[General Accessories] vectron:
This is a review of Urban Armor Gear UAG cases for Galaxy S5. http://www.urbanarmorgear.com/collections/all#samsung-galaxy-s5

Rather than starting my review with usual "I reviewed a ton of cases in the past, check out my signature...", I will tell you that UAG is the only case I use everyday with my Note 2. Period. YMMV and we all have personal preferences, and I'm not going to deny - there are a lot of other great cases which I'm going to cover in the next few week, but I'm glad that I can kick off my review of S5 cases with UAG. As a matter of fact, that was the first thing I put on my wife's S5 until she decides which one she ends up keeping. Here why I think so highly of this product.

I have reviewed in the past all of their cases from iPhone, S3, Note 2, S4, Note 3, and now S5. They definitely got this distinct industrial design look, which unfortunately has been copied lately by some low quality look-a-likes. With a lot of companies once they got a winning design, they just continue making the same cases scaled for the next phone, year after year. With UAG, they are constantly tweaking the design with new details to improve the grip, to have it thinner and more flexible while still retaining max protection, and even to improve the packaging. So starting with packaging, they finally got some refreshing colors to make their box more appealing. Of course, you still get a detailed description of the features on the front and on the back, including an official stamp of approval meeting MIL STD 810G-516.6 Military Drop-Test. It's about time to add this stamp of approval considering it has been already drop approved by thousands of it's users over the years, myself including. As a bonus, UAG also provided HD screen protector which I found to be a very nice gesture.

The case is very lightweight despite its composite design where hard outer PC shell is fused with a softer TPU-like inner soft impact resistant shell with a signature honeycomb pattern. The idea of such fused design makes the case thinner while still retaining a decent drop protection, and also adding a convenience of quick one-piece case removal without dealing with two separate shells. You also still have an enhanced corner protection which blends in nicely with the rest of the outline. One new additional element was added to the sides of the case in a form of a lower grip pads on each side which haven't been present in the previous S4 design. This enhances the grip and also makes sides look symmetrical next to upper pads with volume and power buttons. I found this design improvement to be very effective. Along with a sculptured industrial lines of the back design with decorative hex screws, UAG S5 case definitely has a much better grip. Although case feels slim, you still get the same rubber lip around the screen to lift the display with phone placed down or to provide a protection when dropped. Along with corner protection, you still get rear skid pads that allow phone to be placed on the back without any wobbling and keeping it from sliding on a smooth surface. And of course you get all the generous port openings to accommodate usb cables, over sized headphone connectors, IR port, mic, etc. Power and volume buttons have a very nice tactile feedback and can be easily located just by sliding your fingers along the side of the case. I also like how they put an inner trim around camera/flash opening to enable a glare-free flash.

Overall, I know it's hard to choose a case with every new phone because market is saturated with new additions almost every week. And most likely nobody gets just one case because we change it for different occasions or extended batteries, etc. But when you are making this deselection don't be fooled just by something that looks "cool", because at the end of the day the purpose of the case is to protect your phone. Well, that and also making it look cool at the same time ;) But protection should be #1 priority, and if the case is made out of brittle plastic that will crack if dropped or cheap TPU material that will stretch and pull, or fused layers that will come undone - you might as well carry your phone naked. Otherwise, look for reputable companies that has been around for awhile, those which have a lot of feedback on Amazon, and those who don't just sell a case but actually offer a support to back it up. UAG is definitely of those companies, and I highly recommend and use their cases all the time.

Here are the pictures.