iRing, a maker of a simple ring which attaches to the back of your smartphone adding multiple uses, is releasing a Star Wars 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Collection. Our iRing review takes a look at the items in this collection, as well as our first look at the iRing ecosystem as a whole which includes a hook, dock, and a new pocket.
Specifications
The iRing Star Wars 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Collection has the following features and specifications:
- Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Star Wars franchise
- Inspired by the light and dark sides of the Force
- 24K gold plated iRings
- iRing gives you comfortable and secure grip, reducing the damage caused by drops
- As a kickstand, horizontally and vertically, you can use iRing at any angles
- Extra durability: every iRing passed internal swivel test over 100,000 times
- Wear an iRing and enjoy tapping every corner of your smartphone only with a thumb.
- iRing Hook: Attach the Hook everywhere and hook your iRing, so you can tilt your smartphone in any directions
What’s in the box
- 3x iRings with Insignia of Rebel Alliance, Galactic Empire, Star Wars 40th Anniversary
- 4x iRing Hooks with Star Wars 40th Anniversary logo
- Black iRing Dock with Star Wars 40th Anniversary logo
- Black iRing Pocket with Star Wars 40th Anniversary logo
- Black leather Phone case for iPhone 7 with Star Wars 40th Anniversary logo
- A sealed certificate of authenticity
Design
If you haven’t heard of iRing before, it’s a pretty simple concept. A ring is attached to the back of your smartphone with a sticky pad to provide a multi-functional ring which allows you to hold your phone more easily, use it as a kickstand, or with one of iRings other accessories like the iRing Dock or iRing Hooks.
The iRing Star Wars 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Collection comes in a nice matte black box. The Star Wars 40th Anniversary logo is slightly embossed in a gloss black on the lid. Lifting the lid up, the various items included are recessed into a soft foam base piece which is also covered with a matte black cardboard. The 40th Anniversary and Star Wars logos are printed in the middle in silver with “Limited Edition” below it and the 40th Anniversary logo is printed larger in the background in a gloss black finish. The packaging of the elements, as well as the multiple layers of the logos, looks pretty sharp when you first open the box.
iRing
The three included iRings are 1 3/8″ wide by 1 5/8″ high and feature a black finish. On one side is a Stixx sticky surface, while the other has the artwork and is where the actual ring is attached. The Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire logos are in gold on a glossy black background with 24k gold plated iRings. The Star Wars 40th Anniversary iRing artwork is gloss black on a black background and has a matte black iRing which looks rather sharp.
iRing Hook
The iRing Hooks are quite small and are only 7/8″ wide and 1 1/4″ in height. Just over a 1/4″ thick, the front has the Star Wars logo on the bottom hook portion. The back also has a sticky back which allows you to stick the hooks to any flat surface like walls, car dashboards, counters, or anywhere else you can think of to easily hang your phone with its attached iRing.
iRing Dock
The iRing Dock is made from black plastic and is conical in shape. Roughly 2″ across the bottom, which has 3M tape to attach to the dashboard of your vehicle, the Dock tapers up to a flat top 1 1/8″ across which is slightly rounded towards the front. A slot is cut out in this area from the back towards the tapered front, ending just above the Star Wars 4oth Anniversary logo.
iPhone 7 Case
The Limited Edition Collection also includes a black leather wrapped iPhone 7 case. The back of the case has the 40th Anniversary logo debossed into the leather with the Star Wars logo also embossed just below that. Both logos are printed in a medium gray which provides a nice contrast to the black leather. The case is pretty simple and will snap over your iPhone 7 fairly easily. The leather is nicely textured but can be a bit slippery as leather tends to be. The case covers the buttons as well and is lined on the inside with a soft finish so as not to scratch the back of your phone. We tested this briefly on an iPhone 7 and the fit is nice and pretty snug around the device.
iRing Pocket
Lastly, a new product from AAUXX in the iRing line-up is also included in the Limited Edition Collection: the iRing Pocket. Roughly 2 1/2″ wide by 3 5/8″ in height, the iRing Pocket attaches to the back of your smartphone and has an extra pocket on the back which houses a single credit or ID card. A matte black iRing is centered on the back with the Star Wars 40th Anniversary logo just under that. The bottom of the Pocket has a little cutout which makes it easier to push out whatever card you have in there. When looking from the back, where the reusable STIXX adhesive is, you can see a small spring-like clip that will hold your card in place when it’s in the pocket.
While our review sample didn’t come with a certificate of authenticity, the Star Wars 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Collection will be limited to 4,000 pieces worldwide and comes with a sealed certificate of authenticity and serial number.
Installation
Both the iRing and the iRing Pocket utilize a reusable STIXX adhesive. Simply pull off the clear STIXX plastic to expose the adhesive and align it onto the back of your smartphone or phone case. The adhesive works best on a smooth surface, for example on my BlackBerry KEYone it stuck better to the Incipio case I’m currently using as opposed to directly on the back of the textured KEYone surface. Once attached, pulling hard on the ring doesn’t give any indication that it is going to budge or fall off your phone.
The nice thing about the STIXX adhesive is that, while strong and solidly stuck to your smartphone, it can be removed with a bit of effort (I used a butter knife to start prying at the corner but you can get an iRing Remover to do the trick more easily), leaves no residue, and can be reused up to 100 times as long as the adhesive doesn’t get fingerprints or dirt on it.
In the case of the iRing Hooks and the iRing Dock, the adhesive used is non-reusable so make sure to take extra care when placing the Hook or Dock where you want it. Once you’ve placed it in place and pressed it down against the surface, it can be removed but will take a bit of work to get the extra adhesive tape off your dashboard or other surfaces. You can always get some 3M adhesive from the local hardware store should you wish to move and reuse your Hook or Dock.
That being said, if you take your time to align things properly, installation is as easy as putting a sticker on a piece of paper.
Ease of Use
The iRing family of accessories complement each other nicely. The iRing and iRing Pocket both provide a nice kickstand for setting your phone down on a flat surface in landscape mode. Simply pull the ring away from the back of your phone, rotate it 90º, and then angle it to your liking before setting your phone down.
In the case of the iRing Pocket, a single driver’s license, credit, or debit card fits nicely in the pocket and doesn’t slide loose at all. Maybe with extended wear it might loosen a bit but after about 40 insertions and removals, the card felt just as tight as the first time we put it in.
Additionally, you can also loop your index or middle finger through the iRing while holding your phone as an extra “security blanket” to help prevent accidental drops. With the ring easily rotating around, you can find a fairly comfortable position for holding and using your phone with the iRing attached.
The iRing Hooks are surprisingly handy — and strong — for their small size. When hanging your phone from one, simply pull the iRing away from your phone and push it up towards the top of your phone so that the top of the ring is pointing up. You’ll want to leave just a tiny gap between the iRing and your phone to hook over the iRing Hook. Besides hanging your phone somewhere to make it more visible, if you do a lot of cooking it can also be handy for loading up a recipe on your phone and hanging it near the stove or your prep area to bring your phone closer to eye level. It makes sense that the adhesive on the iRing Hook isn’t reusable as it’ll be supporting the full weight of your phone.
Finally, the iRing Dock fastens easily to your car dashboard to transform the iRing into a car dock. Once fastened, simply pull the iRing out so it is perpendicular to your smartphone and slide it into the slot in the Dock. It’s a pretty tight fight, but the grip is nice and obviously required while using the iRing in dock mode.
Price/Value
The 40th Anniversary Limited Edition set will be available for pre-order at an MSRP of $149.99USD, and will be available online at Walmart, Amazon, Toys’R’Us, Best Buy, and Staples on November 15, 2017. The question is, is it worth the price? Considering an iRing and iRing Hook combination is $19.99 and an iRing/iRing Hook/iRing Dock combo is $27.99, you’re already up to $87.99 if purchased separately. Pricing for the phone case and iRing Pocket haven’t been announced yet, but considering you’re getting officially licensed Star Wars 40th Anniversary branding on a Limited Edition Collection, the price seems pretty reasonable.
The question though is: if you buy one, would you actually use them or just keep them in the box as a collector’s keepsake?
Wrap-up
The iRing accessory system is a simple but effective multi-purpose smartphone kickstand, holder, and dock system. Add some officially licensed Star Wars 40th Anniversary branding and you’re sure to make any true Star Wars fan smile when they open this.
