SUPCASE, i-Blason, and Clayco: Casemakers with staying power

In a crowded market of phone cases, brands tend to come and go with each new launch. Sometimes it’s due to design, while other times a cheap knockoff swoops in to eat up sales. With so many brands launching and folding, how have these three managed to keep going?

We’ll dig into what makes each of SUPCASE, i-Blason, and Clayco tick, and see the path that each one has taken to get to where it is today.

i-Blason — Transparent quality

It’s not easy to imagine smartphones from a decade ago, but that’s when i-Blason got its start. Launching alongside devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Apple iPhone 4, the brand is one of few to have reached its tenth anniversary of making phone cases.

This is thanks in large part to the success of the Ares, a clear bumper case with plenty of durability. CNET even put the Ares through 20-foot drop tests to prove a point. Turns out that a tough case that also shows off your phone is a pretty popular option.

So popular, in fact, that it took the smash-hit launch of the Cosmo to unseat the Ares atop i-Blason’s popularity. Where the Ares shows off your phone, the Cosmo offers a chance to match your case with premium accessory cases. Everyone likes well-coordinated tech, so the colorful marble-inspired patterns proved an instant hit.

SUPCASE hit the market slightly later in 2013, but it’s still going strong. Its true claim to fame arrived when it won CNET’s first annual drop test for the highest total feet. Since claiming the award, SUPCASE has gone on to justify its reputation as the toughest $20 case around. The brand even invites fans to share their most intense stories of SUPCASE survival with #supcasestories on social media.

See also: The best SUPCASE cases you can buy

Now, SUPCASE even puts its own cases through the toughest of tests just to show that it can. The Unicorn Beetle Pro offers full 360-degree protection with the toughest materials around. It even exceeds the US military drop requirements. If that’s not enough, you can check out a compilation of the greatest hits (literally) below:

Clayco is the youngest of the three, but its penchant for innovation has built a dedicated cult following. The brand launched in 2016, right around the arrival of the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. Where other case brands turned away from built-in screen protectors, Clayco went back to the drawing board to keep protection at its best.

It developed a screen protector that’s compatible with the advanced fingerprint-reading technology and added it to the flagship Xenon case. Right now, the Xenon case is only available for the most premium devices, but it shows that Clayco is ready to push forward into whatever comes next.