Review: Mujjo leather iPhone 14 case is Apple-like in fit and finish, and it comes in black

With my previous iPhones, I have always relied on Apple’s first-party leather case option. It’s not cheap, but I have found they held up well to years and years of use, the clicky buttons feel nice and the subtle branding. However, when upgrading to the iPhone 14 Pro this year, I found myself slightly alienated. Apple does not make a true black color case option anymore … and that’s where the Mujjo leather case comes in …

Mujjo makes flat leather iPhone cases for iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max (and older iPhones too, of course). They also make variants with a wallet holder stitched into the back, but I like my phones to have a simple flat back and simply use a separate wallet to hold all my cards and cash.

I have actually tried Mujjo cases before and was impressed, but I never really had a reason to use them over Apple’s cases before now. The choice of color is really a deciding factor for me.

Apple’s dark case colorways this year are ‘Ink’ and ‘Midnight’, both featuring tinges of blue and gray. They are not black. Mujjo offers a true black color option. It’s as black as my old Apple black leather case, and it pairs beautifully with my Space Black iPhone 14 Pro. If you are looking for something funkier, Mujjo also makes their cases in ‘Monaco Blue’ and ‘Tan’ tones.

Many third-party iPhone cases have really offensive branding, with large logos on the back or maybe even imprinted on the side. The logo on the Mujjo case is very subtle. The company name is debossed on the back of the case, at the bottom. It’s arguably less noticeable than the Apple logo on Apple’s leather cases. If you are holding the phone, your hand will cover the Mujjo logo completely. If I could choose, I would have no lettering at all — but what they do have is so minimal I am fine with it.

Otherwise, the best compliment I can give the Mujjo leather case is that it is incredibly close to the high-quality fit and finish of Apple’s official case. The leather finish feels almost identical.

The case features machined metal buttons which precisely align with the buttons of the phone itself. This means when you are changing volume or sleeping the phone, you are clicking an actual metal piece — not pushing through mushy leather, like some cheaper cases do. This results in a great feeling button press.

It’s not all perfect. The similarities to Apple’s cases also means it inherits the same drawbacks. Apple’s older leather cases featured an open bottom, meaning that it did not have a lip over the bottom edge of the screen. This enables thumb swipe gestures from the home indicator to be performed freely, without the case getting in the way.

A couple of generations ago, Apple switched to a closed bottom, preferring to protect all four edges of the display. The Mujjo case shares the same all-surround design. After a few weeks of using the iPhone 14 in the case, you do adjust to starting the gesture slightly higher up from the bottom of the phone, to avoid the case lip, but it remains a minor grievance.

The open bottom also made it significantly easier to remove the case. You could just peel back from the bottom and the phone would pop out. The closed bottom prevents this shortcut. Removing the phone from the Mujjo case is annoyingly difficult, but again the Apple official case has the same flaw. (I don’t think the integrated magnets for MagSafe help here). To remove the iPhone, you have to apply a lot of force by poking through the camera module and gradually easing out the corners. If you are regularly going to be removing and inserting your phone in a case, this is probably not the one for you.

One other detail to keep in mind is that the rear camera module is protected by a lip, again just like Apple’s case. This lip protrudes beyonds the thickness of the rest of the back case. As such, the top of the phone is lifted up a little bit and if you tap on your phone whilst it it is sitting on a desk, it will rock back and forth. If you want a case to make your iPhone lay completely flat on a table, this is not it.

Finally, Apple’s leather case is a bit overpriced at $59. Going the Mujjo route unfortunately is not much cheaper, sold for around $54. It’d be nice if it was slightly more reasonably priced. But I can see why they priced it so closely — because it really does rival Apple’s case in quality. I’ve been using it full-time since I got my 14 Pro a month ago, and I am very satisfied. That’s the best recommendation I can give for the Mujjo Full Leather case for iPhone 14 Pro.

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