Phone cases are a dime a dozen, and most don't go out of the way to look too unique. Occasionally, you might find a really nice thin case or one that slaps your favorite movie characters on the back, but what if you removed 90% of the case and could still protect your phone?
I first heard of the Arc Pulse case when the company teased its Galaxy S25 Arc Pulse case a few days ago, and while that case isn't available yet, the company does sell its cases for the Galaxy S24 series, Google Pixel 9 series, and several different iPhones.
These ultra-minimalist cases are built out of Aluminum 7075-T6 and feature a rubber-like Elastomer inlay to keep them snuggly attached to the phone at all times. The case design is so outlandish there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to test it, and I'm sure glad I did.
The drop test
Let's just get right to business, shall we?
I don't often drop test phones in cases because so many cases are very similar, but Arc Pulse is a different beast entirely. For the test, I dropped the phone on three different flooring types: a wood floor, an area rug placed on concrete, and bare concrete. I dropped it at pocket height, roughly 3ft, and at head height, roughly 6ft, to simulate the two most common ways someone might drop their phone.
To my surprise, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL was spotless after all these drops. No scratches, cracks, or any other damage was found, and the case's unique design is surprisingly effective.
The case is designed to primarily protect the corners of the phone, with a lip around the front and back to keep the glass surfaces from coming into contact with any surface.
Of course, being so exposed in most places means that it will certainly not survive a drop onto an uneven surface if the screen or back glass hits a rock or something similar. In other words, you'll want to pair this case with one of the best Google Pixel 9 Pro XL screen protectors to ensure that screen doesn't get shattered.
Because of the metal construction, the Arc Pulse case feels incredibly high quality and is as shiny as those side rails on your Pixel 9, matching the aesthetic quite nicely. Corner coverage works well because of the weight, helping ensure it most often falls on one of the corners rather than flat on the front or back.
I've purposefully dropped it about a dozen times now and haven't seen a time when it fell flat on its face or back. Even if I dropped the phone flat, it would angle to one of the corners naturally before hitting the ground.
After several drops on the concrete, a crack developed in the top left corner of the Arc Pulse case. This isn't terribly surprising given the sheer weight of the phone and the case together being dropped on hard concrete. Metal is more protective but it's also more rigid than the usual materials used to make a phone case.
The result is the potential to crack if dropped on other rigid surfaces a lot, but the case has still held together very well despite this damage. Despite the ultra minimalist coverage, I'm super confident about the Arc Pulse case's ability to protect my phone. I was extremely nervous dropping it on concrete but it survived every attempt without scratching or damaging the phone at all, even from 6ft up. That, alone, is worth a recommendation!
Hate cases but still need protection? The Arc Pulse case might be just the thing you're looking for. With an aluminum build and protective elastomer layers, this ultra-minimalist case will keep your phone surprisingly well protected.
