Laser to shield phones, tablets with an industrial sandwich bag

The next time you’re at the beach or pool and you’re concerned your phone will take a dive in the drink, there’s a very good chance you’ll want one of Laser’s latest gadgets.

Call it the most unexciting stocking stuffer, because that’s what it probably is, Aussie gadget and gadget accessory brand is tackling the plastic bag, grabbing the formula for what makes a sandwich bag work, amping it up, and bringing it to your phone.

That’s the general idea, anyway, with Laser’s “Smart Sleeve”, a name we think refers to your decision to use one rather than how it was made or how the sleeve functions.

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Built to be a “one-time use” concept, the Smart Sleeve is literally a heavy plastic sandwich bag made for either phones or tablets, though because they come in two sizes, you’ll want to get the right one for your device.

Essentially, this is just a tough clear plastic sandwich bag designed to keep your phone safe from dirt, sand, and even water, though we’d test one with a bit of paper before going full hog in the pool if you really want to do that.

That’s not entirely a new concept, mind you, and we’ve seen these pop up time and time again in the past, though given how few devices sport water resistance, it’s a timely reminder of just how fragile the gadgets we keep with us are.

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“It’s no secret that kids get wet, get dirty and don’t always protect valuable technology as well as they should,” said Monika Centrone, Marketing Executive at Laser. “These smart sleeves offer a simple solution to help extend the life of any mobile device.”

Testing one with the Apple iPhone 6S, we have been able to confirm that the tough and clear plastic does let you get a little bit of swiping done, and even lets you kick in the power of 3D Touch, but Apple’s fingerprint reading Touch ID tech is not supported here.

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In fact, no fingerprint reading technology we could find would touch the plastic bag, with even Google’s new Nexus phones pretty much ignoring it altogether. It’s a good thing you still have a password or PIN in case that fails.

Other than that, your touchscreen phone will function through the bag, though we wouldn’t bring wired headphones, and would rely on Bluetooth here, as any plug protruding from the phone is obviously not going to keep the Smart Sleeve sandwich bag closed.

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Laser’s Smart Sleeve range of phone and tablet bags is available now from Officeworks and Big W for either $12.95 for 10 smartphone sleeves or $15.95 for 5 tablet sleeves.