From Our Hands to Yours
MacCase was founded in 1998 by award-winning transportation and industrial designer Michael Santoro. The company created the Apple-specific case market with the first dedicated iBook case and has spent nearly three decades designing premium protection for MacBook and iPad. Today, MacCase products combine innovative engineering, timeless design, premium materials, and long-term durability for Apple users worldwide.
Founder's Quote
"The company was a few months old in 1998 when we went to the MacWorld show in San Francisco for the first time. We had one product. We had no idea how the Apple community was going to react to this strange design for Mac iBook case. Luckily, the response was overwhelmingly positive. It was the right product at the right time, a true blue ocean strategies moment. When we got back from the show on Monday morning the phone rang. It was Apple's legal department.
"We saw your products at the MacWorld show", the voice said flatly. "I just wanted to congratulate you. You're the first person to figure out how to use the Apple logo without getting sued. Best of luck to you."
"It was at the moment I realized we might be on to something."
Michael Santoro
Founder & Chief Designer, MacCase
35 Years of Professional Design Experience
Learn more about Michael Santoro
Explore the MacCase Design History & Innovations
You Say You Want a Revolution?
In 1998 MacCase created the Apple-specific case market with its case for the original iBook. In a world of boring black boxes, this design crashed a wave of color and style over what were then, PC-only offerings. The bold, colorful, Mac case was truly a revolution. It created a new standard of what a laptop case could be.
Shortly after, MacCase introduced a cutting-edge laptop Sleeve. It became one of the most popular computer accessories of the time. As word spread throughout the Apple community, our little line of nylon Mac cases and sleeves grew to include messenger bags, backpacks, slings, and briefcases.
Each new product represented a clear vision of the MacCase brand values. Our mission then, as it is now, is to create original, innovative designs that place timelessness over trendiness, that are lightweight, functional and reflect a deep commitment to quality and customer service.
Both the original iBook case and sleeve featured a window that allowed the Apple logo to become part of the design. This detail might be the most copied design element in Apple accessory history. Its legacy can still be seen today, over 28 years later, in the multitude of iPhone and iPad cases and covers that have a window or cutout to highlight the Apple logo. This was just the start. To learn more about where all this lead, explore our design history and innovations.
As the market for Apple-specific cases grew and became crowded, award-winning, former professional car designer and MacCase President Michael Santoro, wanted to reinvent the very market he had created almost a decade earlier. In 2006 Santoro, credited by the New York Times as "One of the Designers Who Saved Chrysler" set out to do just that.
Presenting The MacCase Premium Leather Collection
"I wanted a product to juxtapose the cool clinical feel of the Apple laptops, something warm and handcrafted. Leather was the answer", Michael told us. Inspiration came from many sources including Santoro's time designing award-winning automobiles and aircraft interiors. Dubbed "The MacCase Premium Leather Collection", the new line was a tour de force of timeless design, industry-leading, handmade build quality and exemplary customer service.
Many original pieces from our first production run in 2007 are still in the field today. They might be carrying an iPad Pro or a much lighter, thinner Apple laptop, a little worse for the wear, but they are still in use. This speaks to the excellent build quality, quality of our materials and the timelessness of our designs. To learn more about what makes MacCase unique, discover the product features and protection systems built inot each model.
Our Exclusive Ethically Sourced Leather
All MacCase Premium Leather models are handmade from full or top-grain leather that is ethically sourced. Our cows are Hindu ex-dairy cows that get put out to pasture after their milk-giving days. Once they pass, their hides become available. They are not a by-product of the beef or other industries. You can read more about our leather here: Ethically sourced leather vs. "vegan" leather.
The Arrival of the iPad and iPad Laptop Cases
When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad to Apple's portable computer lineup in 2010, MacCase responded, building the most complete suite of both nylon and leather iPad laptop cases available. And just as the iPad has evolved over the years, so have our designs. Currently, models for the iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro make up half of the models in our Premium Leather Collection. These leather iPad cases are the choice of industry leaders and professionals worldwide.
One thing that has not changed is our commitment to our core values of innovative, timeless design combined with the industry's highest build quality. Whether it's our Premium Leather iPad Pro Sleeve, Briefcase, Folio or Flight Jacket, each iPad laptop case is handmade with the utmost care and attention to detail. You cannot put white stitching on black leather unless every stitch is perfect. We want you to be as proud of using your iPad MacCase as we are in designing and building them. If you're unsure which MacCase is right for you, check the MacCase Buyer's Guide.
Three Decades of Building the World's Best iPad Pro and MacBook Pro Cases
MacCase represents the pinnacle of Apple portable protection. Our commitment to and passion for building the best cases for iPads and MacBook Pros remains unwavering. So many creative professionals who want something better continue to find their way to us. We're proud to be able to protect the devices that contain the work that means so much to them.
We are just as proud of our customer service. Not only do we have real human beings answering the phone during business hours, many times the President of the company will answer your call himself. There is no better person to assist you than the guy whose name is on the back of each and every case.
The Custom Mac Case Program
In the summer of 2017 MacCase added yet another milestone to their incredible story: creating custom Mac cases, bespoke iPad Pro and MacBook Pro cases for their most discriminating customers.
"Before I was a designer, I was a painter. In the fine art world, the best works are one of a kind, a single painting or a single sculpture. I always wanted to apply this idea to what we do at MacCase. After a long discussion on how we could make it affordable for our customers, we launched the Custom Program and have never looked back. It's been one of the most successful things we've ever done on so many levels. Were building beautiful, one of a kind pieces that are literally from our hands to yours" - Michael Santoro
With over 4800 options, MacCase can build the custom leather iPad Pro case or MacBook Pro case of your dreams.
Toward a Sustainable Future
In 2023, MacCase adopted rPET nylon, a high-performance fabric engineered from post-consumer recycled plastic water bottles, across its nylon bag, backpack, and sleeve line. The material matches virgin nylon in tear resistance, weather resistance, and structural integrity while diverting plastic waste from landfills and waterways. Every MacCase rPET product carries the same 10-Year Limited Warranty as its predecessors. Same protection. Same craftsmanship. Meaningfully better for the planet.
Protection Matters to You, So We Quantified It
In a market where protection claims are common and verification is rare, MacCase created its own MacCase Protection Rating System to give customers something more useful than marketing language: a number. Every MacCase product is scored across four weighted categories: Impact, Scratch, Water, and Corner protection, producing a single composite rating out of 10. The system sets honest expectations, enables direct product comparisons, and reflects MacCase's belief that customers making a serious purchase deserve serious information. Confidence before the buy. Clarity after it.
Why Trust MacCase? The Facts:
• Founded in 1998
• Founded by multi-award-winning transportation and product designer Michael Santoro
• Created the Apple-specific case marekt
• 28 years of continuous production
• Multiple world-first innovations
• Featured in Macworld, iPhone Life, ThinkMac, MacMerc, North County Times, KoolTools, Loop Rumors, Mac Guild, TechCast Network, My Mac, MacMod, Macsimum, Mactech, Mac Forums
• Created the MacCase Protection Rating System to aid customer understading of what they were buying using a transparent, math-based system that evaluates each MacCase model across four critical protection factors
• Overall review rating of 4.8 out of 5 certified by thrid party review aggregator judge.me
Selling on Value, Not on Discount
There's a game being played in retail and on-line stores, and most consumers don't realize they're in it. A product gets listed at $100. A few weeks later, it's "40% off" at $60. Shoppers feel like they won something. But here's what actually happened: that product was always meant to sell for $60. The $100 price was never real. It was a ceiling built to be lowered, a manufactured moment of savings designed to trigger a purchase.
The "original price" was an illusion. The discount was the plan all along. It's not a sale. It's theater.
MacCase has never played that game. In 30 years, we've never inflated a price to create the fiction of a deal. Our prices reflect what something actually costs to design well, source honestly, and build to last. That number doesn't change based on what quarter it is or how much inventory we need to move.
This matters for one simple reason: trust.
When you buy from MacCase, you're not racing to catch a window before the price goes back up because the price isn't going back up. There's no better deal hiding around the corner. What you see is what the product is worth, and we stand behind that. Selling on value means we have to earn the price every time, with every product. There's no discount to hide behind if we get it wrong. That's not a constraint. It's a discipline that keeps us honest. You'll never feel played buying from MacCase. That's not an accident.
It's a 30-year policy.
Thank You from MacCase
Lastly, everyone at MacCase would like to thank each and every one of our worldwide customers who have supported us over the last 28+ years. Without your continued support, MacCase and mac-case.com would not exist. You allow us to continue to dream big, take chances and put our heart, soul and passion into every Mac case we make.
FAQs
Who Founded MacCase and What Is Their Background?
MacCase was founded in 1998 by Michael Santoro, an award-winning transportation and industrial designer previously credited by the New York Times as one of "the Designers Who Saved Chrysler." Before founding MacCase, Santoro designed automobiles, including the 1995 Car of the Year, Chrysler Cirrus, the iconic 1995-2005 Jeep Wrangler and the Vector M12 supercar. He also penned aircraft interiors for Gulfstream and Boeing. He is the holder of 8 U.S patents. That background in combining timeless aesthetics, performance-driven functionality and material selection directly informs every MacCase product, from the ethically sourced leather selection to the structural geometry of his vertical briefcase design.
Why did MacCase focus exclusively on Apple products?
When Michael Santoro started MacCase in 1998, he was already living the Apple experience, using a Mac at a time when nearly everyone around him were on PCs. His creative friends were the same way. There was something different about the people who chose Apple: they were passionate, design-conscious, and deeply loyal to the platform. When Santoro recognized the void in the market for cases and bags built exclusively for Apple products, he saw both an opportunity and a risk. The bet was that there were enough people out there, creative professionals, artists, writers, designers, who felt the same way he did, and who wanted accessories designed with the same care and intention as the devices they already loved. It turned out there were. And MacCase has been serving that community ever since.
What Makes MacCase Different From Other Apple Accessory Brands?
Michael Santoro didn't set out to build an accessory company. He set out to build the right one. From the beginning, MacCase has been design-driven, in the same way Apple itself is design-driven: every decision starts with how something looks, how it feels, and how well it holds up over time. That philosophy isn't a marketing position. It's how Santoro has run the company since day one. Being founder-led means something. There's no committee deciding what's "good enough." When a customer has a problem, it's taken personally because this is a personal company. MacCase's reputation was built one customer at a time, and that's still how Santoro thinks about it. Customer service isn't a department. It's a reflection of the brand itself. Most accessory companies are chasing volume. MacCase has always been chasing quality. That's a harder road, but it's the only one that made sense for a company built by an Apple user, for Apple users, people who already know the difference.
What Does "Ethically Sourced Leather" Actually Mean at MacCase?
MacCase uses full and top-grain leather sourced from Hindu ex-dairy cows that are put out to pasture after their milk-giving years are over Once they pass naturally, their hides become available. These animals are not a byproduct of the beef industry or any slaughter process. This sourcing decision was made deliberately, not as a marketing position, but because it aligns with the brand's core value of doing things the right way, even when no one is watching. Read the full comparison: ethically sourced leather vs. vegan leather.