These guys let AI design a $362k iPhone case, here’s what it came up with

Ever looked at your shiny new iPhone and thought, “What this really needs is a bit of bling to the tune of a small mortgage.”? I’ve got good news! The guys at Labodét, a brand previously known for wrapping your tech in the skin of creatures less fortunate, has now embraced the future by letting AI design an iPhone case that screams, “I have more money than sense.”

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For the low, low price of $326,652, you can adorn your iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max with a case that’s an iPhone case made from a combo of gold, alligator skin, crocodile skin, and four diamonds. The case features four princess-cut diamonds embedded in a geometric pattern of alligator and rare Himalayan crocodile leathers, all set in 18k yellow gold.

Labodét is quite proud of the fact a generative AI bot designed the case, claiming it has birthed “the most luxurious and extravagant iPhone accessory.” Quite what they prompted the AI bot with remains to be seen. Luxury magazine and rap video inspiration comes to mind. But it got me thinking that I could come up with something better than that.

And when I say me, I do, of course, mean with AI assistance. I’m no designer. Tasked with the challenge of coming up with something that’s a) better and b) more affordable, it didn’t seem like much could go wrong.

Here’s the AI iPhone case designs we came up with

To generate these designs, we’re going to be using the help of ChatGPT. I primed the AI chatbot by letting it know exactly what I was doing. It was instructed to generate “ultra-realistic renders” for the front and back of the case on an iPhone. I was going to be giving it instructions of what to generate, and it was going to do the rest. Since ChatGPT knows exactly what it’s made from, I also asked it to estimate a price. You know, we might as well go all the way!

The first design was a combination of titanium and genuine leather. My thinking here was to blend the modern appeal of titanium with the classic (and premium) use of leather. The iPhone 15 Pros are made from titanium as well, so this suits the device. The top, bottom, and Apple logo of the device are hugged by titanium, and tan leather fills in the rest. It’s supposed to nod to the design of the original iPhone, with the black plastic section at the bottom.

It took a few revision requests, making sure it knew exactly where to put the titanium and the colour of the leather. It seemed to get confused, so prompts often had to repeat themselves. But, we got there in the end. Here’s what AI came up with for the case design.

The first one is closest to what I asked for, but some of the other designs are pretty swanky too. Obviously, there are a few glaring errors. The titanium colours don’t match in the first image, and the second image is, well, strange. But it is a design that I’d actually want to use! And it estimated it would only cost around $100 – a far cry from $362k.

But for those of you out there that value obscene levels of luxury, I asked AI to take a stab at making the most luxurious iPhone case possible. I specifically told it that money is no object! Here’s what it came up with.

Definitely not a stranger to AI-generate image quirks, but it’s certainly blinged up! It described it as the most opulent case for an iPhone. Since ChatGPT created this monstrosity, allow it to sell you on it as well. “This iPhone case is the epitome of luxury, crafted from exquisite black alligator leather with diamond-encrusted edges that glitter brilliantly. The Apple logo is reimagined as a platinum emblem, inlaid with sapphires. Surrounding each camera lens is a 24-karat gold bezel, each lens encircled by diamonds. The case’s buttons are platinum with diamond inlays.” Estimated cost? $100,000. Take that Labodét.

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