Round-up: Cases for the Sony Xperia 1 II flagship

As usual for my case roundups, I'll cover a variety of styles, with most samples supplied by MobileFun, kind people that they are. See their complete range of Sony Xperia 1 II cases and covers.

But on with the individual cases, each link goes to the relevant product page, of course.

Olixar Carbon Fibre, £13

This is a well worn design, of course, I've seen similar cases from Spigen and others. The idea's the same though - encase the fragile phone in a tough layer of flexible plastic - something tough enough to provide protection against casual drops, yet looking relatively stylish at the same time.

The Xperia 1 II design does throw this case style a few curves, not least the top 3.5mm headphone jack (the hole fouls some 3.5mm jack designs, so pick your headphones to match!), and the side fingerprint sensor, shown above - the case beautifully flattens out here and finding the power button/sensor is child's play.

The 'carbon fibre' texturing is as tastefully done as ever and this is my pick of the cases on this page so far. It adds a load of protection, including from a face drop, while adding minimal bulk and looking pretty cool. Well, cool for a geek like me!

And so, I apologise for being boring in my pick here - but this is almost the perfect smartphone case. So long as you don't mind people not being able to see the colour and logo of your new and expensive gadget!

Score: 10/10

Olixar Ultra-thin, £7

A fairly generic clear TPU design, this is incredibly flimsy when not on the phone and worryingly so. However, in fairness, it fits beautifully and, when fitted, adds an extreme layer of 'tacky' grip to your Xperia. In fact, it's very similar to a case I've used for the last six months on my iPhone 11 Pro, so I can heartily recommend the concept.

However, don't expect top degree protection. Yes, you're far less likely to drop your smartphone, but if it hits concrete then there's only so much some fairly soft gel TPU can do. 

On the other hand, your phone's looks are unimpeded and the case is trivially cheap to buy.

Score: 9/10

Olixar Leather-stye Wallet, £10

This is a very functional wallet case and great value for the money, though do see the link below - there's a better one (at twice the price). The main issue I have here is that you have to be very restrained about putting cards in the card slots. With two cards in place...

...there's already enough extra thickness added that the magnetic front flap doesn't close very securely. I think one might want to just put in one card and have a slightly thinner and better secured whole?

The 'stand' feature is by the usual technique of folding back the plastic phone holder against the faux-leather main shell - it works, but it's for emergency use, since there's no way to secure it at a particular angle.

Overall though, I found it hard to warm to this design. The shell edges hurt my fingers when pressing past them to get to the side buttons. And that front magnetic catch just didn't seem strong enough. So, if this case is too underwhelming, get this one instead!

Score: 7/10

Olixar ExoShield, £10

Now this is a first. Olixar's ExoShield designs have impressed me through the years, but I hit a wall with the Xperia 1 II version - there's thin plastic protective film to peel off the inside and outside of the clear back and... I couldn't manage it! 

After ten minutes with fingernails and a razor blade, I just couldn't get the back film off and I do wonder whether Olixar should provide a little plastic pull tab to get the process started. For clumsy oafs like me! I ended up with unsightly edges and there was nothing I could seemingly do about it! 

Just a little feedback for you, Olixar!

Aside from that there's plenty of shiny plastic protective side material - it's a solid case, but it just won't look a million dollars if you can't get that easily scratched back plastic film off!

Score: 7/10

Olixar ArmourDillo Tough Case, £10

Now this is something a bit different. Day-glo colours, two case layers, it all feels very... cheap. But hold on - when fitted on the phone, you guessed it - it's suddenly much more solid. 

If the blue isn't to your taste then it's also available in black. You also get some over the top texturing on the back. Protective, but mainly to disguise the central hinged kick-stand:

It's all a bit over the top, really. Maybe if you were a hiker or cyclist or similar then such rugged lines would be appropriate?

I hesitate to mark this down too much just because it's OTT for me personally, so take an average score and make of it what you will!

Score: 8/10

PS. More cases to follow!