With Christmas approaching, many will be asking jolly old St. Nick for a new smartphone this holiday season and undeniably the most sought after and perhaps the cream of the crop is the new iPhone X.

The emperor with his all glass design may be beautiful but he is simply begging for some new clothes as the need to protect your $1000 investment is paramount.

We have compiled the Ultimate Guide to the best iPhone X cases on the market. We have divided the offerings into 3 categories – Protection, Style, and Wallet.

Protection:

If you are in the market for a case that is built to withstand whatever life can throw at it including the unintentional drop then you can look no further than offerings from both Urban Armor Gear and Nomad.

The runner up in this category is Nomad’s Rugged case. Made from high grade polycarbonate fused to a rubber TPE bumper, which provides full perimeter and screen protection, the case is also covered in beautiful Horween leather and can withstand drops of up to 10feet. What we liked is that the case is also compatible with wireless charging and the more you use it, the more the leather will patina making it look even more stunning than it already does. Our only criticism of the rugged case is the very small cut-out for the mute/silent switch which we hope will be fixed in future iterations.

The winner though must be the tried and tested Urban Armor Gear Pathfinder case which has been on every version of our iPhone since the 5s. The feather light composite construction, impact resistant soft core and oversized tactile buttons & easy access to ports give you that reassurance that your phone will remain safe no matter what. It also meets military drop standards which is peace of mind for a new phone owner.

Style:

If you are more about the aesthetic and less about wanting your phone to withstand a drop, then you need to check out the offerings by Twelve South and Speck.

While this was a very close battle, the runner up must go to Twelve South’s Relaxed leather case. The very classy genuine leather case is completely unique thanks to hand burnishing along the edges and corners. Inside, quilted interior microfiber lines a 5-sided recessed shell that keeps your iPhone like new. Two pockets on the back of the case also mean you can roll out the door with your iPhone, ID and debit card safely tucked into the leather shell. We especially love the color options for this case, the blue we have is quite striking, but our only reservation here though was that the leather was slippery and we constantly felt like the case was going to slide through our hands.

The champion in this round, therefore, must go to Speck’s Presidio grip case. This one is the perfect combination of protection, grip, and style. Its slim construction offers up to 10 feet drop protection and its unique design motif with its protective rubber non-slip grip pads mean you will have to work had to drop this thing. We especially love the awesome color combinations, the new matte finish and lifetime warranty. This is a beautiful all rounder guaranteed to catch the eye when flashed about town.

Wallet:

We are a big fan of multipurpose cases, especially when it means we can free up our pockets of an annoying wallet along the way. The best wallet/folio offerings come from Safesleeve, Nomad and Moshi.

Nomad, again make our list with it’s beautiful folio case complete with an all leather and polycarbonate construction. The 3 card and cash slots make this a go to when it comes to traveling. Our only concern is the lack of a means to fasten the wallet closed. We found that the more you load up the folio, the more the top flap stays open and this was concerning in the event of a fall.

Tied in the runner up spot is SafeSleeve’s Detachable folio wallet case. While this may not have that premium leather construction, it does feature lab tested radiation protection, RFID blocking, a convertible stand — and offers the ability to magnetically remove the protective inner case for mounting. We really love that you can detach the inner case if you want don’t need the wallet add on. Unfortunately, though, the inner case does not offer much in the way of screen protection in the event of a fall with the sides suffering from a flush to screen construction. Also, the magnet holding the inner case occasionally failed on us and the phone slipped free.

The winner in this category therefore must go to Moshi’s Overture wallet. The overture has been around for some time now and they have managed to nail down what could be the best folio out there. The elegant wallet case is carefully created by combining a weather-proof and durable exterior with a soft Terahedron microfiber lining, all reinforced with a shatter-proof polycarbonate frame that offers military-grade drop-protection. It also features a convenient folding stand designed for watching videos. Where Moshi improves on the Nomad case is that even though this too does not have a clasping mechanism, the outer flap is slightly larger and therefore sits more comfortably over the inner frame even when loaded with cards and cash.

An honorable mention must also go to another Twelve South offering, their journal case. The full-grain, hard wearing leather construction coupled with the incorporated composite shell that holds the iPhone also has a beautifully crafted leather inlay. It too has slots for cards, cash and a window for your ID. Resembling a journal notebook, this case sure is a looker but suffers from the inability to truly fold the outer flap behind the phone due to a ridiculous hard spine, this makes taking a call particularly difficult if that is your thing.

Verdict:
At the end of the day, all of these offerings will give you varying degrees of protection and functionality for your new iPhone. While we are rocking the Speck Presidio case right now, our heart truly has been won by Moshi’s offering and really adds that extra level of class this phone deserves.