UPDATED: 21st December 2012
Apple new iPad
Got a new iPad? No doubt you're over the moon, but you don't get any protection in the box for all that delicate aluminium and glass. That's why you're here, of course. (If you're after cases and covers for the iPad mini, click here.)
So, without any further chit-chat, let's get to the point: which case, cover or sleeve should you buy? The cases here are designed for the third- and fourth-generation iPad. They're both virtually identical to the iPad 2, but are fractionally thicker. See our review comparing the iPad 3 and 4.
You might find that an iPad 2 case will fit an iPad 3 or 4, but our advice is to play it safe and buy one designed specifically for the new model. All the cases you'll find here are compatible with both models. The only physical difference is the dock connector, as the iPad 4 has the new, smaller Lightning connector. Most cases will have a dock cutout that's designed to accommodate the larger 30-pin connector, but it means they fit the iPad 4 just fine.
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Specific-fit cases
M-Edge Trench Runner Jacket, £35
Rating: 4.5/5
M-Edge isn't a well-known brand in the UK (it's based in the US), but its new military-style Trench Runner Jacket is available to buy from John Lewis. It's the only case we've seen made from cotton canvas, and it has leather 'buckles' which hold the case shut using brass-look press studs.
Unlike most of the folio-style cases in this round-up, the M-Edge Trench Runner Jacket has a non-folding front cover. Instead, the rear cover folds and the 'steps' on the front cover, which are created by a simple fold in the fabric, are used as stops to provide three different viewing angles. We found our iPad was pretty stable in all three positions.
Yet another clever piece of design is the so-called uView mounting system. The iPad clips into a plastic tray, which is reversible so you can't put it on the wrong way and obscure the camera - there's a cutout at opposite corners. This tray clips securely into a bracket on the case itself - the clever part being that you can clip it in both portrait and landscape orientations. The tray can be used as a case of sorts on its own as it has built-in feet, so it can be put down without any risk of scratching the rear of the iPad.
M-Edge makes several cases which support uView, so in theory you could buy more than one and easily clip your iPad into whichever one you fancy. Our hope is that the company will release other accessories so you can attach your iPad to, say, a car headrest or a wall.
There's a knack to the clipping and unclipping process, which involves a considerable amount of force. You align the edge of your iPad with the tab on the case and then push it simultaneously into the tab and downwards onto the bracket. It can be done without pressing on your iPad's screen, thankfully.
Releasing the tray from the bracket requires you to push hard on the tab - so hard you feel as if you might break it, but it does loosen up after a dozen or so attempts. Both clipping and unclipping are best done in mid-air rather than on a flat surface so you can flex the case.
The final trick is that there's no camera cutout as it's possible to slide the tray upwards while attached to the bracket so the camera clears the top edge of the case. Alternatively, you can fold the back cover in half to uncover the camera.
Bear in mind that there are no magnets in the cover, so it won't operate the iPad's sleep/wake function. John Lewis sells only the grey version of the Trench Runner, we hope it will stock the olive green alternative soon. You can buy both colours from M-Edge's website, but expect to pay around £45-50 including shipping.
Weight: 338g
Buy from: www.johnlewis.com
Maroo Drogo, £90
Rating: 4/5
If you want to get your iPad noticed, Maroo's Drogo case (which also fits the iPad 2) is hard to miss. The high-quality leather cover is elaborately embossed with three separate dragon motifs, and has a bright yellow suede interior with matching yellow stitching.
Your iPad is held in place by Maroo's 'Safe Guard Bumper' which clamps the tablet with tough rubber hooks at each corner. Thick padding gives reassuring protection for the screen, and elastic loops keep the case shut.
You can also use the loops to hold the case open and folded back on itself, and there's a thick elastic band on the inside of the cover which you can use to hold the case and iPad steady when you're reading or watching content on the move.
The edge of the cover slots into a tab at the back to provide a stand for watching videos (or using FaceTime). Or, you can put it flat and use it for a comfortable typing angle.
Apart from the high price, which is mostly justified by the materials and excellent build quality, we could find only two slight flaws. One is that the power button is hard to reach as it's obscured by one of the corner hooks, and the other is that the hooks are so tight that they make screen protectors bubble up at the corners.
Both are minor quibbles, especially as built in magnets work with the iPad's wake/sleep function to turn it on and off reliably when you open and close the case. If you can afford it, this is one of the best looking and protective cases we've seen.
Weight: 378g
Buy from: www.amazon.co.uk
Incipio Lexington Hard Shell Folio, £35
Rating: 4/5
The Lexington is much like STM's Skinny 3 case (see below) in that it offers two standing positions and a slot-in tab to hold everything in place. At 235g, the Lexington is heavier and sturdier than the Skinny 3 and has a thicker rear polycarbonate shell with a microsuede lining to protect the rear of the iPad.
The main difference is that it hinges from the rear, rather than the side, of the case. And what a difference. Thanks to the fabric 'hinge', the two stand positions are much more usable than most folio-style cases. When the iPad is upright for watching video, the stand is around 5cm deeper than usual and this gives the Lexington much better stability.
It's a similar story in 'typing mode' where the back edge of the iPad sits a bit higher off the desk and is again held firmly in position. Some may find the angle a touch too steep but we liked it.
Magnets reliably wake the iPad and make it sleep when you open and close the cover and the dock cut-out is big enough to accommodate large devices such as the camera connection kit.
There are various colour combinations to choose from, but all suffer from showing up every greasy fingerprint due to the smooth finish of their faux-leather material. Plus, as with the other Incipio cases below, the case smelled strongly of glue or some other chemical, but this did fade after a couple of weeks.
Weight: 232g
Buy from: www.amazon.co.uk
iChic Oxford Tweed, £41
Rating: 3.5/5
Although designed for the iPad 2, iChic's Slim Shell Folio range fits the new iPad perfectly. Possibly even better than the iPad 2, in fact. We've picked out the Tweed version with an orange microfibre interior, but there are plenty of other colour and fabric options, including denim.
The case is very slim, and is one of the lighest around weighing just 189g. Magnets in the cover wake the new iPad and make it sleep when you close it. Unlike some third-party cases, the magnets actually work properly with the new iPad and hold the cover shut when you hold the iPad upside down.
Flip the cover around the back and tuck it into the rear tab and it acts as a sturdy typing stand, or upright for watching videos or making Skype calls. Unlike the Lexington above, the tab on the rear doesn't hold the cover in place as well, so it can slip out if you're using it on your lap. There's also an elastic loop for a stylus.
At the rear are generous cutouts for the speaker, dock connector, buttons and camera. These leave a few areas a little unprotected from sharp objects in your bag, so don't consider it 360-degree protection.
It's stylish and functional, though, and barely more expensive than Apple's Smart Cover, so pretty good value too. Currently, you can buy the Oxford only from iChic's website and as it's a Swiss company, prices appear in Euros. Including delivery to the UK it's approximately £44.
Weight: 190g
Buy from: www.ichic.com
Belkin Cinema Stripe Folio with Stand, £40
Rating: 4/5
This brand new case has just about all the features we'd want: decent protection, cutouts for all the buttons, speaker, camera and ports plus two different stands. The double fold in the case allows you to position your iPad at the perfect angle, and the rubbery finish prevents it from slipping over at shallower angles. If you flip the cover over the back and tuck it into the tab, it also works as a typing stand. A magnetic catch holds the case shut, and another magnet on the rear holds the flap out of the way when the case is open. More magnets in the cover wake and sleep the iPad, and the tablet itself is held in place and protected at its four corners by tough rubber hooks.
The Stripe version of the case is available in blue, red and black, but there are other designs in the Cinema range, including leather-bound and 'dot' versions. However, we have a couple of reservations. One is that the power button is tricky to access beneath the rubber hook. That's still a minor quibble though compared to the the weight. At 360g, the Cinema Stripe pushes the total weight to over 1kg when you factor in the 660g iPad. It's fine if you won't be holding your iPad for long periods, but we suspect you'll prefer something lighter if you will.
Weight: 360g
Buy from: www.amazon.co.uk
Incipio Flagship Folio, £65
Rating: 4.5/5
Incipio's brand new Flaghip Folio is a novel take on the folio style. The chunky carbon fibre-like plastic and solid aluminium hinge puts this case a world away from soft, skinny cases and it exudes class. It may be expensive, but it's worth the extra price over lesser folios.
Protection is very good: only the speaker, dock connector and volume controls are exposed - everything else is well shielded. The dock connector cut-out is large enough for accessories such as Apple's camera connection kit and the HDMI adaptor. Inside the front and rear covers is a soft microfibre lining, so your iPad's screen and back panel are safe from scratches.
The iPad clips into the rear section easily, and the Flagship Folio doesn't cover any of the iPad's screen bezel. Magnets operate the sleep/wake function and a tab on the cover clips over the side of the iPad to ensure it stays shut - many folios rely on the magnets.
A series of eight ribs on the inside of the front cover, along with big rubber 'feet' on the two left-hand corners of the rear, enable lots of different viewing angles, although we found our iPad was stable only in the first five positions. Further back than that and the iPad tended to topple forward since the angle was 90 degrees or greater.
The front cover can be folded flat against the rear of the iPad, but this obviously covers the camera (we're not sure why the camera cutout is so large). We also found that the magnets put our iPad to sleep in this position if the cover moves slightly. This only happened a couple of times, though.
Our only other gripe is that the case had a strong chemical smell (possibly the glue), which remained even two weeks after testing. We hope final production samples won't suffer from this when they arrive in June.
Weight: 344g
Buy from: Allmacshop (due to launch in UK in June 2012)
Brunswick England, £120
Rating: 3/5
This all-leather folio should appeal to executives. It's well padded and adds plenty of protection. A fold in the rear allows it to function as a stand in two positions: one raised up for presentations, and a lower one that's still a little too high for typing. Folded back flat gives a shallow angle that's better for typing, but still not ideal.
Magnets in the cover turn your iPad on when you open it, but there's nothing to keep the cover shut. Magnets are meant to do the job, but they're simply not strong enough. All ports are accessible without removing the iPad from the case, though. The camera cutout is a touch too low, and left photos with a dark vignette at the top. Also available in brown and cranberry.
Weight: 380g
Buy from: www.proporta.com
Maroo Nylon Cover, £50
Rating: 4/5
Attention-grabbing cases don't come much brighter than this: the Awanui's garish graffiti pattern is sure to get you, and your new iPad, noticed. The back is made from faux black leather, and it's a convincing look. We like the matching graffiti tab on the rear which the front slots into in order to turn the Awanui into a stand.
The blue suede lining provides a nice contrast, and there's a rubber insert which clamps the four corners of your iPad in place, providing protection at the same time. Inside the front cover are elastic corner straps to keep the Awanui closed, and they can also be used to hold it open when you flip the cover around the back. You can slide your hand under the wider elastic strap to help you holding your iPad with one mitt. There's a cutout for the new iPad's rear camera for when you want to take some photos or videos.
As ever, there's a range of other designs to choose from (the retro Mana II with its cassette logo is shown left) if the graffiti isn't your style. The Awanui isn't the cheapest, nor the lightest, but it's very well made, will protect your iPad and costs only £15 more than Apple's Smart Cover.
Weight: 339g
Buy from: www.coversandcases.com
STM Skinny 3 for iPad 3rd generation, £40
Rating: 3.5/5
STM’s skinny range has been expanded to include the third-generation iPad. The Skinny 3 has a hard shell back, which the iPad clips securely into. The front is protected by flap, which can automatically wake your iPad. It also allows users to position the iPad in a typing position and a position ideal for FaceTime.
The micro-suede lining left us feeling confident that our iPad’s Retina display won’t be scratched, and there are cut-outs that allow access to all of the ports, buttons and functions including the camera and microphone. A minor quibble is that slotting the strap into position can be fiddly, but it does prevent the cover from slipping out of place. The Skinny 3 is available in Royal blue, black, pink, mushroom or berry (shown here). It's one of the lighest options.
Weight: 181g
Buy from: www.amazon.co.uk
Incipio Premium Kickstand with Stylus, £35
Rating: 4/5
The Premium Kickstand has been updated to ensure compatibility with the new iPad. In practice this means Incipio has added rubber covers to three of the four plastic hooks that hold the iPad in place. We found our new iPad slid comfortably into place and felt secure.
The tri-fold cover allows multiple viewing angles. Instead of a small hinge as with Incipio's Flagship Folio (above), the case is effectively three full-size panels and a rubber section on the inside of the front cover has three grooves that provide three different landscape positions.
For typing, you flip the cover backwards and open up a flap on the outside of the front cover which is held shut by magnets. It opens to an angle determined by three short ribbons, which hold the top edge of the iPad (when in landscape mode) in place at a comfortable angle for typing. It's a unique design that no other case here uses.
The Kickstand is made from tough nylon and is held shut by an elastic strap. The micro-fibre lining on the inside protects both sides of your iPad, but as with the other Incipio cases we've tested, there's a strong smell which we presume is caused by the glue that holds everything together.
Given the price, the bundled stylus makes this case good value - it's held in place on a loop on the middle fold of the case, so is on the inside when the case is shut. It's not the best-quality stylus we've seen, but it's fine for apps such as Draw Something. We found it tricky to get the stylus back in its loop, but other styluses should fit if you prefer to use a different one. See also: Best Stylus for Draw Something.
As well as black nylon, the case is also available in grey nylon and what Incipio calls 'black vegan leather'.
Weight: 427g
Buy from: www.amazon.co.uk
Next page: Nine more specific-fit cases
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