Something different from SwitchEasy is the AirMask, which is a two-piece, fitted skin for the iPhone 6+ and iPhone 6s+. Weighing just 10 grams and being 0.3mm thin, the AirMask certainly isn’t a case replacement, but they do consider this being the “world’s first instant makeover kit.” They’re priced at $29.99 each, directly from SwitchEasy (also available on Amazon) in a number of different colors.
Video Review
Photo Gallery
In the package is the AirMask itself, wet and dry wipes and an installation guide. The installation process itself is mostly straightforward. Here’s a quick rundown of the steps:
- Clean the front of your iPhone
- Remove the protective film on the inside of the front AirMask piece
- Place the front AirMask piece over the front of your iPhone
- Repeat steps 1-3 for the second piece/back of your iPhone
SwitchEasy claims that the installation is a quick, 2-second process, which obviously isn’t the case. To get the best results, you really should take your time, but even then, the alignment may seem off a bit. More on that in a bit.
Once installed you’ll have something that really does make it seem like you have a different device, almost like what an iPhone 6c Plus could’ve been. The glossy material provides quite a bit of grip as opposed to the iPhone without anything (for me at least). As this is a skin and not a case, the buttons, camera, silent switch, and bottom ports are all exposed. And thanks to the incredibly-thin design, you can hardly tell that anything has been added to the iPhone 6 Plus. The camera cutout on the back has a small lip to it, which prevents the lens from touching a surface.
But that’s where the good things end.
One issue is with the alignment. After multiple installations of different AirMasks, I was never able to get the two pieces installed to where there’s as little of a gap between them as possible. Because of this, it’s easy for them to get caught on things, such as the inside of your pocket. This results in the skin being lifted up, allowing for debris to get between the skin and your device.
Additionally, the integrated screen protector has a black outline around it, which actually does cover up a tiny portion of your display. Interestingly, I’ve noticed that there are small gaps between the integrated screen protector and the bezel of the AirMask, which can be seen in the photo and review video above.
Fortunately, the alignment issue can be remedied by installing a case. The AirMask is thin enough to where it should comfortable fit inside of most cases. A few of the cases I’ve tried include the SwitchEasy Numbers and Speck CandyShell Grip.
Honestly, I would recommend getting a case, or a standard iPhone skin. The price of the AirMask is high, especially considering that this will only protect against minor scratches, leaving the iPhone vulnerable to damaging drops at nearly any height. If you have your eyes set on the AirMask, you could give it a try, though I just don’t think it’s necessarily worth the time.
Feel free to follow Brian and Gadget Unit on Twitter.