Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones are without question some of the best looking devices on the planet right now. I’d argue nothing comes close when it comes to looks. However, its smartphones are made of glass which isn’t the most durable material as it is brittle and will crack or shatter under pressure.
I used the S7 edge for several months, and I went case free. Why would I want to cover up such beauty with a bulky case? I paid dearly for using that logic, as the S7 edge slipped out of my pocket enough times to crack. While the first crack wasn’t so bad, the next time it dropped completely ruined the look of the S7 edge. Replacing the glass doesn’t come cheap. Already an expensive phone at $750, it would cost another $270 to get the glass replaced by Samsung. Luckily my display glass was not cracked, it only cracked on the front corner as the curve does not withstand falls well, and the entire back shattered entirely.
Replacing the glass would be a nice option if I had a spare $270 laying around, but chances are I would crack the glass again anyways.
Earlier in the year I tried out dbrand skins on my Nexus 5X and 6P (you can read the full reviews by clicking on the hyperlinks). They elevated my Nexus devices to a different level and also gave my phones a unique and stylish look that stood apart from the stock crowd. I turned to dbrand once again to give my S7 edge new life.
dbrand skins
dbrand offers a wide selection of skins made from the highest quality materials from 3M. It takes no chances on quality and dbrand’s customer service is top notch. There are plenty of reddit feeds that can attest to the quality, price, look, fit and responsive customer service of drband skins. The wide selection of materials offered range in metal, stone, wood, leather, matte, carbon fiber and true color.
dbrand sent me a decent range of materials to choose from for my S7 edge, and whatever I didn’t use is to giveaway to you readers who want to update the look of their S7 edge. Or better yet, giveaway the skins to readers who cracked their glass just like I did.
The dbrand wood grain skin is legit. I have it up against the House of Marley Get Up Stand Up real wood speaker, and as you can see the grain on the dbrand skin looks as real as the speaker, just a different color stain. There are even real grooves in the skin itself which truly sets this skin off.
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The leather looks so real, I even had 10 of my friends verify the look. They all agreed that it looked like genuine leather.
The cleanest look is probably the Matte finish, which is perfect for those who prefer to keep their devices understated. The Matte finish does offer a little texture which makes the S7 edge much more grippable.
My favorite look of the bunch is the carbon fiber, particularly the bright orange. I am always misplacing my phone, but the orange stands out no matter where I leave it.
Installation is super easy. dbrand provides a cleaning cloth and instructions on its YouTube Channel which I have included below. dbrand includes a video for every device it sells skins for as each phone, tablet and computer are slightly different.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5-icPEyjsc?feature=oembed&w=640&h=360]
I am the type of person who hates putting on screen protectors. I don’t have the patience nor the dexterity to apply them without getting massive bubbles under the surface. However dbrand skins take me no longer than five minutes to install, and quite frankly, I’m probably slow. Once you watch the tutorial, installation is a breeze.
You basically just need to align the perfectly cut skin to the corners and camera, then apply pressure to have it stick firmly in place. If you don’t place it right on the first, second or even fifth try, simply lift off and realign until you get it right. The glue doesn’t come off and can be reapplied until you heat it up.
Once aligned, you take a hair dryer to warm up the skin and make it more malleable and then put the corners in place around the rounded edges of the S7 edge. Once you rub the sides down with the included cloth, you cannot feel any of the skins edges around the phone. The skin fits so perfectly that it now looks like my S7 edge was made out of real carbon fiber.
The one piece front skin is easy to install too. There are two versions that dbrand offers, a one piece front skin, or a split version without the edge pieces. I opted for the one piece that fits around the entire front of the phone.
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After watching the video, I installed the white carbon fiber on the front to contrast the bright orange on the back. I didn’t really want to stare at a bright orange skin when I used my S7 edge. Installation of the front was just as easy as the back, even with the curved glass on the smartphone.
The results speak for themselves. Check the images below.
If you don’t plan on using your fingerprint reader, you can cover it with the included cutout provided by dbrand so it will match the rest of your phone. The front capacitive buttons on the S7 edge still work while covered, or you can use dbrand’s seperate bottom piece with cutouts so you can see the illuminated buttons underneath. I opted for full coverage since it gave my S7 edge a complete look.
I can’t say enough about how great dbrand skins are, from precision cutting to premium materials, dbrand does it all the right way. Skins aren’t pricey, as they cost just $14.85 for complete coverage of your S7 edge. dbrand also makes skins for a wide variety of gadgets as well and it has a custom skin builder for each device as well. That way you can see how your skins will look before you commit to a purchase.
I’m giving away the extra dbrand skins to two lucky readers. In order to win, you must be a US resident (sorry international readers), and you need to make a comment below telling us how much you love dbrand skins. You’ll get bonus points for retweeting this post and including @dbrandskins in the tweet as well. I’ll be giving away one wood grain and one leather grain to two readers. I already used the carbon fiber, so don’t ask for that since I don’t have it to giveaway.
If you don’t want to, or cannot afford to fix your cracked glass, or simply just want to make your phone look badass, you cannot go wrong with dbrand skins. They look and feel like the real deal and are extremely affordable.
Head on over to dbrand.com to learn more.