Apple politely explains why iPhone cases are a waste of money(zdnet.com)
zdnet.com
Apple politely explains why iPhone cases are a waste of money
https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-politely-explains-why-iphone-cases-are-a-waste-of-money/
52 comments
Eh, get a phone with Gorilla Glass. It's damn near impossible to scratch. I've launched my phone directly into pavement many times without any damage. If AT&T weren't dirty POS who cut off service to force me into using a spyware-ridden Samsung garbage phone that has a soft screen that scratches when you look at it, I'd never need a new phone.
Most of Samsung's flagships also use Corning's Gorilla Glass, and I don't think it really offers the same degree of shock protection as a case. It holds up to scratches about as well as a tempered glass screen protector, but it doesn't protect the back of the device or the sides. Gorilla Glass or not, I still use a case.
This isn't remotely true. If you happen to wear diamond earrings you'll realize this real quick. My SO got a brand new Pixel 6 Pro and within a month the upper portion of the screen was visibly scratched up after some earrings received as a gift. Gorilla Glass still scratches with daily use, even outside of diamond.
Well, I've had multiple phones with gorilla glass 6 and victus(?). No scratches. Then I bought a Garmin fenix with "diamond like coating", and suddenly my phone had a gigantic scratch. Turns out it scratches even with the lightest touch of the watch. Hard things make scratches with just a slight touch on any modern phone, but most things won't.
Aside from the other replies to your comment, phones with Gorilla Glass tend to be more expensive.
And if I'm buying an expensive phone, I'm definitely putting a case on it because I can't have it last less than a few years.
And if I'm buying an expensive phone, I'm definitely putting a case on it because I can't have it last less than a few years.
Meh, my OnePlus 8 is still scratchless and in perfect condition. Rubbing diamonds on glass is going to scratch it, I'm not sure why anyone found that surprising at all. The hardest known material is obviously harder than Gorilla Glass. Pavement isn't made from diamonds though.
> Show the world that your phone is gorgeous.
This is really annoying attitude for making a phone. I want high performance phone but never want weighty fragile luxury looking. It's upselling.
This is really annoying attitude for making a phone. I want high performance phone but never want weighty fragile luxury looking. It's upselling.
> Show the world that you trust yourself enough not to drop your phone in such a way as to smash it. Believe in you, people.
More like "show the world I forgot the number of I've had my phone in my lap and stood up." My phone has a case for the same reason I have 3 pairs of glasses: ADHD.
More like "show the world I forgot the number of I've had my phone in my lap and stood up." My phone has a case for the same reason I have 3 pairs of glasses: ADHD.
I've never bought a case before, but I have a brand new iPhone sitting in front of me that I think is going to need one. Why? Because it doesn't lie flat on the table. The camera lens protrudes enough to lift one end of the phone off the surface. It's like a chair with one leg shorter than the others, rocking back and forth whenever I touch it. Are people really using these without cases? I think I'd lose my mind.
This is good advice if you plan to replace your phone on a regular basis. Else, buy a case. It's way too easy to shatter the screen and dent the outside. Yes, they are beautiful but once you dent them or crack the screen they look like crap. If you are lucky to keep on being able to use it without having to spend a bunch of money on repairs.
Buy a beautiful case.
Buy a beautiful case.
You are missing the point. Look at the iPhone tests of last few years…
Here's what I've seen:
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-13-drop-testing-a-dura...
Tom's Guide recommends a case.
There's no great mystery. Things breaks when they fall. And phones are more likely to fall since we carry them around all the time.
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/iphone-13-drop-testing-a-dura...
Tom's Guide recommends a case.
There's no great mystery. Things breaks when they fall. And phones are more likely to fall since we carry them around all the time.
> The iPhone 13 proved to be the more durable phone in drops without a case,
> Allstate called the iPhone 12 the most durable phone it had ever tested
6ft isn't really a realistic test...
> Allstate called the iPhone 12 the most durable phone it had ever tested
6ft isn't really a realistic test...
If iPhone cases are a waste of money, then Apple should feel comfortable including a 4 year warranty on the screen and case that includes physical damage, no?
Oh, they don’t and even their premium $80 add on warranty includes a $30 deductible?
Maybe a $25 foam/impact resistant case isn’t such a bad idea.
Oh, they don’t and even their premium $80 add on warranty includes a $30 deductible?
Maybe a $25 foam/impact resistant case isn’t such a bad idea.
I don't understand why phones aren't just designed to have a replaceable shell as a first class piece of their design system, so we're not forced to buy random clunky junk to wrap around our phones. The value prop of a case is extremely clear as evidenced by the massive market of aftermarket cases and pretty much anyone who's ever owned a phone. This is akin to trying to gaslight customers into not using laptop sleeves.
This is a nice idea.
There must be something that does this already but I'm stumped. It seems like something Sony would have tried 30 years ago on a Walkman... one mechanism with multiple cases for different environments.
There must be something that does this already but I'm stumped. It seems like something Sony would have tried 30 years ago on a Walkman... one mechanism with multiple cases for different environments.
I think the pixel is, if we mean the same thing. The phone is thin, except the part where the camera lens is, it's kind of extruded. the cases are built around it so it's flat over all
Yea I almost mentioned it as I have that phone. Perhaps it's a happy medium, but to me it's just a step in the right direction, and I'd love to see the concept pushed further.
Coming from apple this is rich. For years their phones were amongst the most slippery, not to mention their laptops, whose metal body are a scratch magnet.
If Apple were serious about this they’d make exteriors in materials like the Thinkpad and would give their phones softer plastic. As it stands, they have some of the most fragile devices in the industry.
If Apple were serious about this they’d make exteriors in materials like the Thinkpad and would give their phones softer plastic. As it stands, they have some of the most fragile devices in the industry.
What are you talking about? A scratch doesn’t make an aluminum case fragile, it’s extremely solid.
They're too slippery to go without a case.
That’s my main beef with them as well - I haven’t used the later models so I don’t know if this has changed, but my 7 and all iterations I’ve had before that literally launch out of my hand if I’m only casually gripping them and make even a moderate movement.
I recently bought an iPhone from Apple. They literally suggest you purchase a case during checkout online, along with other accessories like chargers, etc. I was going to get a case anyways, so I grabbed one with a tap. Apparently their left hand doesn't know what the right is doing.
I probably wouldn't use a case as it definitely adds bulk, but my bathroom has tiled floors, and I'm clumsy. The phone has hit the floor at least twice since I got it like a month ago. As tough as it may be, I highly doubt an iPhone would survive a drop from standing height to hard tiles. (Though, I will admit, usually it's dropped from sitting height, for obvious reasons.) Maybe I'm wrong, but I really don't feel like testing it.
I probably wouldn't use a case as it definitely adds bulk, but my bathroom has tiled floors, and I'm clumsy. The phone has hit the floor at least twice since I got it like a month ago. As tough as it may be, I highly doubt an iPhone would survive a drop from standing height to hard tiles. (Though, I will admit, usually it's dropped from sitting height, for obvious reasons.) Maybe I'm wrong, but I really don't feel like testing it.
There's a full wall of phone cases at the official Apple Stores... If they were serious, they wouldn't have them.
You’re talking about the company that removed the headphone jack so they could (very successfully) sell you wireless headphones. Nothing about an iPhone is really necessary” so of course they’d still sell the cases.
While I’m sure ‘Apple Executives’ can afford to replace their iPhones, if indeed they pay for them at all, when they break, mere mortals like me will keep using nice rugged cases to give our $2,000 phones their best chance of staying in one piece.
I’m not a clumsy person, but in the few instances where my phone has met with a concrete carpark floor or a tiled work surface, my UAG rubber and plastic shell has kept it pristine. That’s something ill pay $40 every few years for, rather than hundreds getting my phone fixed.
I’m not a clumsy person, but in the few instances where my phone has met with a concrete carpark floor or a tiled work surface, my UAG rubber and plastic shell has kept it pristine. That’s something ill pay $40 every few years for, rather than hundreds getting my phone fixed.
> Putting your iPhone in a case is like buying an Audi, wrapping it in rubber and painting flames down the side of it.
It's more like buying an Audi and putting a paint protection film on it.
It's more like buying an Audi and putting a paint protection film on it.
Apple wants people to break their expensive devices more often? Color me shocked
Apple well knows that the primary market for their devices is bling, not functionality, but of course admitting that would be counterproductive to their marketing strategy.
Its no different than BMW touting how their cars are the ultimate driving machines, with all the tech inside, when in reality, BMW well knows that people buy their cars mostly for the badge.
Its no different than BMW touting how their cars are the ultimate driving machines, with all the tech inside, when in reality, BMW well knows that people buy their cars mostly for the badge.
I recently got a new iPhone, maybe a couple months ago. I've dropped it a few times at most. Already the screen and bottom part is cracked. I also have an old phone which has been through a lot with a much more cracked screen. And most of my older phones got cracked after being dropped at some point too.
That being said, the crack is barely noticeable, and the phone works completely fine. The other cracked phone is a bit more noticeable, but still works 100% fine. No issues with touch or anything, the only thing other than the cracked screen in the old phone is that the battery is worse, but that's just because it's old.
I imagine a good case may have prevented the screen from cracking but I would've had to get the right one, some of my prior cracked phones had cases but they didn't look very good for protection IMO.
That being said, the crack is barely noticeable, and the phone works completely fine. The other cracked phone is a bit more noticeable, but still works 100% fine. No issues with touch or anything, the only thing other than the cracked screen in the old phone is that the battery is worse, but that's just because it's old.
I imagine a good case may have prevented the screen from cracking but I would've had to get the right one, some of my prior cracked phones had cases but they didn't look very good for protection IMO.
I've got a bare-minimum case (clear vinyl, sides & back only, $10) on my iPhone. I've seen "naked glory" iPhones destroyed by drops of less than 1 meter onto hard surfaces (concrete & such). Nice try, Apple.
Yeah, it’s all about the landing. One of these phones can survive quite a drop, probably several meters easily, if they land correctly when they’re dropped. But an incorrect landing, say, if you are unlucky enough to have the thing land exactly face down, will destroy the device with very little distance.
I wonder if a cracked screen insurance is included in the insane price of the device...
As an exercise, search for "iphone cracked" on ebay... (1,200+ results for iphone cracked)
As an exercise, search for "iphone cracked" on ebay... (1,200+ results for iphone cracked)
My Apple branded silicone case is already falling apart after 3 months of normal use, so I guess I’d have to agree with them.
Apple employees don't put cases on their phones because they can easily get a new phone if their phone breaks.
Apple can go *ck themselves. I paid £1,250 in January 2020 for an iPhone 11 Max Pro which spontaneously acquired a vertical band of bright green light on the screen the other day. No sympathy at the "Genius Bar" so £309 to repair what should be the subject of a class action lawsuit.
Yeah, no. My 13 Pro is too slippery to hold without a case, and I'm nothing but anxiety without it. One of the primary reasons I upgraded from my XR was for the cameras, and I managed to find a slim case with a slide-over cover for the lenses.
> McDonald's politely explains why cooking at home is a waste of money
I don’t like having a case. I had to get a case for my (admittedly old) iPhone because setting it down on a table would scratch its camera lens. How are the newer iPhones for this?
Camera lenses on most high end phones have been synthetic sapphire for some time now. Until synthetic diamonds are cheap enough to use as lenses (and even then idk the technical challenges of that) we likely won't see any improvement to the scratch resistance of lenses.
They don’t show the phone after the fall because there is a big spider web crack on the screen. But relax, it’s an iPhone. Vibrate still works.
Because buying a new one instead is better for sales?
It’s too dang slippery. Also, children
Why make a crazy big camera bump then? Without the case my phone does not lie flat on the desk
Ironic coming from the most slippery handheld design/materials on the market.
I usually notice how hot my iPhone gets when I’m using it without a case.
I drop phones a lot. At least a couple times a month. I can't help it. I'm super clumsy. Because of the case (and a screen guard) my phone has zero scratches on it. I guarantee that without them it wouldn't have lasted two months.
I'm also a student and broke as fuck. I have to save up for several months to buy a $250 phone. I can't afford to replace my phone more than once every couple years. Hence I can't imagine using it without a case.
> Liberate your iPhone. Liberate your Android. Show the world that your phone is gorgeous. Show the world that you trust yourself enough not to drop your phone in such a way as to smash it. Believe in you, people.
Many people can't afford this "liberation". A phone is first and foremost utilitarian, not an object of beauty. If it breaks, my life gets seriously harder for months.