Curtis Joe / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Users operating their phones in the most extreme environmental conditions may find themselves required to use crazy-safe cases like this.
- Explosion-proof cases don’t just protect your phone, but keep the phone itself from setting off an explosion.
- That protection doesn’t come cheap, with cases selling for much more than the phone itself.
Just how much do you trust your smartphone case? Sure, it’s probably saved your very expensive phone from a few dings over the years, but has that led you to throw caution to the wind? Do you just casually toss your phone around like it’s a rubber ball, content in the belief that its case will keep it safe? Or are you still reasonably cautious, treating your case as extra insurance, but still taking primary responsibility into your own hands? Considering how much we love our phones, we’re definitely in that latter group — although today we’re rethinking that approach just a bit, after learning about the kind of insanely beefy explosion-proof cases being used in the most extreme environments.
Technically, this is a funny situation that sort of flips normal case-design expectations on their head, because while it’s immediately about keeping your phone safe from harm, in this case that goal is all in service of preventing your phone itself from sparking a larger disaster — like an explosion. Models like this are tested to meet exacting standards, letting them safely operate even in conditions where flammable gases are present.
The pics you see here were shared by user sjeik_yerbouti on Reddit, who reports that his brother is required to have this level of protection when operating his phone on an offshore rig. The preposterously robust design appears to be Atexxo’s EX Zone 1 explosion-proof case for the iPhone 13. More than just encasing the handset in more aluminum than probably many phones themselves are made with, installing the EX Zone 1 involves adding additional circuitry designed to prevent dangerous electrical conditions. Once it’s fully in place, though, even stuff like wireless charging should work like normal.
What’s protection like this going to cost you? We don’t know about this particular case, but found another with the same flammable-environment safety ratings going for nearly $2,900 — and you still have to send in your phone for them to install it. Maybe that Otterbox is good enough, after all?
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