I have used many Urban Armor Gear, or UAG for short, cell phone cases in the past with great success. When I got the opportunity to review their case for the MacBook Pro 13 I was excited to try it, even though I do not own a MacBook. Thankfully I have a good friend who let me borrow theirs to complete this review, thank you Sara.
One thing I like about UAG cases is that they maintain a similar style and build throughout their entire case lineup. This is no different for their MBP case. It has the same tough, yet modern look, as all of their cases with big bold corner protection, sharp lines, and artificial exposed bolts, that just scream tough. I chose the Ash color case to review which is basically a semi-transparent smoke color. It looks great on the silver MBP. The case is essentially two pieces fused together at the hinge area of the laptop. Both the top and bottom portion are a perfect fit and snap snugly onto the MBP. The lid is held shut by the bulky corners and you need to pry out on them slightly to open or shut the lid. This is somewhat annoying, but it will ensure the lid stays closed even if the laptop is dropped. When closed the case provides about 95% coverage. The only exposed portions are recessed slats in the bottom for cooling, the power connector which is also recessed, the microphones, and surprisingly the bottom portion of the back corners of the MBP. If the laptop were dropped at the right angel, this would allow the corner to hit. This portion is exposed to allow the case to clear the laptop when in the open position, and I am sure that it would be extremely rare for the laptop to land at the exact angle for the corner to hit, but I am surprised UAG didn’t find a way to keep the corner covered.
In use the case is great. It adds quite a bit of grip to the outside of the laptop, and given the amount of protection it adds, it does not add that much bulk or weight. When the laptop is in the open position it does not obstruct any port, the keyboard, touch pad, screen, etc. The only flaw is when the case is closed, the only open port is the charging connector. This may not be a downside for many people, but for anyone who uses the MBP in clam shell mode connected to an external monitor and other peripherals, this could be a deal breaker. Because it is just plastic, you can most likely use some form of cutters to cut the plastic from the port areas, although this will most likely void your warranty.
If you are looking for a case for your 13in MBP that will add a good deal of protection with minimal flaws, I highly recommend the Urban Armor Gear MacBook Pro case.
If you are interested in this case it can be found here or here.