I am completely aware that we are all about the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro that were released recently, but during this past week, I had the opportunity to purchase and use a new-to-me OtterBox case on my iPhone 15 Plus. The OtterBox Lumen Passport case.
Being the Anglophile that I am, after seeing this case online on OtterBox’s website and that it had a map of London, I knew I had to get it. It also helps that I could pay for it with Apple Pay too. The company sells New York City, Paris, and Tokyo too.
Before the purchase of the Lumen Passport case, I was using the OtterBox Defender XT case on my iPhone 15 Plus that I had purchased the same night that I got the phone. I have nothing against this case either, just that I wanted something new and different in my life.
Once I received the Lumen case a few days later, I put it on my iPhone and that’s when my iPhone experience changed. It additionally helps that iOS 26 had just been released by the time that I got the case, so it was another excuse to use my phone more.
When it comes to the design of this case, I do both love and hate that the back is clear and transparent. It works if you have an iPhone that is a brighter color, but when you have one like mine that is simply black, then you cannot see the map on the back of the case all that well. As it stands currently, my map of London looks more like “London at Night.”
I think the folks over at OtterBox should have tried to put some form of white outline around the map to highlight it better for those of us that have darker-colored iPhones.
An added bonus is that it does have little pictures of the iconic Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace on the map.
Still, when holding the case in my hand, it does not feel too slippery which is a nice. I certainly do not want to have the thing be falling out of my hand and potentially damaging the case or the phone.
Thankfully, even without the front screen protector, OtterBox has always been known to make durable cases for smartphones and tablets, and this case here is not exception to that. It is not as durable or protective as an OtterBox Defender case, but it certainly beats one of those cheap plastic cases you might find at a Walmart, Target, or Dollar General for $10-15.
Another part that I do like about the Lumen case is the side buttons. When using Defender cases previously, I have always found that it took a while to get the buttons working and having to press hard on them to get those buttons to do their basic functions. With the Lumen case, they’re simple and can be pressed lightly with no friction or pressure issues for my fingers.
Lastly, while I am certainly old fashioned in the sense that I still prefer to charge my iPhone each night with a USB-C cable plugged into it, it is good that the Lumen case does have support for MagSafe charging.
Overall, I’ll give this case 4/5 stars. The color issue for those with the darker iPhones is a drawback, but for those who have a brightly-colored iPhone, they should see no issues with it on that front.
Outside of that, it is a nice, durable on the rear-side case that looks and feels great in the hand. As for the map on the back, it might not only give you a piece of London (for the case I bought), but perhaps make you feel a bit more cultured as well.
Rating: 4/5 stars
