The OnePlus 5 gets you high-end specs for less money than Sony, Google or Samsung charge. But this is still no cheap phone, so you’ll want to keep it safe.
As ever, OnePlus has made a wide range of first-party cases. There are shells that barely add any bulk and still protect your OnePlus 5 from scratches, and others that protect the phone front and back.
There are also a number of third-party cases available if you fancy straying from OnePlus’s own gear.
Below, you’ll find several recommendations that cover a wide range of budgets and style preferences. While some of these options are untested, they are each a cut above the rest due to their value and design, and are backed by positive consumer feedback.
Note: we've ranked these from cheapest to most expensive according to prices at time of writing.
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If your bank account is still stinging from paying for your OnePlus 5, Orzly offers one of the cheapest cases going, the FlexiCase.
It’s a simple one-layer TPU skin, which is rubberized, flexible and able to soak up some impact force.
Orzly makes the same case for a whole host of other phones. It comes in various colors and there’s also a clear version if you want to be able to see your OnePlus 5’s lines underneath.
Budget champ Orzly also makes a high-protection case for those worried about accidentally flinging their OnePlus 5 into a wall.
The Orzly Fusion Bumper has the rubbery sides of a traditional bumper case for good impact protection, but also has a hard plastic plate on the back to keep the rear of the OnePlus 5 scratch-free.
Like any bumper, this case will add to the width of the OnePlus 5, but there is a completely clear version if you want to keep as much of the phone’s look intact as possible. Orzly also makes cases with black and red side parts.
Let’s be honest, you’re not going trick your eyes into thinking there’s no case on the clear version, so you might as well embrace the color highlights if those shades appeal.
This is the classic OnePlus case, because it mimics the sandstone finish of the first two generations of OnePlus phones. The first thing to get out of the way: it’s not made of stone.
OnePlus’s sandstone finish is a roughened plastic that feels a little fuzzy, providing quite a different impression to basic plastic. As OnePlus itself explains, the case is made of polycarbonate.
Polycarbonate is simply a breed of plastic, but it’s impact-resistant, explaining why it’s used so widely in phones. Surprisingly, the Sandstone case is actually slightly heavier than the other OnePlus shell cases at 16g. It’s still a very light case, though.
This one doesn’t protect the screen so you might want to consider a screen protector. We’ve had issues with previous sandstone cases where the finish started getting bashed off at the edges too, so don’t expect it to look perfect forever. It is the cheapest of the OnePlus shells, though.
If you want full-phone protection from an official OnePlus case, the Flip model is what you’re after.
It’s a classic flip design that comes in black and grey, using a polycarbonate (plastic) frame built into the leather-effect cover. The OnePlus 5’s screen gets protected from your keys while in your pocket, and the slight excess of fabric around the edges of the case will soak up some impact damage.
There’s room for a credit or travel card in the inside of the case, and your phone will automatically wake when the top is flipped open.
Despite the realistic-looking stitching, this isn’t a real leather case, though. The outer is polyurethane, which doesn’t age as well as real leather. This case weighs 52g, and naturally adds some bulk.
You might assume the OnePlus 5 Silicone Case would be the simplest and cheapest option going, but it’s actually the same price as the Sandstone case and is not just a basic silicone skin.
This case has a core of harder polycarbonate and an outer of silicone for a good combo of impact and scratch protection. It’s a little heavier and bulkier than the other shells, but is still much more svelte than most third-party cases.
It weighs 28g and increases thickness to 9.8mm. However, it’ll provide better impact protection than, for example, the wood veneer models.
The OnePlus 5’s wood cases are perhaps the most striking you’ll find. They’re light and simple, but the wood grain adds a natural spin on something made in the millions in a factory in China.
This is the darker of the two wooden cases OnePlus makes for the 5, in stained Ebony. It’s a true dark wood look.
It’s designed to add very little bulk or weight to the phone, at just 11g. Points to consider include that it doesn’t add masses of protection, and may crack more easily than a pure plastic case, and that OnePlus’s wood cases tend to be a little difficult to remove from the phone.
Unlike the wood cases made for the OnePlus 3, there’s apparently Kevlar reinforcement here according to OnePlus’s documentation.
The OnePlus shell case that looks the hardiest is the Karbon. The naming is deliberate, not just a cutesy fudging of “carbon fiber”. OnePlus is out to give you the neat look of carbon fiber, but actually uses Kevlar strands to reinforce a polycarbonate base.
This won’t make your OnePlus 5 bulletproof, but does provide a scratch-resistant, funky-looking and tactile surface for this slim case.
Like the wood shells, the Karbon case weighs just 11g and adds very little bulk to the OnePlus 5.
The first-party OnePlus 5 case that juggles a slick look with protection the most effectively is the Karbon Bumper.
It’s different to its brother the Karbon Protective Case because it’s a mix of Kevlar and rubber rather than Kevlar and harder plastic. As such it’ll absorb impacts more effectively. And you get a softer feel.
The downside is that it is a bit larger and thicker than the standard Karbon case. It bulks up the OnePlus 5 to 9.2mm thickness. That’s not Hulk-like, but does mean you lose a bit of that ultra-slim feel.
Its protection level is significantly better, though, and the Karbon bumper still only weighs 20g.
OtterBox is one of the biggest names in third-party cases, specializing in models that get you much better protection than the average phone case. Its OnePlus 5 case effectively flips around what the first-party silicone case does.
Mirroring the techniques of the OtterBox Defender models, there’s an inner buffer of silicone and a harder outer shell of polycarbonate. This provides great impact protection as the harder outer spreads the force over a greater area of the inner rubbery silicone, dispersing it.
OnePlus calls it “surprisingly sleek and stylish”, but compared with its own cases, the OtterBox model radically alters the feel and shape of the phone. It adds 55g weight and bulks-up the thickness to 13.5mm. That’s not bad for a true rugged case, but it won’t be for everyone.
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