ThinOptics: Phone Case with Built-In Readers

I was given a ThinOptics smart phone case to test out. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

I do a lot of product reviews. Mostly, I enjoy it. I like being the first to try new products. It’s fun to see all the new things companies come up with.

The problem with working in the midlife space is you get sent products that make you feel old. I just got my first pair of bifocal glasses from the eye doctor. Excuse me, they are called “progressive lenses” now.

Still, the insult of needing magnifying lenses for close up reading has been added to the injury of being extremely nearsighted. Basically, I can only see things clearing without glasses if I hold them about an inch farther away than my arms reach.

I have a few pairs of magnifying readers. I have to have these if I am wearing contact lenses. No readers–no reading of phone, medicine bottles, or menus in dimly lit restaurants. Cheap ones work fine, but I do that forgetful thing where I misplace them. They aren’t really lost, but they are in the car, in my makeup bag, on my bedside table when I need them inside the grocery store.

When I first received the ThinOptics phone case with built-in reading glasses, I was not a fan. I already had a very nice, expensive case for my phone. It was waterproof! It was impact resistant! And it needed to be, the way I drop my phone. Thanks to the case I already had, my iPhone was almost two years old and in pristine condition.

Still, I was determined to give the new case a fair test. The case is lightweight and easily clips on around your phone. In the more-than-a month I’ve been using it, it has protected my phone sufficiently from the drops and dings I inevitably dish out. I am rather clumsy!

The readers come in two magnifying powers. I have the lesser power, and it is perfectly sufficient for my needs. In fact, these slim and lightweight magnifying glasses are now a must-have for when I wear contact lenses instead of my prescription glasses. It’s almost impossible for me to read small print or in dim light without them.

The glasses fit on the bridge of your nose. They are super flexible, so they should work on really any kind of nose–I have a slightly wide, button nose. It took me a few tries to find the right spot on the bridge of my nose where the readers would both stay on and not pinch. Now, it’s second nature and I pop them out of the phone case and on my nose with no fuss or problem.

The frames come in black or clear. I have the clear and greatly prefer it, since they are hardly noticeable. The last thing I want is people noticing my magnifying glasses. There’s already a bit of a Benjamin Franklin look going on.

The cases are simple matte black and available for iPhone or Android phones. There is also a plain pod that’s not a phone case, just a holder for the glasses. It looks small enough to slip into a pocket or purse. I greatly prefer having the phone case, since I never lose that and always have it with me. Have phone, have glasses.

Though it took me a while to warm up to the Thin Optics readers, now I am a fan.

Downside: the case is plain, and the matte texture shows finger marks, the glasses look flimsy.

Upside: readers at your fingertips all the time, clever design, one size fits all, unisex, design of glasses clever and much stronger/more flexible than you think.

Final word: recommend due to usefulness.