I recently upgraded to the iPhone XS Max, and because of the larger phone, needed a new armband for workouts in the gym, walking and biking. Was set on getting the more traditional armband when I stumbled on this, while searching here on Amazon. Overall, it's a great armband. When it first arrived, I was a little concerned because it seemed a little flimsy, just by it's design...It's a soft but back plate with a neoprene band attached. Once the phone is in, and it's on my arm though, those concerns went away. It pretty much stays put once the band it tightened, even with a large phone like the iPhone XS Max. The great thing about this design, is it allows full access for face ID and swiping up from the bottom of the phone. Keep in mind, this mounting plate doesn't rotate, it's fixed vertically...But at least when you do want to use the phone, you just remove it from your arm, but the plate and band are out of the way so the phone is usable in a pinch...
If there are two things I would recommend though, for any future versions is a wider band, just to add even more stability. The other is more important and a concern...The way the band attaches to the "plate" and wraps around your arm. You basically pull the band over and then down on one side to secure the band. The issues I can see with this, is if you have it tight, and flex your arm, I mean really, really flex it, there is, like any velcro based armband, a chance for the band to come loose.. With it under a lot of tension, the band can even slip all the way out of the connectors on each side of the plate, and the whole armband will fall off. They need to at least and some kind of "stopper", stitched on one end of the band, that would stop the band from completely coming loose and stop the band from coming off. I haven't had this issue but I can see if you primarily do weight and strength conditioning, were you are flexing your arm muscles, this could be a concern. This has never happened to me while in the gym, but once and awhile, when I'm done working out, I'll pull the band to release it, and if I don't have a good grip, the band will, from the tension of being around my arm, pull back once released and pull it's self off...letting the whole band and phone slip down my arm. Luckily, I've caught in time, but like I mentioned, I can see for some, it could be an issue...
Love this little armband! I like to mess around with my phone while I run, and appreciate the versatility of just being able to touch the phone face and do what I want.
Also, as a petite woman, sometimes the armband is too long, wraps too much and chafes— this does not. In fact, the armband is nice and stretchy so I actually just work it up and down my arm rather than Velcro it open and closed all the time.
I haven’t had it long, so can’t speak to how long the Velcro will keep its elasticity. But if it lasts, this will be one of my favorite armbands.
