OtterBox Commuter Series Case for Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (ONLY - Does NOT FIT Non-Plus or Plus Sizes) - Black

Below is a documentation of my thoughts in real time during my comparison of the three phone cases for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. There is nothing verbose here other than this opening line so if you are looking for something along the lines of a review of my third uncle's life experiences as a farmer and how his story helped me reach reached my conclusion... sorry? But if you just want to know the difference between the three and figure out which one works best for you just from reading reviews (and accept that it comes with broken grammar and punctuation because this is literally me dumping my thoughts) then I hope this helps.I am a male who put his phone in his front pocket, and I have tested each case for a full day in total. I do not explicitly state which case I chose to use between the three.[COMMUTER]- AudioTested with Tidal app playing Dolby Atmos tracks. There is an slight audible difference in audio quality. Limited the ceiling of audio capabilities. Sounds very closed off compared to having no case at all. Obviously not an issue is only used to stream music/media. Only affects built-in sound quality.- DesignVery well designed and doesn’t look or feel cheap. Offers full (minus the screen) protection without excessive bulk. The front edge bezel offers good protection when the phone is placed face down. The top and bottom bezel is raised slightly higher than the sides. There is an issue where my fingers touch the bottom bezel whenever I touch the universal action icons. Overall, this case perfect for daily users who hold their phone frequently and may have a history of phone drops. The two grip feet at the back of the phone is nice because it makes the phone sit level with the raised lip around the camera housing unit. When comparing to the other two cases, I can hear the Symmetry's camera cut out hit the desk first. Prefix does not have this issue because there is no raised lip around the camera housing. However, the grip feet does not offer any additional grip when held in your hand.- WeightNoticeably heavier compared to Symmetry and Prefix but not excessive. Keep in mind it is a heavy phone to begin with so the added bulk in appearance contributes more to the idea that it is heavier than the weight of the cover itself which is extremely light when not on the phone.- FeelThe curve at the back of the case helps with overall ease of use. I can pick it up easily from a flat surface and I don't need to hold it in a death-grip while held up taking selfies or during casual use. The front edge of the case is flat and not rounded like the back.- In My Pocket (talking about pant pockets)Slides in and out easily (yup, still talking about pant pockets) without feeling like it is excessively bulky. Would still say it is slim. Does not create an excessive outline, even when wearing tight jeans.- Final Thoughts on the CommuterThe biggest gripe I have against this case is front edge bezel, particularly the bottom edge. While I do believe it offers the right amount of protection when the screen is faced down, I find myself indirectly touching the bottom bezel whenever I have to touch any of the bottom action keys (home, back, show open apps). While this isn't a deal breaker, it is a big turn off for me. What I am looking for in a case is to find that happy medium of sufficient protection without noticing the case itself.On a positive note, this case offers the best protection out of the three while still being true to a slim design. The port protection is a nice additional feature if you are worried about debris/dust or pocket lint getting into your ports. I can see this case being an ideal choice for those who do not buy a new phone every year and enjoy having the phone out while outdoors or regularly juggle your phone while you drive.[Symmetry]- AudioTested with Tidal app playing Dolby Atmos tracks. There is an slight audible difference in audio quality. Limited the ceiling of audio capabilities. Sounds very closed off compared to having no case at all. Obviously not an issue is only used to stream music/media. Only affects built-in sound quality.- DesignVery well designed and doesn’t look or feel cheap. Offers full (minus the screen) protection without excessive bulk. The front edge bezel offers less protection compared to the Commuter and the side edges are flush with the screen. The top and bottom edges are slightly raised, offering protection when the phone is faced down, although offers less protection than the Commuter. Unlike the Commuter, I do not have an issue with touching the bezels when touching the action buttons. Overall, this case perfect for daily users who hold their phone frequently and may have a history of accidental phone drops. It does lack the two grip feet which was a nice feature for those worried about your phone sliding around on a flat surface for whatever reason. But it’s very situational since it doesn’t offer better grip in your hands. In a real world setting while having the back of the phone on a flat surface, I don’t notice that the camera housing sitting slightly higher because of the raised edge without anything else to level the back. The camera housing is protected so that’s what is most important.I will point out that it is a questionable choice to integrate the channel gap that runs through the side of the case. I can see this collect debris and lint very easily, very similar to what is collected in the cracks of a computer mouse device over time. While easy to clean, it is an unnecessary inconvenience.- WeightWhile the S21 Ultra is a heavy device by itself, it is a very well balanced in my hands. Adding the Symmetry case does not change that balance and does not make the S21 feel any heavier.- FeelThe curve at the back of the case helps with overall ease of use. I can pick it up easily from a flat surface and I don't need to hold it in a death-grip while held up taking selfies or during casual use. Both the front and the back of the case is rounded and feels a lot more comfortable to hold than the Commuter and Prefix.- In My PocketThe slim design makes it easy to slide in and out of pant pockets. The fully rounded edges makes the phone feel smaller in my pockets and leaves a less pronounced outline compared to the Commuter and Prefix.- Final Thoughts on the SymmetryMaybe this is the result of the Goldilocks Principal but the Symmetry hits that perfect balance of minimal case presence/aesthetic while offering sufficient damage protection. It does not feel bulky in your hands but there is enough protection to get away with careless placement during daily use. To me, the Symmetry feels the most like a natural extension of the S21 Ultra. A lot of that is due to how well balanced the phone feels with the case and how easy it feels to hold.[Prefix]- Design and Final Thoughts on the PrefixI am going to go straight into design and final thoughts because out of the three cases, this is one I liked the least and I moved on from it quickest in my decision. While I don’t doubt that this phone offers sufficient protection for everyday use, it just felt really… bland. I’m sure it offers the protection standard Otterbox is known for but it’s a case that is as minimal as you can get. And the great thing about that is some people want the most minimal. My wife actually preferred the Symmetry out of the three cases. She likes that it DOES NOT say “OTTERBOX” on the back of the case (frankly so do I), but on the side where it is not as noticeable. She likes that it is a single-tone matte black case without any extra flare that felt like a standard case.What really stopped me from going further with this phone is how it felt in your hands. The edges are squared. Not completely but compared to the Commuter and Symmetry, the squared edges makes it extremely uncomfortable to hold. It’s probably not that bad as I probably wouldn’t have noticed this if I didn’t have anything to compare it against. But given the option, I would not go with the Prefix for this reason alone.If you need another reason, it feels awkward in my pocket. Comparing all three cases, the Prefix was the most minimal, but it felt the largest in my pocket. This is because of the squared edges. As you can imagine, the outline was the worst and most noticeable because both the front and the back of the case has squared edges.*Side note: Let’s face it, if you are looking at any of these three phone cases you are not really looking for full protection. You would be looking for a phone cover with a folio to cover the most fragile part – your screen. If you want full protection then I easily recommend the Stada series case from Otterbox which comes with a folio.

Works great!

It does what it’s supposed to do.

Cumple acaba lida con su funcion.

Having a screen protector on the camera it does not fit correctly or I have the protector a little off centered that makes the case not completely snug. Other than that and knowing the type of otterbox I ordered is not rubber it easily slips out of my hands sometimes. I just don't need the extra piece that comes with the full rubber case. I found a good price so it does the job.

Muy bueno y practico. Me gustó mucho.

Good product

As others have pointed out, the rubber portion of the case tends to deform rather seriously over time. I've experienced this behavior with past Otterbox cases, but never to this degree. The entire upper right section had deformed so badly that it was compromising the functionality of the case. My phone could slip out of the case so easily that any serious drop would have absolutely resulted in it bouncing right out of the case. Furthermore, the corners weren't in much better shape, and they had bent outward in a way that was less harmful but still extremely noticeable.All of this had happened in less than a year. I spent $33 on a product that started deforming seriously before even a full year had passed. While the deformation only mildly impacted my experience using the phone (the buttons were slightly harder to press), it still went against the whole point of protecting the phone.Now, I will give credit where credit is due. Otterbox has excellent customer support, and it was extremely easy to get a replacement through their warranty service without any issues. One short phone call was all it took for them to send me a replacement. If this story had a happy ending there then I'd give this a five star rating without question. Unfortunately, that was not what happened.The replacement case started failing soon after I received it. I don't think more than a couple months had passed before it was nearly as bad as the last one... It deformed even faster than the original! So, unfortunately, I've been forced to switch to a different case. I am extremely disappointed as Otterbox has always been my go-to case, and I've recommended them to everyone without hesitation... but that era may be coming to an end.