Hands-on: This case adds a customizable e-ink display to your iPhone [Video]

There are thousands, maybe even millions, of iPhone cases on the market. They come in all shapes, sizes, materials, and some are even multifunctional. But these days, it’s rare to see a case do something genuinely different and something that is more than just a gimmick. So when I saw the new XTREME E-Ink case, I knew I had to check this thing out. It claimed that you could instantly customize your case with any image, without needing batteries or a connection to your iPhone, and that it remained the same thickness as any other iPhone case you see today. After using this case, I can say that it has fully delivered and it’s awesome. Here is how it works.

Be sure to check out our hands-on video to see how this works!

At first glance, the XTREM E-Ink case looks like any other well-designed iPhone case. It has some nice, unique design accents, including a cool camera-bump cutout, a MagSafe ring, a red-accented action button, and a camera-control cover. The material has a nice soft-touch rubber feel, and it makes your iPhone feel protected. But the superpower is what is in the MagSafe ring. Here is what you get:

• Battery-free circular color E-Ink display
• NFC-powered with no charging required
• Wireless image transfers through the G-SHELL app
• Soft-touch plastic material with reinforced frame
• Full MagSafe and Qi charging compatibility
• Comes in black, white, and orange

Before we get into the e-ink display and how it works, the most impressive part is how normal the case feels. I expected a built-in e-ink display to make it bulky and thick, but XTREM managed to keep the design thinner than most regular cases while maintaining all the MagSafe capabilities, like charging and using MagSafe accessories. Another aspect I noticed is that they have cases for the iPhone 15 and newer. Most new cases only come for the newer iPhone 17 lineup, so it is nice to see that even older iPhones can get a case like this. In everyday use, it just looks like a nice regular case, but it has some magic built in.

How does this work?

The setup for this is very easy. You are prompted to download the G-Shell app and create an account. Once that is set up, you put the case on your iPhone and “pair” the case to the iPhone. I put “pair” in quotes because you are not really tying the case to the phone, and it is not a constant connection; it is more of an experience to help onboard people to the app. From there, you can begin customizing! You can take a photo in real time, choose an image from your photo library, or select from 1000s of preloaded images from XTREM’s collection.

The way this works is so simple, yet genius. There are no cables to connect, no batteries to charge, and no noticeable impact on your iPhone’s battery life. Everything works through NFC, which honestly feels a bit like magic. When you select the image you want to cast to the back of the case, an NFC connection is initiated. This is the same connection you use with Apple Pay, and when tapping your phone to unlock a smart lock. During this NFC connection, a small amount of energy is used to initiate the process, enabling the image to be sent to the iPhone case. It takes about 15 seconds for the entire process to happen. Seeing the process happen is very cool. You can see the colors shift to find the right color combo. I recommend watching our video to see it in action.

My experience

I am using this alongside my iPhone 17 Pro, and I went with the white XTREM case, which I think it looks great with the cosmic orange iPhone. I put this case through the wringer to see whether there were any limits on how much I could change the image, whether changing too much too often would cause it to stumble, or whether it might generate heat from the constant changes. And after cycling through 100s of images, I can confidently report that this case handled it all perfectly.

I tested this case with family photos, sports logos, Pokémon artwork, and AI-generated creations. You can pretty much put anything you want on the back of the case. One of my main worries is that the E-Ink display would not offer enough saturation or clarity because of the nature of E-Ink. While it is not the same as an OLED display, the colors are surprisingly rich, vibrant, and plenty saturated once the image settles in. Also, the display transitions are fun to watch in real time (my daughter loved seeing this change), and the end result is much more impressive than I initially expected.

My final worry was the MagSafe connection, more specifically, the charging. Because now, there is an E-Ink display between the iPhone and the charger. But everything worked great. I was still able to charge at the full 25W of speed; the phone did not overheat from the charging, and the E-Ink display did not seem to cause any issues with MagSafe charging. Of course, all non-charging MagSafe accessories still work as intended with zero compromises.

Lastly, there is a small social aspect to the G-shell app. You can share your profile with others, and you can save each other’s designs to use on your own iPhone. Feel free to give me a follow on there! You can also use their AI image generation tool to convert real images into animated art styles, which I have used a few times. It’s a fun tool to use, but you can just find any image on Google and use it as you wish.

Pricing and availability

As I mentioned, the XTREM E-ink display is made for all iPhones from iPhone 15 and newer. The only exception is that they do not have a model for the iPhone Air. It comes in three different colors: White (my favorite), Black, and Orange. It is available on Amazon and their Website for $74.

Final thoughts

This case really blew me away because it’s so fun. It’s a normal case when you need it to be, but it can also be a conversation starter when you want it to be. It’s fun, it’s super simple to use, the idea is so simple, but it really adds a new layer of interaction between your iPhone and your case. The case is also a nice breath of fresh air in a product category that has gotten a bit boring over the years. The XTREM E-Ink Case gets my recommendation because it delivers a unique experience without adding friction, and it will forever adapt to your liking.

Premium cases these days can run you up to $100. So the fact that you can get this case for around $70 and it has all these unique differentiator features makes this an easy recommendation. What do you think? Do you think this is a gimmick? Do you think this could be useful? Let’s discuss below.

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