The Twelve South SurfacePad gets better the more it breaks

Back in December I reviewed the Twelve South SurfacePad and I concluded by saying the following-

It has taken me a very long time to try the SurfacePad, but I am glad I did and my iPhone 11 Pro currently resides in it. For days indoors and for when popping to the shops and a credit card is required (just in case Apple Pay has a bad moment) it is a decent solution. More than that, it is an emotionally positive product and that is rare in the world of phone cases.

Remarkably, for me at least, it is still attached to my iPhone and it is likely to stay that way for some time. It has proved to be a practical proposition and it feels comfortable to use in almost any given situation with the only issue being the lack of a magnet to use it in the car when navigating.

I resolved that problem by using a very sharp knife, cutting the seem in the back and carefully slotting a magnet in between the two layers. The iPhone is now held securely in the car and, crucially, the case cover stays out of the way all of the time which is not always the case with this style of accessory.

What has made me really like this case, however, is the way it has aged. The leather has softened nicely and the wear and tear adds greatly to the overall look. The darkening of the edges is obviously down to a bit of grime, but it’s my grime and it looks great. It all brings a sense of use and age to a product that is protecting an emotionless piece of technology, and it really has grown on me. At no point has the sticky mechanism threatened to come loose and the more I use it, the better value it feels and the more I appreciate it.

Easily the best phone case I have used to date.