Iam not a fan of putting my phones in a case. Those who know me well have often remarked how I don’t like to put a case on my iPhones. It has just been that way over the years, and there is something about feeling the mix of glass and metal in your hand when you use the phone. Except perhaps fine quality leather. No silicon or plastic cases can ever match that. I wasn’t exactly sure how I’d take to it when the good folks over at Dutch designer label Mujjo sent over a leather case for the new iPhone 12 Pro Max. But hey, spoiler alert—they are a great alternative to just about any other leather case you may be eyeing for your new iPhone 12, including Apple’s own Leather Case with MagSafe options that are priced around Rs 5,900 for the iPhone 12 series. Mujjo’s Full Leather Case for the iPhone 12 Pro Max is priced at €41.24 (around Rs 3,705 plus shipping). And I absolutely don’t mind having these on my phone.

In fact, Mujjo has the Full Leather Wallet Case and the Full Leather Case options for all the new Apple iPhones, the iPhone 12 Mini, the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. These cases are priced €37.11 onwards, which roughly translates to around Rs 3,200 for the Full Leather Case and €41.24 for the Full Leather Wallet Case. The Mujjo leather case range for the entire iPhone 12 series is available in Black, Tan and Monaco Blue colours, while there is also a Slate Green option for the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro.

The Mujjo cases are made with full-grain vegetable tanned leather and on the inside is a Japanese microfiber layer. The packing and way you take these out of the uncomplicated, yet classy packing just tells you that sophistication is what Mujjo is going for here, and very successfully while at it. The leather case feels great to hold and there is just that extra strengthening of the side walls to give the case the right amount of robustness while not becoming a pain to deploy or remove the case from the iPhone. This is a very nice textured leather that feels great to hold, and most definitely offers more grip than some leather cases I have tried till now.

The microfiber layer on the inside is to protect the phone from the case which may touch it at some point. The fiber layer will also come in handy to lock in the dust particles that may find their way inside eventually, and not let them scratch against the back of the iPhone till you take off the case at regular intervals and dust everything down. The cases themselves don’t add much weight, unlike other heavier leather cases.

The cases have a 1mm extra height around the edges of the screen to protect the iPhone 12 series in case you like to keep your iPhone upside down on tables etc. There is also similar protection for the camera module at the back. This comes in handy, because without the case, the iPhone 12 rests on the camera module when without a case. The glass is robust enough to not catch scratches, but why take the risk.

The Mujjo cases are not exactly MagSafe compatible, but it somewhat works. If you have the Apple MagSafe wireless magnetic charger or intend to buy one, that will be able to charge your iPhone with the Mujjo leather case in place. However, I did notice that the MagSafe doesn’t stick as tightly as with Apple’s own leather cases. Be a bit careful, because the clang of the MagSafe detaching and dropping on the table as you pick up your phone to answer a message, can be quite loud. I don’t have an Apple iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe accessory to try with the Mujjo leather case, but from what I’ve seen with the MagSafe, wouldn’t really recommend leaving your credit cards at the mercy of slightly iffy magnetic pull. Having said that, the lack of MagSafe compatibility may not really matter to a lot of iPhone 12 buyers, who will anyway still rely on the good old charging cable to juice up the phone’s battery. And if you happen to have a Qi enabled wireless charger, these cases work seamlessly with that.

You also have the option of the Full Leather Wallet Case and Mujjo says the slot has enough space for as many as three credit cards, for instance. The Full Leather Case and the Full Leather Wallet Case are available for the 5.4-inch screen size Apple iPhone 12 Mini, the 6.7-inch screen size Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max and Mujjo says, the same cases will work for the 6.1-inch screen size iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro. Lots of colour choices too, including the Tan (which is photographed here), the gorgeous Monaco Blue, the uncomplicated Black and the subtle Slate Green, depending on which iPhone you are buying a case for.