Nomad’s 2024 iPhone case collection has once again been one of the more popular options among readers and staffers here at 9to5. Its full-wrap Traditional Leather iPhone 16 case is simply gorgeous, and my favorite so far. But now it’s time to look at something a little bit different, something perhaps for folks that like to live on the edge, confident they won’t bounce the edge of the iPhone 16 on the concrete, and those looking to let their new Apple handset shine in all its glorious titanium beauty…we are hands-on with the new iPhone 16 Nomad Magnetic Leather Back case today.
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Review: Nomad iPhone 16 Magnetic Leather Back
The Nomad iPhone 16 Magnetic Leather Back plate features the brand’s full-grain Horween leather material., comes in black or brown, and carries a $40 MSRP.
Ultra-thin and precision cut, Magnetic Leather Back for iPhone 16 Pro maintains the look and feel of your iPhone while giving it a sleek and sophisticated leather look.
Features at a glance
- Horween leather from the USA
- Develops a rugged patina
- Magnetic MagSafe & microsuction attachment
- Raised protective camera ring
- MagSafe & wireless charging compatible
gadgetnewsonline’ Take
We have been raving about Nomad for years, and perhaps even more so this year as the brand has just issued my personal favorite leather iPhone 16 case yet with the new full-wrap Traditional model. But another case category, alongside the Arc metal bumpers, that has been a popular option among readers is the magnetic backplate models and we are ready to weigh in on Nomad’s leather variant.
Perhaps one of the lesser known models, at least considering how popular the brand’s more traditional models are, is the Magnetic Leather Back. It is very much what it sounds like – a thin plate that adorns nothing but the back of your iPhone 16 to leave its natural metal sides to shine in all their glory. This for me, is the real highlight of the case.
Clearly, and very much needless to say, this is not a case that will protect your device very much. In fact, it’s not really a case at all in some ways. But that, providing you don’t need/want any shock absorption or drop protection at all, is where this option really shines. It seems that more and more folks are moving towards cases that don’t cover up the iPhone as much, but rather something that enhances, or celebrates it if you will, the color of the device you just spent an arm and a leg on…and the Nomad Magnetic Leather Back does it wonderfully.
While I would have preferred a completely leather wrap here, without the black bezel around the camera array, I don’t completely hate this design choice and I’m more than happy to see the, in this case brown, leather wrapping right around the sides to rest right up against the Desert golden titanium on my iPhone 16 Pro.
Once again, much like the Nomad Traditional Leather case I reviewed, it looks just gorgeous against Apple’s Desert treatment.
The leather treatment is very much like we have seen and loved on the rest of the Nomad lineup, but is perhaps even thinner. It still, however, naturally ages and reacts to use, like any good piece of leather does…or at least it appears as though it does when I aggressively rub my hands along its edges – Nomad has never let me down in this regard before, and there’s no reason or me to believe it will here either.
For those wondering the Nomad Plate is adorned with a MagSafe array hidden within that enables it to snap right onto the back of your device. But you’ll also find a sort of sticky pad in each of the three corners where the the camera array cutout isn’t in the way. This presumably, and thus far, adds some additional staying power, and helps the plate to lay completely flat against the back of the iPhone 16.
These sticky pads come in the box with a thin sheet of clear plastic on top. This means you can choose to use them or not – the plate sticks securely to the back of iPhone just fine without them, but they are there for some extra support and to help the plate to remain in place when taking the phone off a magnetic charger as well as to keep it even more flush with the device.
I tested these out sticky pads out, aggressively pressing the plate directly to the back of device for a minute or so, and then left it in place for roughly 24 hours…twice. At no time did the sticky pads leave any residue on the back of the phone, nor did they leave it feeling sticky in anyway. It is also worth nothing that even with the pads in use, the plate pops on and off with ease – how many times you can do this over the course of say a year remains to be seen, but at this point it seems to be a solid system.
The rest of the interior of the Nomad Magnetic Leather Plate is lined with the same sort of soft microfiber the Traditional Leather model is – it adds a touch of luxury to the design and comfortably hugs your device.
Now let’s talk buttons and the Camera Control Cutout…just kidding there are none. Sorry, after scrutinizing so many case buttons thus far, I couldn’t help myself.
There’s not a whole lot more to say about this “case.” Either you’re into the plate vibes or you’re not. Either you’re confident you don’t need any edge drop protection or you’re not. I absolutely love the way it allows Apple’s iPhone 16 design to be the star of the show – the edges of the new models are really where the color shows best to me – and leaves the new Camera Control as functional as it was the day you unboxed the phone. If you’re into this plate style, this is a very good one in my opinion, but you’ll likely have to be prepared to really push the sticky pads into place to get an entirely snug fit.
Buy the Nomad iPhone 16 Magnetic Leather Back Plate
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