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Roderick Scott reviewed smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches. He has tested 160 phones over 16 years. ipad 102 inch case
After a new round of testing, the JETech Slim Case with Pencil Holder is our new pick for 9th-generation iPads.
A good iPad case is surprisingly hard to come by these days. But thankfully you can find a protective, functional, and relatively good-looking protector for about the price of a burrito and chips at Chipotle (including the upcharge for guac). The ESR Ascend Hybrid Case is our favorite affordable case for the latest, 10th-generation iPad. For older iPads, the JETech Slim Case with Pencil Holder costs under $20 and provides ideal features and protection. If you have a 6th or 7th-generation iPad mini, we still recommend the MoKo Ultra-Slim Soft Back Cover Case.
This folio case completely protects your iPad with a detachable magnetic cover.
May be out of stock
This basic folio-style case offers full protection against drops with two stand modes and Apple Pencil storage.
May be out of stock
The best and most affordable option for protecting your iPad mini (6th and 7th generation).
This folio case completely protects your iPad with a detachable magnetic cover.
May be out of stock
ESR’s Ascend Hybrid Case is a slim and lightweight TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) case made for the 10th-generation iPad that offers complete protection with ideal port and speaker cutouts. It includes a designated area to hold the Apple Pencil, two viewing angles, and a detachable magnetic cover.
This basic folio-style case offers full protection against drops with two stand modes and Apple Pencil storage.
May be out of stock
The JETech Slim Case with Pencil Holder offers all of the essential features you would want in an inexpensive iPad case. It’s a standard folio TPU case with a trifold cover that you can position at angles ideal for movies or typing. It also has precise cutouts for your iPad’s port, speaker, and camera, plus a spot for the Apple Pencil.
The best and most affordable option for protecting your iPad mini (6th and 7th generation).
The MoKo Ultra-Slim Soft Back Cover Case has a basic folio design with a protective TPU case that fits around the tablet and a front cover that protects the screen.
Wirecutter staffers have reviewed iPad cases for more than a decade. I have reviewed smartphones, tablets, and accessories—including those for iPhones and iPads—since 2010. Nick Guy, the previous author of this guide, reviewed iPad cases for more than 10 years for various websites, including Wirecutter.
To find the best iPad cases, we looked to big-name, established accessory makers, including companies such as Logitech, Incipio, and Speck. We also searched Amazon, restricting our search to the best-selling cases and those that had more than 100 reviews with a customer rating of four stars or higher.
If you’re saving money by buying an entry-level iPad, you probably don’t want to spend $100 or more on a case. Because you have so many cheap cases to choose from, it can be daunting to figure out which ones are actually good.
We also had particular requirements that helped us narrow down our results:
For each case we tested, we first measured for thickness and weight. We tested the cover to make sure its stand positions were stable, that it stayed in place while closed (even when jostled), and that it didn’t flop open when we turned the iPad upside down. We then used each pick for at least a week—and in most cases much longer—to confirm that annoyances didn’t pop up in everyday use.
This folio case completely protects your iPad with a detachable magnetic cover.
May be out of stock
ESR’s Ascend Hybrid Case is a great and affordable option for Apple’s 2022 10.9-inch iPad.
Unlike many iPad folio cases, it doesn’t leave the sides exposed. This flexible plastic case is slim, lightweight, and durable, and it protects the iPad’s aluminum rails along the top, bottom, and sides. The Ascend Hybrid Case covers your entire iPad with cutouts for the power button, speaker grills, and USB-C port. The volume buttons are covered as part of the case. The power button can be accessed via a deep cutout, but you have to dig in to access the button’s built-in fingerprint reader. The sides and corners of the Ascend Hybrid Case are armed with shock-absorbing sides and air guard corners to better protect against any accidents.
The Ascend Hybrid Case is designed to protect your iPad. It has a transparent back that somewhat resembles plexiglass at a glance, but it’s actually made of a clear polycarbonate (a tougher form of plastic) that is scratch resistant. The deep camera cutout protects the lens with a flexible plastic border, like the power button cutout. This allows you to set your iPad down without worrying about smudging or damaging the camera.
It allows you to use your iPad in multiple modes. The front folio cover works like that of any other trifold iPad case, with magnets that put your iPad in wake/sleep mode when you open and close it. The trifold cover folds behind your iPad and transforms into two stand positions for viewing and writing angles. The cover also detaches and reattaches magnetically, which allows you to use the iPad without a cover. ESR calls this Game Mode, which is ideal for playing games like Asphalt 9 or Fruit Ninja on your iPad without having to deal with the cover.
There’s no dedicated Apple Pencil holder. The case has a deep recess on the right side, leaving access to the iPad’s magnet to keep the stylus in place. However, an Apple Pencil fell off with a light shake during our testing.
This basic folio-style case offers full protection against drops with two stand modes and Apple Pencil storage.
May be out of stock
The best and most affordable option for protecting your iPad mini (6th and 7th generation).
The JETech Slim Case with Pencil Holder looks like a generic iPad case but has all the features you could need. The Slim Case covers your entire iPad and is made entirely of TPU (a flexible, rubber-like plastic). Its folio cover has two viewing angles and can put your iPad to sleep or wake it up. The case also has a secure holder for your Apple Pencil, plus cutouts for your iPad’s Lightning port, speaker, microphone, and camera.
This case protects every corner of your iPad. JETech’s Slim Case is made of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) and completely covers your tablet—save for precise cutouts for access to the tablet’s Lightning port, mics, and speakers. The Slim Case uses a thicker TPU material on the right side where the Apple Pencil holder is placed, and it’s easy to remove. Its design also offers excellent button protection, covering your tablet’s power and volume buttons.
It’s a cheap case but has a solid front cover. Like many folio cases, the Slim Case can magnetically put your iPad’s screen in wake or sleep mode when you open or close the cover. You can also fold the cover into a triangular shape for typing and viewing, and it can withstand mild pressure without collapsing.
JETech doesn’t make the Slim Case for the 6th- and 7th-generation iPad mini, but for those tablets we recommend MoKo’s Ultra-Slim Soft Back Cover Case, which has the same design and materials but lacks an Apple Pencil holder. The two cases feel similar in the hand, though the MoKo case has a transparent TPU back.
The iPad is essentially a slate of delicate electronics sandwiched between two fragile materials: breakable glass and scratchable, dentable aluminum. In addition to the potential of dropping it, you need to consider the risk of damage from keys, coins, or whatever else might be floating around in your bag. Spending some extra money to protect hardware that costs at least $300 makes sense, especially since an out-of-warranty screen repair costs hundreds of dollars.
In addition, a big advantage of many iPad cases, and particularly those we looked at for this guide, is their functionality above and beyond simple protection: They can actually improve the experience of using an iPad instead of detracting from it. For example, many cases have some sort of built-in stand feature so you can prop the tablet into positions suitable for typing or movie viewing. This means that for occasional use, you don’t have to spend money or bag space on a separate stand.
Spending some extra money to protect hardware that costs at least $300 makes sense, especially since an out-of-warranty screen repair costs hundreds of dollars.
That said, many cases, including some of our picks, have a screen cover that folds into a triangle to act as a stand, and this sort of trifold stand isn’t very stable. If you plan on doing a lot of upright viewing (such as watching movies or propping your iPad on a desk while you use it with a Bluetooth keyboard), we recommend our pick for an inexpensive iPad stand, Anozer’s Tablet Stand, for a better experience. It’s small and light, so it’s easy to toss in your bag, and it works with all the cases we recommend.
If you’re spending $1,000 on an iPad Pro, it makes sense to protect that investment with a good case.
JETech’s Magnetic Case for iPad 10 is a solid folio case that attaches to your iPad with magnets. The ESR Ascend Hybrid Case offers more protection.
JETech's Rotating Case with Pencil Holder consists of a TPU frame, a clear hard-plastic back, and a front cover made of synthetic leather. It has a built-in Apple Pencil holder and has a 360-degree swivel attached to its front cover, which allows you to use it in portrait or landscape stand mode. Unfortunately, its cheap, plastic back can break more easily than the TPU back on our recommended case.
The MoKo Slim Shell and the Akkerds Trifold Slim Stand with Pencil Holder are standard folio cases with a plastic shell for the rear. They’re fine, but our pick is better.
ProCase's Slim Stand Case has a TPU cover stand with a sturdy, hard-plastic shell for the rear. The case protects most of the tablet but leaves the right side, where the volume buttons and Apple Pencil magnet are located, completely exposed.
Spigen’s Rugged Armor Pro is slightly more expensive than the other cases we tested. The case’s back, made of TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), is flimsier than we’d like it to be.
The Timovo Hybrid Slim Tri-Fold Case is a more protective case with a medium thickness that uses better-feeling materials in comparison with other cases we’ve tested. It uses TPU for its bumpers and has a faux leather cover and a clear hard-plastic back. Although it does a good job of not attracting fingerprints, I can’t say that I trust the plastic back not to crack after a few drops.
The ESR Ascend Trifold Case is a folio case that lacks a stylus holder and has a hard-plastic back, which could crack or break over time. The same goes for the Supfine Slim Case, which provides less coverage around the Lightning port, power button, and headphone jack than our top pick.
iMieet’s iPad Case with Pencil Holder is a lot like the JETech Slim Case, but it’s slightly thinner. Its stylus holder is on the left or bottom of the case, depending on its orientation, so the stylus can be difficult to access when you’re using it with a kickstand.
The Moko Slim Shell Case is a cheap folio iPad case with a TPU rear, which adds an ideal amount of protection. It also provides solid viewing angles. But our pick offers thicker TPU for better protection around the corners.
MoKo’s Ultra Slim for this iPad model has a hard plastic back, which can break more easily than our recommended case’s TPU back, so it shouldn’t be your first choice.
Speck’s Balance Folio is a great case that gives you enough overall coverage for your iPad while providing easy access to buttons and ports. It offers multiple viewing angles, a built-in camera shield, and a loop to hold your Apple Pencil. However, our pick provides the same features at a lower cost.
Urban Armor Gear’s Metropolis Series iPad 10.2″ Case is significantly more expensive than our recommendations. It also lacks button coverage, which is disappointing for a case that’s otherwise so protective.
The Zugu Case is a great, functional case that offers up to eight different viewing angles, secure storage for your Apple Pencil, and complete protection for your iPad. However, it’s priced slightly higher than what we would consider a cheap case. The Seymac Mag-C Alpha is a copycat version of the Zugu case at half the price, but it’s not as well designed. Its case portion is a two-part front frame and bottom case, which can easily come undone while you’re adjusting the case.
This article was edited by Signe Brewster and Caitlin McGarry.
Roderick Scott was Wirecutter's staff writer reporting on smartphones, tablets, and accessories. He is the former publisher of TechGuySmartBuy, where he reviewed everything from phones to headphones to smart speakers to cars. He is also a former aspiring songwriter, music producer, and A&R working with local talent.
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