficult.
Because of this I would only use the case
if I was going to the swimming pool or to
a lake when I'm purposing to take my phone
underwater.
And because they're meant for daily use they
rely on thin gaskets and flimsy plastic membranes
to keep the water out.
And if you read the fine print they say you
should inspect the case and water test it
every time before getting it wet.
Say it with me - ain't nobody got time for
that!
After ruining my iPhone 6S in a swimming pool
I decided I wouldn't trust my phone to such
a delicate case in the water again.
That's when I found out about ProShot.
ProShot isn't a daily case.
It's an extreme waterproof case meant to basically
turn your iPhone into a GoPro.
Because of its durable design, it gives you
a level of confidence around the water that
no other case can.
No more frequently checking your case to see
if the thin gasket has failed.
I used this case while paddleboarding in a
pond and I literally just clipped it to my
life jacket and forgot about it.
Whenever I wanted to snap a photo or take
a video it was right there ready for action.
I threw everything I could think of at ProShot
while at the pond.
From flips to dives it passed all my water
usage tests with flying colors.
When hurricane Matthew came through I used
the massive amounts of water funneling through
our yard as an extreme waterproof test as
well.
As you can see from the video taken from the
ProShot itself, this was a walk in the park.
This was the closest thing I had to whitewater,
and based on my tests I would easily trust
ProShot to keep my phone safe while going
whitewater rafting.
While at the beach I took ProShot into the
ocean to see how it holds up to sand and salt
water.
As expected it performed very well and kept
my iPhone safe from the elements.
The case is made of a hard polycarbonate shell
that snaps together with two different style
lids.
If you've ever used a waterproof container
or ammo box before it's the same idea, and
it works great.
We'll start with my favorite, the deep dive
lid.
This lid is a hard polycarbonate and provides
loads of protection against impact and water.
ProShot says this lid is rated to 100 feet!
That means you can now take your iPhone scuba
diving.
You're probably wondering how you use your
phone if you can't touch the screen and ProShot
has the perfect solution.
They've developed a special app that allows
you to do everything you need using only the
two volume buttons.
Just like the standard camera app you can
use the volume up button to take a picture
or start and stop a video.
But with this app you can also use the volume
down button to switch between the different
camera modes.
You can't use a touchscreen underwater anyway,
and this is a very creative solution.
So now while underwater you can start and
stop video and then change over to photo mode
to snap a few pictures.
They even thought to include a sleep mode
that turns the camera off and dims the screen
to the point that it's almost off to save
battery when not in use.
This app is key to using your phone in the
water to capture photos and videos.
The app also includes slow mo, timer mode,
and time lapse.
It's worth noting that these are ProShots
implementation of these and they don't function
exactly like their equivalents in the standard
iOS camera app.
Also, be sure to put your phone in airplane
mode before use so that notifications don't
inhibit the use of the app.
There are times though when you want more
than average water protection but still need
to use your iPhone's screen.
In those situations you use the touch lid.
This lid is rated to six feet, although realistically
it would provide a lot more protection than
that.
This lid does tend to bubble up so be sure
to push as much air out of the case as possible
before latching the final closure.
If you're at the beach and need to stay on
top of email or phone calls but want to be
able to jump in the water at a moments notice
then this is the lid for you.
It's not as useable as your iPhone would be
in a daily waterproof case since you can't
access your ports and the screen is slightly
bubbled, but not having access to your ports
and Touch ID means fewer points of failure
where water can get to your phone.
And the touch lid is molded together in such
a way that you're not going to have to inspect
any gaskets before you get it wet.
It gives you the confidence to keep your phone
on hand while near the water and be able to
capture all the special memories you would
otherwise miss.
(Hope running shot)
To switch the lids you open the case to a
45 degree angle and push downward.
Attaching the new lid is as simple as lining
up the hinges and snapping it in place.
You'll want to make sure that you're not changing
lids or inserting your phone while near the
water.
From my experience it's very hard to do this
without dirt, debris, and drops of water getting
into the case.
In addition to interchangeable lids there
are also interchangeable lenses.
The lenses screw onto the case really tightly
and contain an o-ring for blocking out water.
I received the standard wide lens as well
as the fisheye lens.
The fisheye lens was great an opening up the
viewing angle for capturing more of the action,
but it slightly distorted the outer edges.
For this reason I preferred to use the standard
wide lens.
Your mileage may vary depending on what type
of video you're trying to capture.
The case also features a GoPro compatible
mount.
I used this to attach it to a floating stick
while on the pond paddleboarding so that if
I dropped my iPhone in the water it would
float.
I also used it attached to my helmet at an
outdoor go kart track going 55mph.
The resulting footage was really good and
it wasn't shaky like I expected.
That's partly due to the really stiff GoPro
mount and also because of the iPhone 7's optical
image stabilization.
However the track is heavily sponsored by
GoPro and so they wouldn't let me use the
footage for this review.
Just keep in mind that if you are going to
attach your ProShot to a GoPro mount that
the case acts as a big sail in the wind so
you'll want to make sure your GoPro mount
is really sturdy to minimize shaking.
With clear polycarbonate, a metal supported
hinge, blue metal closures, and very few entry
points for water, this case not only can withstand
most any activity you can throw at it, but
it looks great as well.
And although you can confidently rest assured
that your phone is dry and safe, it's still
really nice that the case is clear and you
can easily tell that no water has compromised
your case.
However, the clear polycarbonate also scratches
very easily as well as the metal closures.
It doesn't affect the performance of the case
since the lenses are glass, but it is very
noticeable strictly from an aesthetic point
of view.
ProShot currently makes a case for the iPhone
6 and 6S and a version for the iPhone 7.
They sent me both to review and the main difference
between the two is the location of the camera
lens.
The other minor difference is the touch lid.
The iPhone 6S version has a black touch point
made into the lid that helps with pressing
the home button.
They had to remove this for the iPhone 7 version
since the home button now requires skin contact
to work.
Our iPhone cameras are great and it's what
most people use as their primary camera.
Having the ability to now take that camera
out on the slopes, while water skiing, or
scuba diving down to 100 feet is pretty amazing.
As I said at the beginning of the video, this
is the waterproof iPhone case I've been waiting
for, and it didn't disappoint.
If you have any questions that I didn't cover
in this review feel free to leave those in
the comments.
If you've enjoyed this video review please
give it a thumbs up and consider subscribing
if you haven't done so already.
And in closing...
When you're out on the open water don't trust
your phone to a thin gasket or flimsy plastic
membrane.
Go with a real waterproof case.
Go with a ProShot.
