Bellroy Leather Case for Google Pixel 9 review: Break the buttons!

There aren’t many brands making leather cases for phones outside of Apple’s lineup, but Bellroy is among the few. The Bellroy Leather case is the best leather case you can get for the Pixel 9 series, but when I got one in to test, I was not impressed.

Sure, it felt incredible to hold. It’s remarkably thin and the leather felt as premium as you’d imagine from a full-grain leather case. The gentle slope around the camera bar completely removes any hard edges, making it even more comfortable than the naked phone.

But one thing absolutely killed it for me: the buttons. They looked great and perfectly matched the color of the leather, but they were incredibly stiff.

So stiff that after a day of using it, I wrote off the case entirely. I can deal with the limited durability and protection, but unusable buttons? Absolutely not.

A few weeks later, I revisited the case before writing this review to see if I was crazy or if everyone had this problem. After a quick Google, I found this Reddit post from literally nine years ago.

And oh boy, did it make a difference.

After stretching the buttons (and the leather underneath) without the phone on, the buttons were significantly less stiff. They’re not perfect by any means, but they’re good enough that I could feel comfortable using and recommending the case.

Will this case keep your phone safe from drops? For everyday drops yes, but the leather might get damaged in the process. If you’re careful though, it will age much better than standard TPU cases.

Additionally, there aren’t any magnets in the standard Pixel 9 version — only the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL versions. It does make the case a bit cheaper than its larger siblings, but it’s a strange choice for an otherwise premium case.

Still, there aren’t any other decent leather cases for the Pixel 9 series, so if that’s what you’re after, this is the one to get. Just make sure you smash those buttons for a few minutes before putting it on your phone.