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New iPhone case looks and feels like an actual butt

HandL's unique iPhone "Butt Case" case is almost here. But will anyone feel comfortable using it in public?

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
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David Carnoy
2 min read
Watch this: This iPhone case looks and feels like a butt

We've seen some unusual iPhone accessories over the years, but HandL's Butt Case may be the new champ. 

The man behind the Butt Case is Allen Hirsch, a New York artist and restaurant owner who the created the HandL case a few years back to help people get a better hold on their iPhones. The standard HandL case has a flat back and a patented elastic and brace system that allows you to hold your device with just one or two fingers (it also converts into a kickstand). 

HandL's Butt Case, which is available for preorder for $70 (£54) for the iPhone 6 Plus/7 Plus, also has an elastic hand brace system but is equipped with a silicone-infused set of twin buns covered in soft leather that have an added level of ergonomic value. (HandL ships to Western Europe and the UK.) 

It feels better than you'd think to hold in your hand. A little weird, yes, but definitely comfortable. 

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The Butt Case's secret sauce: plastic-surgery level liquid silicone.

Sarah Tew/CNET

In the emailed press release for the case, meanwhile, Hirsch doubles down on the anatomy angle to a disturbing degree. 

"Touching the buttocks has been one of the most pleasant tactile experiences I have known," Hirsch says in the release. "It is ergonomic, soft and comfortable to rest one's hand against. Juxtaposing the electronic screen and its ethereal digital world with the real world tactile goal of a buttocks became my obsession."

OK, then.

The release goes on to say that Hirsch's search for the ideal material for the case ended once he found a "particular mix of semiliquid silicone," a material that's used in actual enhancement surgery for the buttocks. (Of course.)

This is not the first "butt case" to hit the market -- there was the Booty Call case, after all -- but this may well be the first truly high-end butt case. It was first introduced at CES back in January, but is finally due to ship later this summer.

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The Butt Case from behind.

Sarah Tew/CNET

If this sounds like an article from The Onion, it isn't. Hirsch is being completely serious. At a trade show in New York City earlier this week, he told me he's considering officially renaming the case the "HandL Gluteus Maximus, aka the Butt Case," so it's taken a little more seriously. (Good luck with that.)

Oh, and in case you're wondering, even though it's somewhat bulky, the Butt Case does fit in a pocket -- just not necessarily in the back pocket where, you know, your butt is.

10 years of crazy iPhone accessories

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