| ▲ | Aurornis 3 days ago |
| Cases are great because everyone can get one that matches their risk level and frequency of drops. Having a sacrificial outer layer that I can replace for $10 is also preferable to letting the $1000 phone take the damage. |
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| ▲ | hombre_fatal 3 days ago | parent | next [-] |
| Yeah, I never understand these caseless discussions. I went caseless once since I didn't realize my case would arrive a week after I bought the phone. The phone was slippery (couldn't temporarily rest it on my knee), and I found myself inspecting the restaurant/bar table any time I put the phone down after that one night I placed it right into a puddle of beer condensation and some mysterious food that got in the mic on the back of the phone and grossed me out. The phone could be indestructible to drops and it still wouldn't solve those issues. |
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| ▲ | estimator7292 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | The caseless argument is that a multi-thousand dollar device shouldn't be so fragile that you MUST wrap it in plastic to be in any way functional. A $1k phone SHOULD NOT be a frictionless glass prism. It should not skate away from you ob smooth surfaces. It should not be destroyed by falling 3 inches onto a hard surface. It should have some durability inherent to it. But instead apple spends billions of dollars making phones even more fragile and it's everyone's problem. We now have to spin up factories processing plastic into custom cases, and throw out all the old plastic cases and the older, more functional phones. The argument is that phones could (and should) be inherently more robust and durable all on their own. It should not be a hard requirement for you to go out and buy your own case just for the phone to survive any level of daily use. If they made phones out of plastic instead of glass, this wouldn't be an issue. Plastic backed phones almost always have a texture and when they don't even smooth plastic offers more friction. Plastic phones don't slide away like they're on ice. They don't shatter like my Note 10 did when it slid out of my pocket two inches to the ground. They also don't usually self destruct when you repair them. The caseless argument isn't that cases suck, it's that we MUST use cases because phones intentionally suck. A phone is not a functional object, it's artistic ego masturbation. | | |
| ▲ | hombre_fatal 2 days ago | parent [-] | | But didn't I just make a case (heh) that it's not only about drop fragility? It's a cheap sacrificial shell that adds utility. My examples were non-slip and grime from a public table. Maybe add scratches and impact damage in there too because every material is susceptible to that, and avoiding them helps me resell it. There's no way to build that into a phone. I don't want rubber non-slip bumpers on my phone or a built-in clawed up plastic shell when I can have them in a swappable shell. |
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| ▲ | cosmic_cheese 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | I go caseless just because of sheer amount of bulk cases add, even the "thin" ones. It significantly impacts how easy the device is to hold and pocket. The Air I might consider putting a bumper case on since its thinness offsets the bulk increase, but it's specifically made to be resilient to drops so it's a coin toss even with that. I barely drop my phone though, it happens maybe twice a year, usually on carpet. In the last decade my phones might've had a run-in with concrete or pavement 2-3 times, tops. | | |
| ▲ | buu700 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | I go caseless just because of sheer amount of bulk cases add, even the "thin" ones. That's why I use an aramid fiber case from AliExpress. It's paper-thin, but has saved my phone from more drops than can remember. I used to go caseless, but since trying out aramid I don't see any practical benefit to caselessness. | | |
| ▲ | al_borland 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Interesting. I tried an ultra-thin case before (though it was plastic). I dropped my phone one time with it and it shattered. The drop was pretty unforgiving. It was from head-height onto a thick marble floor. In 18 years of owning iPhones, this was my only catastrophic drop. | |
| ▲ | a2dam 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Which one do you recommend? | | |
| ▲ | buu700 2 days ago | parent [-] | | I think you probably can't go too wrong just searching for 600D aramid + the name of your phone and picking one from a seller with good reviews, but the specific one I have is this: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805920169643.html. Before that, I was using this one from Thinborne: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHLF8FD7. For all intents and purposes, they're functionally identical. I slightly preferred the style of the AliExpress one (camera glass cover + no logo), but the main reason I went for AliExpress when I needed a replacement was that it was half the price of the Thinborne. (The AliExpress one has since gone up ~$10, but the Thinborne one doesn't appear to be available at all anymore.) | | |
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| ▲ | selectodude 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | My case is AppleCare+. | | |
| ▲ | garbagewoman 3 days ago | parent [-] | | That seems wasteful | | |
| ▲ | wlesieutre 3 days ago | parent | next [-] | | $120/year on an iPhone 17, or $140/year on Air, Pro, and Pro Max Even for one year that's more than I'd spend to avoid using a phone case, and if I keep it for five years again that's $700. There are other benefits to AppleCare (a case doesn't cover theft or loss) but I'm not very worried about any of them. | | |
| ▲ | sedatk 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | AppleCare One is about $240/year and covers three devices. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/07/apple-introduces-appl... | | |
| ▲ | wlesieutre 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Across many Apple devices, the only thing I've had break in the last 5 years is a watch that is 5 years old, and if I were picking which 3 devices to put on an Apple One plan that wouldn't even have been one of them (Mac, iPad, and phone all cost more). I think I'll try my luck without it. | |
| ▲ | latexr 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | AppleCare One has been a string of horror stories. Can’t even properly handle you having one Mac with multiple accounts, and you can’t go back to the plans you previously had if they’re discontinued, leaving you with worse service for more money. |
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| ▲ | 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | [deleted] | |
| ▲ | garbagewoman 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | I mean its wasteful in terms of the energy/co2 required to service your phone replacements. Wasting resources unnecessarily. | | |
| ▲ | fcarraldo 2 days ago | parent [-] | | Given the unlikelihood that you need it serviced, it’s significantly less wasteful than a case made of plastic and shipped globally. | | |
| ▲ | fragmede 2 days ago | parent [-] | | It depends on how clumsy you are. Some people just are. Sounds like you're not. Lucky for you. |
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| ▲ | dcow 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | It pays for itself the minute you have to replace a device. It’s insurance. The entire insurance industry is wasteful, by your argument. And like yeah it is. However most people prefer to amortize financial risk. That peace of mind is valuable. | |
| ▲ | selectodude 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | I don’t disagree. I’m a nihilist I guess |
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| ▲ | giraffe_lady 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | I just use one of those pop out nubbin grip things that were popular like ten years ago. |
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| ▲ | Moto7451 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| This, and the options you probably would hate on the phone stock. For my 17 Pro I got a case with a kickstand. If the kickstand breaks off I get a new $16 case. If it was built into the phone I’d possibly need a new backplate depending on the damage. Probably not $16 to fix. A built in kick stand would certainly become a love it or hate it feature based on how people use the thing. And there are people out there who are going to be huge fans of the Flower Power iMac. They can get just such a case and Apple doesn’t have to take the loss on that given 2025 design aesthetic . |
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| ▲ | raverbashing 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Yup for both counts I don't see what's the big deal honestly Some people just seem to like making things harder on themselves Meanwhile if I drop my phone (which I'm very careful, so it was probably once or twice and not from too high) it's really nbd |
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| ▲ | shpx 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| You usually just need to replace the front or back glass, which is $30 with Apple Care or $60 for both, not the entire iPhone. I crack mine about once a year. |
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| ▲ | dcow 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | How do you replace just the glass with AppleCare? They always tell you it’s a full phone replace if the glass is broken, unless it’s changed recently (which would be welcome). | | | |
| ▲ | garbagewoman 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Ever thought about getting a case and lowering your carbon footprint? |
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| ▲ | realityfactchex 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Are the $10 "rugged defender style cases" found online actually as protective for drops as the $80 actual Otterbox Defender branded case? I really wonder, seems like maybe, and might be worth looking into. If so, that would be fantastic and would make the case round to 2 orders of magnitude less costly than the device, instead of just 1. |
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| ▲ | whycome 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| We call these the “use case scenarios” |
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| ▲ | everdrive 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Pretty crazy concept; I wonder if someone could ever figure out something for a replaceable battery. |
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| ▲ | n8cpdx 3 days ago | parent [-] | | Magnetically attachable external batteries exist. Apple basically came up with the concept (MagSafe). |
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| ▲ | tshaddox 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] |
| But you’ll only ever see the “sacrificial layer,” and never see “real layer,” right? So are you only concerned about protecting against major functional breakage? Or maybe only concerned about resale value? |
