Agreed. They should use glass that doesn't break like every other smartphone maker.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Introduces New Guidelines Requiring iPhone Cases to Protect Phones From 1 Meter Drops
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Agreed. They should use glass that doesn't break like every other smartphone maker.
You can't say something is MFi certified unless it meets Apple's standards. Thus the use of the word "certified." Vendors pay a license fee to use the term. That way when you buy something that is MFi certified you know it meets certain standards.
Otherwise you can say anything you want, like "made for iPhone 6" or "compatible with iPhone 6." These terms aren't licensed.
The best cases I've had were the rubber cases that incase used to make. Rubber does a much better job of distributing impact than those hard cases which everyone makes now. I dropped my 4s with rubber case over a dozen times on concrete and other hard surfaces, without even a scratch. I can't even get a rubber case now without looking like I'm ready to hike in the Amazon.
How about a case that doesn't let the phone bend?
Seriously. My 6 has an Apple silicone case "clone" ($10 from mall kiosk) and it bent in my front jeans pocket. I can just see in the future "sorry, you were not using an approved MFi case."
As it is, Apple is sending me a replacement so I am happy about that.
Seriously. My 6 has an Apple silicone case "clone" ($10 from mall kiosk) and it bent in my front jeans pocket. I can just see in the future "sorry, you were not using an approved MFi case."
As it is, Apple is sending me a replacement so I am happy about that.
If you want to sell cases in their store or through a major retailer I can imagine it helps to be certified. That's a big enough reason for many case producers I expect.
You just summed up my life right there. Or my life as it is at work. I work for a company that sells cell phones and we see so many broken screens and not just iPhones. We see all makes and models. Really at the end of the day people need to take responsibility for their actions. This is great that apple is trying to do their part. How to get the consumers on board.
----------
It's people like you who make me mad. I see tons of other manufacturers with tons of cracked screens. As I stated before I sell cell phones and see all kinds of broken screens NOT JUST APPLE. Even my Samsung reps s5 had a cracked screen after he dropped it in he parking lot. So please until some company makes a phone that can never get damaged please stop making things up.
I've dropped my 5s dozens of times without a case, lots of times face down. Just some scuffs on the edges and a small scratch that isn't even noticeable when the screen is lit up.
Last edited:
I dropped my 6+ in an Apple leather case from the height of my car seat and due to the lack of protection on the bottom I now have a ding between two of the speaker holes
Seems to me, this is more marketing than anything else. As you stated, cases don't need MFi certification. More importantly, as far as I know, the certification doesn't offer any indemnification to consumers. Outside of the ability to put MFi on packaging, the benefits to consumers seem minimal at best. MFi doesn't offer any guarantees that damage won't occur from less than a meter. If it does in the future, then I can see a benefit. Until then MFi on a case is just another marketing bullet point. As is, if someone is worried about damage there are numerous cases available, without MFi certification, that protect phones from greater distances than one meter.
phones arent meant to be dropped onto pavement.
maybe they should make less accident prone customers?
----------
youre reading it wrong.
all apple is doing is specifying design requirements in order to obtain a MFI case badge. there is no liability from anyone.
youre reading it wrong, too. nobody is preventing anyone from making a case. but if you want the official MFI badge, then they must follow the spec.
I'd like to think most people break phones from using them as opposed to not knowing how to put them in your jeans pocket.
i love how everyone talking about break free drops here is talking about iPhone 4s and 5s. My iPhone 5 was dropped at the gym like 5 times and never a mark on it. it's a small light phone with a screen that doesn't go to the very edge... the iPhone 6 plus on the other hand is a huge heavy phone with a rounded edge glass that is right to the edge and makes direct contact on drops. one drop on a gym machine killed mine a month after i bought it... and no case without a bottom lip would have saved that
They can force the company if the product carries the "Made for iPhone" label. Every other company they have no stronghold I believe.
I hate iPhone cases, they are overpriced so much, a huge profit margin for all makers.
I've gone totally "naked" with my iPhone5s for 1 year now, so has my wife.
It's simple, just know where you are, and pay attention to your surroundings.
My iPhone 4 had a case for 5 months, hated it and went "naked" with that, no issues either.
The cases are meaningless if the glass happens to hit a protruding stone/corner/anything on the way down.
Who else here goes "naked", to h#ll with giving my hard earned $$ to the makers of cases.
I've gone totally "naked" with my iPhone5s for 1 year now, so has my wife.
It's simple, just know where you are, and pay attention to your surroundings.
My iPhone 4 had a case for 5 months, hated it and went "naked" with that, no issues either.
The cases are meaningless if the glass happens to hit a protruding stone/corner/anything on the way down.
Who else here goes "naked", to h#ll with giving my hard earned $$ to the makers of cases.
I hope you realize how ridiculous your post sounds. Utterly ridiculous. Although Apple could certainly just make more impact resistant phones they are getting the 3rd party case makers to make a stronger case. Why in the world you even argue this?
Other manufacturers could care less if their cases were made from cancer-causing materials. Good on apple! 
LOL @ cases
I stopped using a case on my iPhone 5 and I don't intend to use one again on a regular basis. I have a case that I put on when I know I'll be somewhere more likely to drop/break my phone (honestly, I use it more to add bulk and increase grip when I'm on the trail) but otherwise, no case at all. Why? Because I've seen too many broken phones IN CASES and heard stories about many many more.
In turn, I've also dropped my caseless phone (iPhone 5) several times and while it didn't escape unscathed, it also didn't shatter the screen either. The most notable was from about shoulder height, onto concrete, in a forward (think tumbling across concrete) motion. I got a fingernail-clipping size chip on the corner of the screen and continued to use the phone for many more months after.
What am I getting at? Well, it really seems that, even with moderate precautions taken, you're still vulnerable to breakage in some way. Sure, a caseless phone will suffer worse cosmetic damage than one with a case -- but if the expectation is to help mitigate damage that would render the phone useless (let's just say "break the screen"), I think many cases out there are not up to the task as much as we think they are or should be. Further, the more protective ones are usually more bulky, and not every case has been tested for every scenario (obviously) so you could very well come across a scenario not considered by the case designers.
I'm not sure how Apple will go about testing or enforcing these new MFi policies regarding cases because every drop story I hear has a very different situation and circumstance. Surely they will just set some more detailed criteria and go with that -- but as someone who has gone from being uber-anal about my iphone to not even putting in in a case, I would say try it. You might like it.
I stopped using a case on my iPhone 5 and I don't intend to use one again on a regular basis. I have a case that I put on when I know I'll be somewhere more likely to drop/break my phone (honestly, I use it more to add bulk and increase grip when I'm on the trail) but otherwise, no case at all. Why? Because I've seen too many broken phones IN CASES and heard stories about many many more.
In turn, I've also dropped my caseless phone (iPhone 5) several times and while it didn't escape unscathed, it also didn't shatter the screen either. The most notable was from about shoulder height, onto concrete, in a forward (think tumbling across concrete) motion. I got a fingernail-clipping size chip on the corner of the screen and continued to use the phone for many more months after.
What am I getting at? Well, it really seems that, even with moderate precautions taken, you're still vulnerable to breakage in some way. Sure, a caseless phone will suffer worse cosmetic damage than one with a case -- but if the expectation is to help mitigate damage that would render the phone useless (let's just say "break the screen"), I think many cases out there are not up to the task as much as we think they are or should be. Further, the more protective ones are usually more bulky, and not every case has been tested for every scenario (obviously) so you could very well come across a scenario not considered by the case designers.
I'm not sure how Apple will go about testing or enforcing these new MFi policies regarding cases because every drop story I hear has a very different situation and circumstance. Surely they will just set some more detailed criteria and go with that -- but as someone who has gone from being uber-anal about my iphone to not even putting in in a case, I would say try it. You might like it.
Need to Fix Headphone Jack!
What's with cases these days requiring some stupid dongle in order to use your headphones? Not only is it inconvenient to have to carry around a dumb extender but it also ends up breaking the remote control functions on the headphones. Every case that I tried for the iPhone 5 had this issue and now the iPhone 6 (unless it's an open bottom).
What's with cases these days requiring some stupid dongle in order to use your headphones? Not only is it inconvenient to have to carry around a dumb extender but it also ends up breaking the remote control functions on the headphones. Every case that I tried for the iPhone 5 had this issue and now the iPhone 6 (unless it's an open bottom).