Background:

I recently upgraded from the iPhone 14 Pro to the 15 Pro. I generally alternate two cases, a daily driver and a fair-weather case. For the 14 Pro this was the Nomad Sport and Modern Leather. I'm doing the same thing this year, which makes it easy for me to observe the year-over-year changes in these cases.

TLDR:

Nomad seems to be reducing cost/complexity by unifying their cases. The Modern Leather and Sport cases for the 14 Pro were fundamentally different cases with some similarities. They are now effectively the same design with the back being different materials (leather vs. plastic) as well as the bumper (TPE vs. TPU).

Nomad Modern Leather Case:

Fundamentally, the case is the same. It's a rubberized bumper case with floating buttons and a leather back. The leather is still supplied by Ecco tanneries and doesn't feel different in any way. However, the transition point or seam between bumper and leather is more pronounced this time around. This could be an indication of lower quality, or just typical variation - IE, I got a good sample one year and a bad sample the next.

The buttons have been upgraded. Last year the Modern Leather case still used plastic floating buttons. They are now aluminum and don't feel as mushy. The design is still the same - smooth rounded volume buttons (and now the action button) with a textured power button.

The real changes though are with the bumper. Last year it used a flat bumper with an inlet around the buttons on both sides, so that the buttons didn't protrude past the case. This year the side bumpers are concave for most of the length, same as the sport case. The buttons now protrude slightly beyond the case.

Many TPU bumpers feature TPE foam inserts and/or air pockets to assist in shock absorption and overall drop protection. Last year the bumper had air pockets. This year is has none. It's just a bumper.

And Nomad seems to agree that the bumper has been downgraded in quality, claiming 10ft drop protection for last year's model and 8ft for this year.

Nomad Sport Case:

Again, the case is fundamentally the same as last year. It has a rubberized bumper, floating buttons, and a plastic back.

The buttons were aluminum last year and remain unchanged this year. Last year the buttons were smooth and rounded. This year they remain so for the volume buttons (and the new action button as well), but the power button has a texture to it. This will be subjective and I prefer the former while my wife prefers the latter.

Last year the buttons were color matched to the case back. This year they are black regardless of case color. They are the exact same as the buttons on this year's leather case.

On the exterior, the bumper appears to be the same as last year's. The interior as well. However, the front lip is slightly more pronounced than last year's. Nomad has upgraded the drop protection rating from 6ft last year to 8ft this year. It now has the same drop rating as the Leather Case from this year.

Direct Comparison:

Last year the Leather Case was more premium and offered better drop protection. This year the Sport Case saw a slight upgrade while the Leather Case was downgraded, mostly meeting in the middle.

That said, they don't feel the same. The Leather Case feels slimmer and tighter along the phone. The spec sheet counters this however, claiming it's thicker. Height above the phone is 1.1mm (Leather) vs 1.0mm (Sport), and bumper thickness is 2.15mm (Leather) vs. 2.0mm (Sport). They also claim different materials for the bumper, TPE (Leather) vs. TPU (Sport).

TPE is generally softer and more flexible than TPU. Removing the phone from the cases and playing with them side by side, I'd agree that the bumper on the Leather Case (TPE) is a little more flexible. That said, it's not so flexible that it's loose when the phone is in the case. It's tight to the case with slightly more flex around the buttons than in other areas. The reinforced bottom cutouts make it tighter than the Sport Case in the same area.

The microfiber interior on the Leather Case feels softer, thicker, and more plush than on the Sport Case.

Conclusion:

The Leather Case adopted the bumper design of last year's Sport Case, while the Sport Case adopted the button design of last year's Leather Case. There were upgrades to both (Leather Case saw plastic buttons upgraded to aluminum, while Sport Case saw an upgrade to drop rating), but the unification meant a downgrade in the drop rating of the Leather Case. The Leather Case maintained its reinforced bottom cutouts, thankfully.

Going Forward - What I'd Like to See:

They're still experimenting with colors of the Sport Case. I think that it should be offered in the same colors as the iPhone itself. I liked being able to get a proper white Sport Case this year instead of Lunar Grey last year. However, I hope that they bring back the color matched buttons.

The downgrade in drop protection was disappointing, but it seems to have been done to improve the grip (reducing the chance of a drop). Going from flat/protruding to concave means the material is thinner, leaving no room for air pockets on the interior. Effectively, the air pockets are on the exterior now, but there is no extra reinforcement in the corners. Next year the corners should see air pockets and potentially foam inserts.

I do like the soft-touch material of the TPU/TPE bumper and hope that it remains. But I suspect that they're going to go textured/grippy in the future like most other case manufacturers are doing these days. Personally, that grip is like nails-on-a-chalkboard to me, so again, I hope the current texture remains.