Hands-on with Luriax’s luxurious suede-like iPhone 18 Pro case [Deal]

There are 8 million different leather and plastic iPhone 18 Pro cases out there, but not very many quite like these Luriax models. They are finished with a soft and luxurious suede-like material, and here are my personal thoughts after testing them out with Apple’s pro-grade handset.

Review: Hands-on with Luriax’s suede-like iPhone 18 Pro cases

Features at glance:

• Fully wrapped in Italian-engineered Alcantara, carbon-neutral certified
• Lined in Alcantara, the same material inside and out
• Rigid shell with 360° coverage takes the force of a drop
• Raised screen edges and a 2.5mm raised camera frame in black aluminum
• Slim, minimal profile
• Buttons in black aluminum
• MagSafe & wireless charging compatible
• Water, stain & heat resistant

The Luriax Phone 18 Pro cases come in two flavors, The Signature with a full Alcantara wrapped right up over the camera bump bezel and a handcrafted finish, and the The Modern that comes in at a much lower price point with nearly identical suede-like finish – the main discernible difference here is the 2.5mm raised camera frame in black aluminum. 

Outside of the price, but the only overly noticeable difference to my eye is the camera frame and the color options. 

I personally prefer the edge-to-edge suede-like wrap here, but it’s hard to warrant the extra spend just for that and the black aluminum does look nice on the Modern – you also can’t get the sweet burgundy-like Bordeaux colorway on The Signature, as far as I can tell. 

The same black aluminum carries over to the button covers on the outside of the case – the look luxurious, function perfectly, and deliver a satisfying clicky feel. 

All told, and as if it wasn’t already obvious with all of the above out of the way, it’s all about the Alcantara finish here. As detailed in our exclusive deal coverage for the 18 Pro cases, the brand says it is the same material “Ferrari chose for its interiors,” delivering a suede-like feel but also a more robust and durable one. 

I really like the look and feel here. It is luxurious and soft, and perhaps most a notable of all, something different – after reviewing hundreds of leather and plastic cases over the years, this is a nice change of pace. It’s not the first of its kind as far as fabric cases go, but it’s the first time I have used something quite like this, and I’m very much liking what I see here. It has already elicited some questions and favorable comments from on-lookers. 

While largely positive, friends and family members have asked the same questions I have: 

What happens if it gets wet? So far so good here, some light water drops I placed on it seem to dissipate and mostly wick away rather easily.

Is it going to get all scratched up? So far so good here too, nothing major after handling it for a few days, going in and out my pockets loaded with all sorts of keys and other junk. 

Does the magnetic action still work? Yes, MagSafe accessories and chargers work perfectly through the Alcantara. 

And how much did that thing cost? I don’t know…I got for FREE to review. Kidding, The Signature feels overpriced to me, and I wish The Modern was more like $50, but our exclusive discount code softens the blow a bit. 

While the brand seems quite confident here, there are still some questions surrounding durability with this suede-like approach. It doesn’t seem like it can easily get scratched up in your pocket with a set of keys and hasn’t yet for me, but it’s hard to say what this thing is going to look like in 5 or 6 months from now. 

I have, clearly, not had a chance to test it out for that long yet, but it does, at least seem like it’s going to stand the test of time to some degree. I doubt the sort of patina that might develop on a material like this would be desirable the way it might on a good piece of leather, but you would think if it is being used in car interiors that it would be able to stay in decent shape for some time. 

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