I've developed something of a matra in the last few years when it comes to my gear: life's too short for boring tech. My Bluetooth headphones with USB-C are an eye-catching blue-white pattern. My Chromebook is a compact, shimmery white darling. I wear a navy blue shoulder holster, because heaven forbid cute, well-fitting pants have pockets big enough for a Samsung Galaxy S10 or OnePlus 6T!
This mantra goes double for my phone cases. I've got over two dozen cases sitting on my desk for review, but when my Galaxy S10 arrived, the first case that went on it was a case I knew from the second I saw it was going to be bold and beautiful on it: the rugged and ruggedly handsome Ringke Fusion in Aqua Blue.
I love it when I'm right; this case is a diamond.
The Good
- Great, grippy feel in hand
- Excellent drop protection
- Mirror-finish back hides flaws
- Aqua Blue matches Prism Blue
- Sleek protection
The Bad
- Clear back is a fingerprint magnet
- Headphone cutout could be larger
Down to a (nuclear) science
Ringke Fusion What I love
When looking at clear cases, it can feel a lot like shopping for vodka: you're looking for something odorless and colorless that will get out of the way and showcase the drink/device it's added to without adding any odd, sour notes. Like vodka, there's a lot of cheap, tasteless clear case trash out there, but the real winners are those that bring a unique flair and finish to their crystalline contenders, and Ringke's Fusion is absolutely a winner on the Galaxy S10.
The Ringke Fusion is absolutely a winner on the Galaxy S10.
The Fusion is the slimmer, less imposing sibling of the Fusion-X, and as such it's got smoother angles, smaller corners, and a more refined look compared to the heavy-duty X. But don't let that smoother, slimmer look fool you: the Fusion is easy and excellent to grip. I've been swapping between the Fusion and Onyx — as well as a few Spigen and Grip2ü — and the Fusion has my favorite bumper grip so far, and buttons are still nice and clicky without any difficulty when double-clicking for the camera or taking screenshots.
The case is just as grippy on a tabletop; don't expect it to spin and slide around like some clear cases do. When your hands are sweaty, the polycarbonate back can feel a tiny bit slick, but the flexible bumper is still easy to handle. On the note of the bumpers, this one hugs the S10's edges well, but it still gives with minimal effort when swapping cases, making the Fusion a delight compared to the stiff awkward case-swapping scenario on this year's Spigen Neo Hybrid.
While the Ringke Fusion comes in three bumper colors — Clear, Smoke Black, ND Aqua Blue — I love the perfect matching of the Aqua Blue and Prism Blue S10. It almost makes the entire case look blue on this phone, and the mirror finish on the clear back combines with the mirror-y glass back to create some wonderful light play in the hand and when you set the S10 down anywhere. A good clear case accentuates and shows off its phone perfectly, and the Ringke Fusion is a great clear case.
Ringke Fusion What could still improve
It's a clear case, and as such the Ringke Fusion suffers from what 99.5% of other clear cases suffer from: it's a fingerprint and dust magnet. The mirror-finish's light reflections help hide some of this grime on the exterior of the case, but once some dust or fingerprint smudges get on the inside of the case when swapping cases or taking the case off to clean, those are harder to hide, as is the dot matrix Ringke uses to avoid oily rainbow splotches on the back.
The USB-C port cutout on the bottom of the Fusion is a nice wide square, but the headphone jack's cutout could be a bit small for some larger 3.5mm connectors and aux cables. I'm a Bluetooth users, so that's not a huge problem for me, but if your trusty wired headphones has a fat plug, you might need to whittle the cutout here a tiny bit.
Ringke Fusion case for Galaxy S10
Ringke really hit it out of the park with the Fusion this year though. It's smooth but not slippery, protective but not bulky, and damn it all, it's just beautiful to look at. I mean just look at that! Look how it shines! I'll be going through a lot of cases in the next few months, but the Fusion is already looking like it'll be one of my go-tos.
With great looks, great protection, and a low price, the Ringke Fusion is a great case for any Galaxy S10 user that wants to show off their shiny new flagship while keeping it safe, too.
