It's time to put 'real' leather cases out to pasture

Meaningless terminology and cut corners are all reasons to go synthetic

When the product upgrades from this week's Galaxy Unpacked are as small and iterative as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Watch 6, it's easy to overlook their accessories, too. The S Pen case for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 took the lion's share of the case attention during this launch, but it was the case next door that caught my eye.

Samsung's leather cases have dwindled a bit in quality in the last few years, but this year Samsung has given up the goat and abandoned actual leather for "eco-conscious materials" and "plant-based sources." The new Eco-Leather cases for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 — as well as two Eco-Leather Watch 6 straps — have gone plastic.

Honestly, I don't blame them. (Well, except for that indecent $90 price.) Most leather cases aren't high enough quality to give you the benefits leather case users claim, and all the terminology around these cases is so interchangeable they might as well say nothing at all.

dbrand's skins and cases use 100% authentic, uncorrected, full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather. Most cases do not.

If a case is listed as using real or genuine leather, all that means is that it is made of some kind of tanned, treated hide. It only rules out "bonded leather," which is leather scraps ground into pulp and then bound to another material layer using plastic or latex. It doesn't indicate the layer, quality, or even species. (Though assumed, this is why brands like Torro specify cowhide leather.) You also need separate terms to indicate texture, processing, and dying process.

So, what terms should you be looking for? I'd love to tell you to look for phrases like full-grain, top-grain, and naturally processed. Still, most terms associated with leather working in any other industry are used almost interchangeably, if at all. Phone cases are my bread and butter; I know them inside out, from materials to design styles to the individual tactile-ness of most case series, and even after a decade, leather cases are just keyword soup. Outside trusted brands, you will never know how it's going to act or feel until it's in your hands.

This article was produced in partnership with Supcase, but its contents were not shown to the company beforehand. All content is written independently and meets Android Police's stringent editorial standards.

One case's full-grain is another case's top-grain, even though they are mean two overlapping but very different layers of the dermis. Some cases claim to be both nubuck and full-grain (which is impossible) or suede and full-grain (which makes no earthly sense in a case). Split leather is never stated in a leather case's description, but a good chunk of the leather case market undoubtedly uses it. Any mention of tanning or processing styles is rare, and the species of leather is nowhere to be seen on the listings or labels. Leather is assumed to be cowhide, but it's almost never confirmed as such.

When real, necessary details are mixed with — or entirely replaced by — marketing terms, there's no way to know what kind of leather you're actually paying for. And without case makers adhering to proper definitions of these leather industry terms — or buyers who know what they mean — finding a decent case with quality leather is next to impossible.

Why do we buy leather phone cases? They're durable, they age gracefully rather than just getting yellow and nasty, and leather feels richly smooth but still grippy from its grain, making it a premium material that our premium phones deserve. We've already touched on how marketing terms have made it impossible to gauge the quality of the leather used in these cases, and that's before we even get to how it's used in the case itself.

Let's talk about leather's famed strength. For a leather case to have the durability that allows it to resist scrapes, blemishes, and cracks, it still needs a certain level of flexibility and give, not to mention a certain thickness to bounce back after small impressions and dents. If the leather layer used in a case is too thin or has been over-sanded, the fibers will break down and make the leather even more prone to scratches and tears than faux leather or plastic.

For example, some Bellroy case owners have complained in recent years of the leather wearing out and ripping at the corners over a period of weeks or months rather than years. This is what happens with a thinner layer. Even worse, however, is losing the irreplaceable feel of leather, as we've found on Bellroy's Galaxy S23 case. Don't worry about any impressions or dents in this case: the leather's so thin and so tightly glued to the case's back that the case that any impact just goes straight through to the inner frame. It offers just enough feel to the grain and variation to the natural markings to prove its authenticity but not enough to live up to what a leather case should be.

Granted, not every case needs the plush, supple feel of generously rich full-grain cowhide leather, but if it doesn't feel like leather, what's the point of paying more money in the first place? If you're here for the feeling of leather, many "faux" PU leather cases end up feeling better than "real" leather in 2023.

We've already mentioned Bellroy, but they're hardly the only offender. Samsung's decision to drop real leather entirely comes after years of its leather cases being less and less worthy of the first-party premium. So heavily processed that natural markings were obliterated and so flat in texture that it could no longer be called grippy, Samsung's Leather cases for the Galaxy S22 and Z Flip 4 felt artificial enough that you'd almost think Samsung switched to synthetic long ago. These cases did not patina and age so much as they just wore thin and wore out.

There are still quality cases out there with quality leather. Snakehive, Torro, and dbrand are still consistently turning out great leather cases using nubuck, full-grain aniline, and uncorrected full-grain, respectively, to make some of our favorite leather wallet cases and phone skins, but most "real" leather cases you come across these days aren't worthy of the prestige (and premium price) of being called "premium leather cases."

And we'll continue seeking out leather cases and brands that actually live up to their reputations, so we can point you to them in our case roundups. But we can't let the marketing allure of leather blind us to the quality of the actual product in our hands.

One leather benefit that faux leathers resolutely fail to beat is sustainability and environmental impact. Leather is (obviously) a natural material that is largely sustainable and can be tanned and treated with natural products — though many are still processed with harsh chemicals.

Leather also breaks down faster in a landfill by orders of magnitude compared to plastic. This would be a reason to keep using quality leather cases when you can come across them — but it's also why it's important to fight attempts to gussy up faux leathers as being better for society or the planet.

A vast array of cases, accessories, and those ever-multiplying, adorable Loungefly backpacks love the term "vegan" leather instead of calling it PU leather. And they are technically correct: no animal parts or pieces are used in these products — unless we count all the dinosaurs and ancient critters liquefied and stewed into the petroleum these plastics are made of. But most of them take hundreds of years to break back down once they're trashed, unless they're taken to specific industrial operations most consumers don't have access to. We're also already seeing plastic waste's impact on the animal kingdom.

I want to take a moment to specifically address the "Eco" portion of Samsung's Eco-leather case because, Pela, this is not. This case is only certified to contain a minimum of 16% post-consumer recycled plastic and 1% bio-based content — 10% content of the outer case. To put this in perspective, here are the percentages of recycled plastics and plant-based materials from other case makers:

This isn't to say that Samsung's case is a total fraud. Any amount of recycled or sustainable plant-based material that can replace petroleum-based plastic in a case is a good thing. However, calling a case that's 80% virgin plastic "Eco" and touting that as one of its two selling points is a bit much, especially at these prices and this inferior texture.

As a whole, leather cases are relatively easy to replace. While they're not all the same, a great many TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) and biopolymer cases do mimic the surface feel of leather while offering superior impact resistance and being more hygienic — leather can hang onto moisture and microbes over time, and your sweaty pocket is a perfect breeding ground.

We've already listed several more environmentally-minded phone case makers above, but specifically, Pela might be a very good replacement for your leather case. It's hard to describe the grippy yet smooth texturing of Pela's cases, but it's unique and the most premium-feeling case I've ever used.

Instead of Samsung Eco-leather's cases, we have a variety of stellar Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases worth your time and money, but literally, buy anything else. The Eco-Leather Z Fold 5 case Android Police has sampled "feels like plastic with a leather finish," and for $80, it feels laughable. You can get a far better case for far less cash, from sleek cases like the Caseology Parallax to the clear-ly protective i-Blason Cosmo Series to the Torro Leather Wallet I mentioned above.

If you're going to get a textured silicone case either way, Caseology's Parallax will give you a more distinct look and better textures across the bumper and the back. You just won't be able to get it in that sweet Ice Blue.

As a folio case, this is a distinctly different leather case than Samsung's, but it's more functional, feels (and looks) much better, and costs less than half the price. The wallet fits three cards and cash, and can function as a kickstand.

This case is a far cry from the lithe leather cover Samsung sells, but if you're going to ditch the premium (looking) materials, you might as well show off the natural beauty of your Z Fold 5.

We wanted to love the Eco-Leather flap case for the Flip 5 — last year's was almost purse-like in thickness but adorable all the same — but $90 is robbery. It makes $70 for the clear and customizable Casetify Impact Series look positively reasonable. If you're going to get a plastic case with a cheap leather finish, you can get that for $20 with a card slot for using it as a teeny tiny wallet!

It's not leather, but Casetify is ready to party like it's 1999 with its Translucent N64 purple — or clear with black bumpers — Impact case. There are hundreds of available designs to splay across the back of your case, and more coming every week.

This is a clear case with a poly-leather wallet strapped across the back, but it's more functional (and colorful) than Samsung's. The straps connecting both sides of the case together help it feel more complete and keep your cards from sliding around as much.

Sleek, slim, and affordable, Spigen's AirSkin offers grip and scratch protection in four colors and six styles. You can perfectly match your Flip 5's hues or go clear to show off the hue you already have.

Ara Wagoner is Commerce Editor for Android Police and a lover of all things cases, Chromebooks, accessories, and Disney. Overseeing our buyer's guides and product selection, Ara has spent 7 years honing her product-picking instincts and reviews while previously at Android Central, bringing a unique flair to her writing (and a lot of TV/anime references). She works full-time on a Chromebook, whether it's at home or while waiting for fireworks at Walt Disney World. Ara loves Android phones so much that she wears a shoulder holster to ensure they're never out of reach, and if you see her without headphones, RUN.