The primary material of a glass phone case is plexiglass, commonly known as acrylic glass, having the scientific name “polymethylmethacrylate,” i.e., PMMA. Acrylic glass is a lightweight thermoplastic used in many industries thanks to its unique properties, acrylic is an alternative to glass that is usually brittle, heavy, and difficult to carry. Meanwhile, acrylic has high transparency and is relatively inexpensive due to its easy manufacturing. The transparent material is used in mobile phone cases as well as other electronic products or accessories.
An acrylic phone case is an excellent choice for replacing transparent clear phone cases made up of PC (Polycarbonate) in situations that improve product grade. As we all know, acrylic is often called glass that won’t shatter. Acrylic is the right candidate for making transparent phone cases that could last years. Different from ordinary glass, acrylic has strong anti-drop and wear-resistance characteristics. It is similar to PC (Polycarbonate), but in actual it is different. In addition, an acrylic phone case is not as fragile as other clear phone case. Even if it is damaged, it does not form sharp fragments like glass. Despite being durable and environmentally friendly, the high transparency of the smartphone remains its unique selling point. Therefore, many mobile phone case manufacturers use acrylic material to build a solid and wear-resistant product.
Acrylic Glass for Phone Cases: How well it compares
The most commonly used materials for making soft phone cases include rubber, silicone, and TPU. However, materials like Polypropylene (PP) and Polycarbonate are used for hard plastic phone cases. Each material has its characteristics. The soft shell phone cases focus on the feel, while the hard shell phone case offers transparency and enhances protection from falls and scratches. The acrylic glass phone case can be denoted as a hard shell phone case but with the added benefit of high drop resistance and better transparency than PC. Due to such advancements and benefits, it is widely used in the field of mobile phone cases.
Tough & Light Weight
Acrylic glass has a lower density than ordinary glass, so it is lighter in weight and has higher mechanical strength, it offers 7 to 18 times higher tensile and impact resistance than ordinary glass. Acrylic glass has a high light transmittance of 92%, which is higher than regular glass. In addition, acrylic glass has better chemical stability, mechanical properties, weather resistance, easy dyeing, better processing, and a beautiful appearance. Acrylic glass is widely used in all walks of life, and mobile phone cases are not an exception. Apart from its usage in phone cases manufacturing, the acrylic material is used in windows, bathroom doors, fish aquariums, etc. PMMA offers high tensile and flexural strength, which protects smartphones from all angles.
Costs of Acrylic Glass Phone Cases
The cost of acrylic glass raw material is much higher than that of other materials used for mobile phone cases. In most cases, acrylic glass can be replaced by PC, ABS, and other materials. PC plastic and acrylic glass have very similar material properties, but the affordability ensures attention and popularity. There are not many manufacturers that actually use acrylic glass as a transparent mobile phone case. Most glass phone cases or clear phone cases on the market are mainly PC materials or acrylic glass + ABS combined. The price of real acrylic glass mobile phone cases is different due to the product structure, and it might be twice or more expensive than PC material or fully transparent clear phone case.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Acrylic Phone Case
As we’ve already said, acrylic glass has excellent material properties, but not in every aspect, as the material comes with many tradeoffs. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of the acrylic phone cases:
Advantages of acrylic phone case over others:
- High transparency – Acrylic glass phone case has higher transparency than PC. Acrylic cases offer better transparency than PC and other materials. Smartphone’s original design and color can be seen clearly through the Acrylic glass.
- Wearing resistance – Comparing PC plastic phone case, Acrylic glass phone case offers better hardness and has better anti-wearing characteristics. It is a reason manufacturers use Acrylic glass to replace the PC.
- Eco-Friendly – Acrylic is a non-toxic, harmless, and tasteless material which makes it entirely environment-friendly.
- Light – The phone case made up of acrylic glass is light in weight.
- Polishing ability – Acrylic phone cases do not discolor upon elongated usage. The polishing ability helps maintain the original look for years on the acrylic phone case.
Disadvantages of acrylic phone cases
- High Production Cost – Acrylic smartphone case has increased production costs than plastic phone cases made up of Polycarbonate.
- Alternatives – Many fake Acrylic phone cases are there in the market, many are actually made of PC material while it is declared as Acrylic.
- Low resistance to high temperatures – Acrylic phone cases are not highly heat-resistive; they can get damaged upon frisking it to high temperatures. Moreover, it becomes flammable upon getting in contact with fire or high temperatures.
Acrylic Glass Phone cases Ideas
Acrylic case for Samsung Galaxy S21
This one uses a combination of PMMA and TPU to provide the best-in-class protection to your smartphone. TPU is the primary material for the edge rim of the case, and Acrylic sits inside the perimeter as a protection for the entire back of the phone. The case won’t hinder you from using a wireless charger to charge your phone. Air pockets in the rim are capable of effectively reducing impact during a fall or accident.
Acrylic Clear Back Case for iPhone 12
Like the last one, this case uses a combination of PMMA and TPU as the primary build materials. Otherwise, it might be quite a challenge to add/remove the case from the phone. Even though PMMA is a strong material, it is not as flexible as TPU. Still, this case follows a uniform design even though it uses two distinct materials. Note that even though the title of this case says it is for the iPhone 12, you could opt between other models from iPhone, including iPhone 11, 8, and 7. You could also purchase the case for the plus variants of these smartphones.
Shockproof Acrylic & TPU Case for the iPhone series
This one has a dual-tone design with a transparent acrylic back and a colored TPU rim. You have the provision to select between 10 color combinations. Another advantage of this particular model is that you can get it for iPhones as old as the iPhone 6.
Silicone Rim & Acrylic Back Combination Phone Case
This phone case is made up of liquid silicone for rim and the acrylic glass (can also be PC) as the back, liquid silicone offers very soft and silky touch feeling while the transparent acrylic material restores the true color of the phone, and offers great scratch resistance for your phone.
Gradient rainbow color transparent mobile phone case
Made up of TPU and transparent acrylic, it features fully transparent color and a rainbow color for a very beautiful feel, you can either get your phone protected with such a full transparent phone case and meanwhile, it also brings your phone with its original design and a cool multi-color fashion.
To Conclude!
That should wrap things for now. Acrylic is an excellent material that is well suited for manufacturing reliable phone cases. Being from the clear phone case family, acrylic phone cases are undoubtedly the most transparent and protective smartphones. These are becoming more popular due to their additional reliability features, high transparency, lightweight, flexibility, and high durability. Acrylic glass phone cases can last up to years without losing their sheen.
Acrylic glass mobile phone cases or acrylic composite phone cases are mainly positioned as a higher-end product in mobile phone cases. Due to the substitutability of acrylic material and the relatively high cost by comparing PC, and PC and Acrylic are difficult to distinguish, the future of acrylic glass mobile phone cases is embarrassing.
