A few days ago, Google added a line of official snap cases to the Play Store for the Nexus 5. Some readers may be yearning for a closer inspection of Google's late-entry accessory, which - at first glance - looks a lot like the myriad cheaper options available online, so we're going to give it a quick look.

To tell the truth, the selection of snap cases online isn't separated from the official case by much. A large part of what differentiates this case from others is the Google logo on the back. If you're into official accessories, that may be worth it, but otherwise the distinction largely lies in small design differences. Let's get straight to it.

Fit and Finish

As seen above, the "Aqua" case is a kind of minty blue color (much bluer than the image on the Play Store). Happily, the outside of the case has a soft, matte finish. This appears to be true for all variants except the "clear" option. The consistency of the surface texture isn't quite the same as the Nexus 5's own back - it's slightly stickier, but the case felt a lot better after maybe a day of use.

Speaking of the back texture, it doesn't really stick to the charging orb. At all. So, if - like me - you're still using the charging orb to charge your N5 during the day, you'll likely be out of luck with this case.

The inside of the case, which you'll never see when it's applied, is glossy smooth. The case itself wraps up slightly around each of the four corners, so while the top and bottom edges are exposed, they aren't totally unprotected.

I actually find the top and bottom exposure convenient - there's a small ridge around the exposed 3.5mm jack, leaving ample room for plugging in even the widest of auxiliary cords.

There are beveled cutouts surrounding the power button and volume rockers. The case is thin enough that pressing buttons isn't a challenge, and I prefer this solution to the less-than-ideal buttons on the official Nexus 5 bumper case.

And that's pretty much it - the case is a piece of plastic with a matte finish that squeezes around the Nexus 5. If you have any other questions about its design or functionality, drop them in the comments below.

The Price

So, is the case worth its price? If you're just looking for a thin snap case for your Nexus 5 and aren't particularly attached to Google branding (it would be great to see a Nexus logo on this case instead), the official snap case isn't really worth the extra money. There are similar options all over the place (perhaps the best analog being Ringke's case) at much lower prices. But if you've got $30 to burn, and you do want to get your hands on an official snap case, just hit the link below.

Google Play