Ever wished for a phone case that protected your phone and smelled like fruit? Yeah, us neither. That's why when we came across scented iPhone cases at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, we had to test them out for ourselves.
These aren't just regular iPhone cases either — they're official Candy Crush cases. Yes, the game you can't ever escape on Facebook is now here to infiltrate your senses. The nine scents available are Grape, Blueberry, Apple, Lemon, Mango, Strawberry, Licorice, Vanilla, and Bubblegum. Each of the respective smells is also color coordinated — i.e. the lemon-scented case is yellow. The cases fit the iPhone 5/5S, iPhone 6/6S, Galaxy S5, and Galaxy S6 and are made out of silicone. They will cost you $10 but aren't available to the public just yet, so stay tuned for a release date.
Do any of these details actually matter though? Not for us! What we really wanted to know was just how strong these cases smelled — and if we would want to keep them or get rid of them stat. Along with the help of our co-workers, we tested out the first six scents: Grape, Blueberry, Apple, Lemon, Mango, and Strawberry. Turns out, not all noses were in agreement. Ahead, we've ranked the cases from the worst offenders to the least.
Don't put a single nostril near the apple-scented case or risk gagging — seriously. To many people, it reminded them of an old sponge or an off-brand cleaner. While some thought it wasn't as terrible as the other cases, most people were in agreement with it being "yucky."
When life gives you lemons, don't make a scented iPhone case out of them. Similar to the apple case, the lemon case evoked memories of the wood-furniture cleaner Pledge. Not everyone is opposed to this smell, though, considering one person said, "I'm weird and I love the smell of Pledge."
Know how blueberries don't really have that strong of a smell? It's for a good reason, especially once you sniff the blueberry case. Insanely sweet smelling, the case suddenly turns tarty and attacks your nostrils with a smell you're pretty sure the dictionary has no word for. Many were reminded of Welch's snacks, while one person who gave it a rating of zero said, "It smells like a wet nursery. Yuck."
Take a stroll down a soap lane and that's what the mango-scented case smells like. "Reminds me of perfume worn in sixth grade, most likely from Bath & Body Works circa 2000," said one brave editor who may or may not have been speaking from personal experience. It's definitely a very clean-smelling case, so it really depends on what you're looking for.
It's really hard to mess up a strawberry smell, so it's no wonder that case came in as runner-up. Most people said it reminded them of bubblegum tape or some candy. "I am sort of mad I can't eat this," one person said. Others were not so pleased and wished they had never picked up the case at all. "I would have lived a happier life having not smelled this," a reviewer said. I wouldn't mind having it near my nose though.
Most people were pretty OK with the grape smell. It brought back memories of Febreze, an Uber car, and even the combination of "cold medicine and gum." Though you might not think these descriptions merit a high rating, it was definitely the winner of them all. As one person put it, "Just the right amount of grape without being too much. Kind of like gum."
Did most people think these cases were the worst-smelling things ever? Sure, but each case is so cheap and gets a conversation going, so why not buy one? It's definitely not the worst decision you could make.
