I’m going to try something: use my iPhone without a case again. It’s been a few years since I’ve done this. I use the iPhone X (my favorite iPhone design ever) sans case for an entire year. Dropped it a few times, but only suffered a few hard nicks to the stainless steel band. I guess the reason I went back to using a case is for the additional grip. The camera bumps have also continually gotten larger on iPhones, so having a case sort of balance out the incline when resting on a flat surface.
But even that’s not the case anymore: using the official Apple case, my iPhone 14 Pro still cannot rest completely flat. The cameras bump is simply too enormous.
The reason I’m trying case-less again is because of the realization I’m covering up the full tactile experience of the iPhone. The beautiful textures of the stainless steel and glass, the clicky buttons - all gets covered up by an albeit expensive piece of polyurethane. The rubber case also covers up the beautiful purple color, exclusive to this version of 14 Pro. Why pay so much money for a phone only to dilute the full experience? I want to see the gorgeous color and feel the design every single day.
Of course, the main worry now is dropping the phone. The pristine surface would be no more. Case or no case, I actually don’t drop my phone that much, if at all (I’ve yet to drop this iPhone 14 Pro, knock on wood). Besides, I get a new iPhone every year like clockwork, so any defects due to negligence will be short-lived. I just hope it won’t be too mangled, affecting the trade-in value.
Chinese people of my parents’ generation would buy furniture only to cover them up with plastic (or larger towels) immediately. That’s their version of using a smartphone with a case. What are you preserving, exactly? And for who? I think it’s better to use things as is. Doing things to prevent wear is trying to control the future, which as we all understand, is futile.
Hey buddy.