The Good: Simple but stylish design, silicone skin adds another layer of protection and Kujali donate a mosquito net for every purchase.
The Bad: There’s no typing position and only a black/red colour combination available for now.
The Bottom Line: The Kujali case offers a blend of good design & protection, making it a highly recommended option for iPad Mini owners.
Kujali is an iPad accessory manufacturer with a charitable cause at its core; for every purchase of their iPad Mini cases, the brand donates a mosquito net to a child in Africa.
It all started off when Marc Day, Kujali’s founder, returned from Africa and learnt about the real impacts of malaria. Being a new father himself, Marc felt inspired and went on to build an iPad case impressive enough to please the critics and use the charitable focus as the “cherry on top”.
As far as first impressions go, this £29.99 case stands up well against some of the best ones I’ve used.
Design
On the surface, Kujali’s case has a relatively simple design — just a black leather exterior with subtle branding on the front, plus an elastic strap at the back of the case that overlaps the front cover to keep it shut. There’s also a magnet inside the front cover to ‘smart lock’ your iPad when you close the case.
Inside of Kujali iPad Mini case.
The interior is covered with a red suede material that looks and feels fantastic — far nicer than other cases I’ve used in this price range anyway. I’m a fan of the black/red colour combination Kujali have opted for with this case, but a few different options would have been nice — perhaps that’s something we’ll see in future versions of the product.
On the inside of the front cover Kujali also include a small hand strap so that you can hold the iPad single-handed, and a PU shell on the opposite side to house the iPad Mini.
Kujali’s hand strap makes it easy to hold your iPad Mini with one hand.
In addition to the PU shell, Kujali also provide a red silicone skin that wraps around your iPad to ensure every part of it is protected. It doesn’t feel quite as elegant as the suede covering the inside of the case, but the protective benefits of the shock absorbent silicone makes up for it.
The cut-outs for the iPad’s camera, microphone and speakers are perfectly aligned — and both the charging port & headphone jack have a flap that helps to prevent any dirt from getting inside while keeping them easily accessible.
A flap on the silicone skin covers the iPad’s power port. There’s another flap covering the microphone port, too.
Viewing Angles
Two grooves on the inside of the front cover allow you to adjust between a couple of viewing angles, both of which stay firmly in place. Unfortunately however, the case doesn’t have a dedicated typing position which was a bit frustrating for me since I type quite a lot. You can pull the iPad further out beyond the grooves if you want to type on it but it’s far from a stable or comfortable typing experience, as the case bounces as you type.
Verdict
iPad cases can be quite expensive when you’re looking at premium options, yet Kujali’s ticks all the boxes in terms of affordability, design and functionality — and all for a reasonable price of £29.95.
Throw in the charitable cause at the heart of the brand, and it’s a case I’d happily recommend to any iPad Mini owner.
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Kujali’s Success So Far
After a strong run of sales, Kujali officially announced their first run of mosquito net distribution on World Malaria Day. By partnering with verified grassroot NGOs and charities in Africa, Kujali ensures that the people who receive the net are educated about how to use and maintain them; an important aspect of the distribution considering the nets can protect up to two children and last up to four years.
According to Marc, remote regions in Africa are often unreachable and that’s where Kujali can play an important role, “making a direct positive impact to these small communities in the fight against malaria”.
Kujali’s first partnership is with the Hope Children’s Centre, an orphanage in Uganda which is home to over 500 marginalised children who have lost their parents to HIV or the civil war. “None of the children have mosquito nets and recently the centre has lost several children to malaria. With our first distribution we are making sure that every child here is protected from malaria” Marc says.
