KerfCase is working on all-wood cases for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. Pre-orders start February 25th.
When we expanded our real wood case offering to include the brand new Google Pixel last year, we weren’t quite sure what we were getting into. With few exceptions, we had been an iPhone-only company from the start, and crossing the divide into Android territory was a scary proposition. Would they like us? Would people get what it is that we’re trying to do?
Fortunately, from what feels like day 1 we were welcomed into the Pixel community with open arms. Particularly on the Google Pixel subreddit, where we solicited feedback on our case and got a lot of great thoughts, we made a lot of friends and learned what makes Android early adopters tick.
What we learned from our discussion with Pixel owners is that the case selection, particularly from Google themselves, left something to be desired, and that folks who bought a brand new smartphone to be on a new frontier formed a tight-knit community for troubleshooting, modding, and accessorizing their new gadgets. It’s a different world, and reminded me a lot of the early, wild-west days of the iPhone. It's been fun spending time working with these folks.
The /r/googlepixel community, in turn, appreciated our cases for their quality, handmade workmanship and 100% wood construction. A match made in heaven!
We were so heartened and supported by the Pixel community that we’ve decided to make a jump that people have been asking for since the very beginning. Starting with the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, KerfCase will be available for Samsung.
We started mulling a Samsung expansion late last year, when the Galaxy 8 was announced. This was a gorgeous phone, that a gorgeous case would fit well. The edge-to-edge OLED display that now comes standard across high-end smartphones was brand new, and extremely striking when Samsung first showed it off, and spotting an S8 in the wild was like seeing an iPhone in 2007 or an iPad in 2010.
But supporting a new phone is a very intensive process for us. Weeks of design and prototyping work go into every new model, and each separate piece has to be redesigned from scratch for new dimensions and shapes. For it to be worth it, we have to be committed months in advance, so we’ll be ready to deliver the second that the phones are available.
That’s what’s happening now. We will be ready to take pre-orders on February 25th, when the phones are expected to be announced. Case orders will ship 2 weeks from launch day.
Let us know if you have any questions in the meantime, and make sure you tell your Samsung fan friends about a case they can get that will really turn some heads.
Phil Giammattei likes to wear lots of different hats. Formerly employed at Apple, Google and Oracle, he loves applying his technical knowledge to making the best possible custom wooden phone cases. In addition to writing the Kerf Blog, Phil’s duties at KerfCase include customer service, sales, production, shipping and fulfillment, and anywhere else he can be helpful. Reach Out to say hi and find out what choice cuts we have in stock!
