Draco Design Draco IV aluminum bumper case for iPhone 4 / 4S review

Ricardo Trejo Nov 9, 2011 Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Us Accessories, Apple, Exclusive, Gadgets, Japan, Okay Geek Review, Reviews, iPhone

There are iPhone cases and then there are Draco Design iPhone cases. These bad boys are nothing like you’ve ever seen, even needing a bit of physical labor on your part to get them on and off your Apple mobile. Designed as a piece of eye-candy — not much unlike that of an exotic sports-car, which you might get your phone mistaken for by the way, kinda the way people thought I was carrying around a mini-Ferrari in my hands — the Draco IV is a specialty case that oozes a sexy, yet utilitarian feel… but how does it do practically?

Features

• Designed by Deff Japan
• Constructed of durable aluminum
• Assembly required (you don’t hear that often in an iPhone case)
• Fits onto any style iPhone 4 or 4S, regardless of provider (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon)

Our Impressions

The packaging is quite light; just the bumper case, which is actually two parts put together with two screws — the rest of it includes a small plastic bag filled with buttons, a switch, extra screws, and a hex wrench.

This is where the assembly required part comes into play, and what’s unfortunate is that the provided instructions on the back of the case don’t give much insight on just what you’re supposed to do. The entire time I was fiddling around with the buttons I had no idea if I was doing it correctly. It wasn’t until we received an email from Draco themselves that gave us the proper procedures on how to procede with our installation of the iPhone’s new sexy exterior.

Installation instructions:

1.1 Insert the silent switch, volume buttons and power button into the case first, and hold the case horizontally.
1.2 Make sure your phone’s silent switch is at OFF/SILENT position.
1.3 Carefully slide the phone side way into the case until the phone is pushed all the way in.
1.4 Put the other case piece onto the phone, and make sure both case pieces are securely attached with each other.
1.5 Before putting in the lock screws, press and hold both case pieces together tightly, and test the buttons and the switch.

Accessibility

All ports and buttons are accessible when the case is on, including the micro-SIM tray. However, whether they’re easily accesible is a whole other matter!

As the instructions mention, you’re going to be inserting metal buttons that match the bumper case’s style that covers up the iPhone’s original buttons and switches. While they look great and sleek along with the rest of the Draco IV, the buttons are a little loose and jiggle around.

As for the power button, it’s a bit recessed into the case, most likely on purpose to ensure you don’t accidentally lock it with a graze. That unfortunately is a killer for me, since I usually lock my phone each time I finish a text to converse battery life. So having to use my fingernail just to lock the phone is pretty sucky design. 

The headphone jack is another issue, being deeply sunk underneath walls of aluminum, meaning your listening device is going to require a straight audio plug, which is unfortunate if you’re using Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones as they have plugs that orient to the side — as seen here.

Comfort

While the phone may look like a super sexy piece of art while wearing the Draco IV, comfort was one of the features that apparently had to be sacrificed in the name of good looks. The rounded off edges are fat and wide, taking a bigger hand grip to hold your phone. Not only that, but the exact size of the phone itself along with the case made it feel like it was hitting a nerve between our fingers while we held and texted with one hand. Just picking up the phone while it laid flat on our desk seemed to be an uncomfortable and unnatural experience, something that shouldn’t be the case with any iPhone bumper regardless of how great it looks.  

Reception

Aluminum cases have been notorius for attenuating the iPhone’s reception. Kinda counter-productive, seeing as bumper cases were first thought up to fix the “death grip”, “antenna-gate” conspiracy that has plagued iPhone 4’s since their release. During our time with the Draco IV we had occasions where the aluminum casing had a hit or miss effect on our iPhone’s reception. At times taking on and off the case did nothing to add or subtract any bars, and yet at other times we’d be down to two bars and only after removing the Draco did we return back to a full tank of 5 bars.

Overall

The Draco IV may just be one of the sleekest, sexiest bumper cases we’ve ever laid our eyes upon. However, practically and functionalisty always goes ahead of looks in our book. With that being the case, it’s hard to recommend the Draco IV based on its appeal alone. Our opinion of the case changed drastically when it become more than just something our eyes could behold — as soon as we picked it up we realized it couldn’t be something we would use on a day to day basis. 

Pro’s

• Easily one of the most beautifully crafted and designed bumper cases we’ve ever seen
• Made out of sturdy and durable aluminum

Con’s

• Really uncomfortable to hold
• Headphone jack is recessed too deeply for some headphone plugs to reach
• Randomly has issues with reception

Where to buy

Draco Design USA — MSRP: $79

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This review was done by Ricardo Trejo, who was given a Draco case by Draco Design Inc.