I’ll be frank: I hate putting cases on my iPhone. They take away the fit and feel of the device in your hand, they can be overly bulky or clunky, and they almost always get dirty. But after breaking my iPhone 6’s screen, I resigned myself to using some sort of cover — no caseless fit and feel is worth a broken glass screen.

Luckily, I’ve found quite a few awesome iPhone 6 cases in the months since I’ve started rocking one, the latest of which is Case Scenario’s Pantone Universe Cover + Bumper. It’s stylish, quirky, and — best of all — super-comfortable to use in-hand.

The thing that struck me about the cases when I first saw them on display at CES this year was their vibrancy — and there’s a good reason for that. For this line, Case Scenario partnered with Pantone, best known as one of the color companies in the world for color trends, paint swatches, and the like. The cases come in eight distinct Pantone colors — including Gold Gloss and Silver Sheen — and a spokesperson at CES told me that batches have to be personally approved by a Pantone representative before they get shipped out to the public.

In other words, this Bright Cobalt case I’m currently rocking has been color-matched to be the exact shade of the 19-4037 Bright Cobalt swatch — though a small advisory on the case’s inside still suggests using actual Pantone swatches if I plan to do any painting or color theory.

The Pantone marketing is part style gimmick, to be sure, but it works: I thought I was going to hate that little white ”Pantone Universe” swatch on the bottom back quarter of the case, but it gives it an odd sort of class and finish that makes this plastic look more distinctive than any other blue-bumpered fare. (In fact, I’ve had more queries and demands about this case than any previous covering I’ve had on an iOS device throughout my five-year tenure as an Apple reporter. Funny, that.)

The case itself is a sleek rubberized plastic bumper with a slightly glossy plastic back. The plastic is well made, but not overly bulky or stiff; it both fits snugly around the iPhone 6 and is easy to peel off, reminding me a lot of Apple’s iPhone 4 bumpers. Unlike the bumper case, however, this one has a sleek, slightly-glossy plastic backing with the aforementioned Pantone swatch designation in the lower corner. It provides scratch protection and a little bit of added style to the phone without bulking anything up too tremendously. (My magnetic Scosche MagicMount works just fine through the case’s backing.)

This case may not do much if you drop your phone off a building, but it’s more than adequate for daily stumbles and the occasional person-height drop. It covers the iPhone 6’s glass corners and creeps a little bit over the sides, so as to prevent the LCD screen itself from being scratched if you put the phone face-down on a flat surface.

There are cutouts for the headphone port, mic, dock connector, speaker, and Ring/Silent switch; the volume and On/Off buttons are covered in a light, easily-pressable plastic. I normally dislike covered buttons on a case, but these do a great job of keeping dust and the like out of my iPhone’s crevices without actually impeding functionality.

Bottom line

I’ve been impressed with almost every facet of this case: It’s durable without being bulky, stylish without being gaudy, functional without an overly flashy price tag, easy to remove and snap back on, and it feels excellent. My only quibble is that the semi-gloss of the back covering has attracted a few scratches and scuffs — but that’s after heavy use on a trade show floor and in pockets with keys and miscellany. I’ll take a few minor scratches only seen in lamplight when it keeps my phone in pristine condition.

• Case Scenario Pantone Universe – 20€/~$23 U.S. – Buy Now

Apple only makes one phone — the iPhone. Sure there’re two different sizes of the current generation model, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as two previous generation models, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, but the range and diversity is nothing like the portfolio pushed out by Samsung. Which is what makes Apple’s monstrous Q1 2015 quarter, and possibility that, for the first time, they surged past Samsung to become the largest smartphone seller in the world, so interesting. Ben Bajarin, writing and graphing for Tech.pinions:

I have access to live device data which helps me put parts of this puzzle together. From all the sources I have, and trying to get closer to sell through by the vendors, this is where I landed.

Ben points out Samsung will almost certainly regain the lead next quarter, but given how differently they run their businesses, Apple’s achievement here is all the more remarkable.

Apple focuses exclusive on the mid to upper end of the market. For PCs, this has historically meant that even though Apple has a small share they still make exceptional profits. For phones, we see the results when the share isn’t so small…

It’s what happens when you don’t try to race to the bottom, but double down on great products, and when you establish a customer base that places value over cost.

Apple builds the Music app right into the iPhone. It lets you browse and search your songs, create playlists, and access iTunes Match and iTunes Radio all from one, unified place. The App Store has several music app alternatives, however, that focus on different features or simply offer different takes. Whether you want more playlist options, social integration, or a safer option while driving, there are a lot of other apps to choose from.

If you’re still looking for a Music app, here are some of our favorites. And when you choose — or if you’ve already chosen — let us know which one you went with in the poll!

1. Ecoute

Ecoute gives you the ability to shuffle albums, adding songs easily to up next, auto night mode. It also offers lyric support, AirPlay, and iTunes Match, and keeps all your metadata in sync, including play counts.

• $1.99 – Download Now

2. Groove

Groove focuses on playlists. It keeps track of your listening habits and learns to build you better playlists. Groove also lets you connect with friends, integrates with Last.fm, and has intuitive gestures for things like volume and playback controls.

• Free – Download Now

3. Stringer

With Stringer you listen to music on shuffle but pull songs onto your ”string” and change things up as often as you’d like without going back to the beginning. You can even save your strings for later and build up unique collections over time.

• Free with IAP – Download Now

4. Songbucket

Songbucket provides lets you easily make and manipulate track lists. It offers unique and interesting ways to view your tracks and intuitive gestures for searching, zooming into and out of albums, and playing your music.

• Free – Download Now

5. Muzik

Muzik embraces Microsoft’s modern interface style, offering alphabetical tiles to get to your favorite music, sort by audio type, and customize your home menu with your favorite tracks in just a few taps.

• $0.99 – Download Now

6. Musio

Musio has the same general look and feel as Apple’s Music app but lets you queue and control your songs with gestures. Swipe to add, swipe to remove.

• $0.99 – Download Now

7. TapTunes

TapTunes is elegant but powerful, with advanced options that are available but not overwhelming. There are five different displays to choose from and controls that are never more than a tap, swipe, pinch, or shake away.

• Free – Download Now

8. Listen

Listen offers complete gesture controls that let you skim through your music collection without ever having to actually look at the screen. That makes it idea for any time your iPhone is in your pocket or your eyes need to be elsewhere.

• Free – Download Now

Your favorite?

If you’re new to music apps on the iPhone, one of the above apps should absolutely suit your needs. Read them through, pick the ones that interest you most, try them out, and tell us which one you end up liking the best. If you’ve already found your favorite mail app, let me know which one it is!