The Brick is a trendy app-blocking device that makes it easier to stay off your phone; one Mashable writer used it to cut her screen time in half. It's a rather plain little gadget that's gray and blocky — pretty brick-like, some might say — but now, you can change that.
Brick has just launched Brick Cases, some colorful snap-on shells for its eponymous device. They're priced at $39 each and sold exclusively in the U.S. through Brick's website, the company announced on Instagram Sept. 22.
There are four Brick Case styles available, each with names that reference activities you should be doing instead of staring at a screen:
Catch Rays (butter yellow)
Unwind (brick red)
Look Up (a cloudy sky pattern)
Get Outside (a mossy green color with a grass-textured surface)
According to an FAQ on Brick's website, the Brick Case is merely an aesthetic upgrade for the Brick and doesn't change how it functions. "Swap colors and textures to match your space or your style — because Bricking is personal and now it looks like it," it reads.
Note that the Brick Case only works with the latest version of the Brick, not the original model. The device got a minor redesign with rounder edges and a new logo this summer. (Any Brick purchased from getbrick.com after July 30 of this year is considered an "upgraded Brick.")
The Brick contains an NFC chip that can block certain apps when you tap your phone to its surface. To "unbrick" your phone, you must tap it against the Brick again. Compared to traditional screen-time apps, "the physical limitation of the Brick adds an extra barrier," writes Mashable's Samantha Mangino, "making it especially effective at preventing you from overriding your screen time and staying truly distraction-free."
The Brick works with iPhones running iOS 17 or later and Android phones running Android 12 or newer. It's pricey for what it is at $59 — adding a case makes it almost $100 (!) — but sharing it between multiple users ups its value. Read Mangino's full review of the Brick for more.
