How is your naked iPhone 4 doing?

[Motionblurrr]

I just got a replacement from Apple due to something weird happening with my screen recently. I've been thinking about rocking it without a case since were semi-close to the iPhone being refreshed again.

Which made me wonder: how long have you guys been using your iPhones without a case? Any problems/blemishes/scratches? Have you dropped it?

I'm talking about 100% case free which also means no screen protectors. Hows it held up?

 

[Legion93]

I've never used a case, just front and back screen protectors. Cases make the phone bulky and gives a more cheap look in my opinion. I think that most iPhones would start to scratch and have some marks on it without a protective case or screen protectors because it is made out of glass. Since it is a very expensive device I currently use a clear protective film on the back and front of the phone.

 

[nateo200]

I keep it out of the case when I'm home or in a "safe" place. But if I'm at practice (I row...yeah), at school, in a busy area in gets in a case. I usually carry the case and the phone with me...I know weird

 

[diegoesk]

legion,

where did you get the back protective covering?

 

[h00ligan]

I've had similar thoughts lately....I split the difference to a 1mm case from eBay, which cost two bucks and is free of defects. It's not going to protect all that much, but a bit, and...no bulk.

 

[Phil A.]

I've just got a bumper on mine and only have one very small scratch on the screen (got it ages ago before I had a case on at all).
I've dropped my phone several times from my bedside table onto the wooden floor and although my heart sinks every time I do it, it's survived so far!

 

[heisenberg123]

mines only naked for a few days at a time then i chicken out and it in a case for a couple weeks

 

[BlueDevilBrew]

With only a bumper, mine is still like new, the glass is perfect. Luckily the bumper absorbed the damage when the puppy decided my iPhone was a chew toy!

 

[Motionblurrr]

Hmmm, I currently have an Incase Snap in smoked and while it's a nice case and very thin, everytime I play with the display models at an Apple store I really like how the glass/steel combo feels but the damn thing is slippery as hell

not as slippery as the 1st gen iPhone though, that thing was a bar of soap.

 

[AndrewR23]

Went full naked for a month, scratches everywhere. In a front and back SP plus bumper now.

Very easy to scratch this phone..be careful.

 

[torbjoern]

I have kept it totally naked since I got it 5-6 months ago. A few tiny scratches on the back, but that's all. I'm careful not to keep keys, coins or other metal objects in the same pocket with my phone.

 

[jpetticrew]

Mine has a few scratches on the back and one on the front just below the screen.I think they give it some character and make it mine.

 

[eastercat]

You're very lucky. Because I'm clutzy, I can't let my phone go naked. I can't even recount the number of times I've dropped my phone onto the ground, into my recycling bin, etc.
OP, naked is not a good idea. While you may be careful, it doesn't mean that others around you are. At the very least, get screen protectors and the bumper.

I've just got a bumper on mine and only have one very small scratch on the screen (got it ages ago before I had a case on at all).
I've dropped my phone several times from my bedside table onto the wooden floor and although my heart sinks every time I do it, it's survived so far!

 

[bigsexyy81]

I'd love to go without a case. Phone looks much better. But the Bumper is minimalistic coverage and has done a great job of saving my phone. I don't keep a screen protector on it, just the Bumper.

Don't even know how it's possible, but I don't have a single scratch on the front or the back after almost ten months of use and with the front and back exposed. I've given it probably four good drops, and while I am on my second Bumper, the phone still runs like a champ without a single scratch.

 

[moomoopanda]

I've been using my iPhone 4 naked since I got it in August. Still works perfectly. I've dropped it tons of times. There are a bunch of surface scratches on my phone, but I tend to be more careful with it so that I don't drop it on cement. I've learned, that if you drop your phone on any other surface, such as kitchen tiles and such, you have a lower risk of cracking your glass. On cement, it's instant spider cracks on your whole phone if you drop it from any distance. I experimented, fully cracked my backplate from a one foot drop onto cement.

 

[Motionblurrr]

thanks guys

Yeah I had a close call before right on cement and that's what prompted me to get a case. I have a bumper and an incase snap case since they're so minimalistic and I can switch it up once in a while

The iPhone 4 is sooooo beautiful but that beauty is at a price

 

[frunkis54]

I have never used a case with any of my 4 at&t iphones. I picked up a Verizon iphone on Monday went caseless 3 days put a Otterbox Defender on it yesterday and today i accidently drop it down 6 wood steps and land on concrete floor. I am now a believer in this case not a scratch on the phone just a little on the plastic part of the case.

 

[Applepi]

No scratches as far as I can tell. Naked and loving it

 

[dryja123]

The metal sides are too slippery. I had my iPhone 3g for a year and a half AND NEVER DROPPED IT ONCE. Had my iPhone 4 the week of the launch and dropped it twice. The third time it met the pavement, I was getting in my truck and it slid out of my pocket and SMASH, the screen shattered. Luckily Apple swapped it with no issues and since then I use a low profile case for the grip only. I haven't dropped my phone since.

 

[Legion93]

legion,

where did you get the back protective covering?

They sell it on eBay and you can get a pack of 10 for like £2 - £3 easy. It's the same as a screen protector for the front LCD screen, but fit for the rear panel. As someone else has pointed the sides of the iPhone are way too slippery, this is due to the smooth aluminium/metal coating on it. I'd advise you to get a bumper so that it prevents it from falling from your hand.

I dropped my naked iPhone 4 like a meter off a concrete floor and I was so scared to even pick the phone up, at the end nothing happened just minor marks on the side which was not at all visible unless examined carefully.

As I said, the best thing to do is get front and back screen protectors and a bumper (presumably from Apple as they are high quality). It's the best combination IMO! :d

 

[Dr Kevorkian94]

Just fine, I got more scratches with the bupmer than with nothing at all.

 

[ap3604]

Just fine, I got more scratches with the bupmer than with nothing at all.

Once the phone is scratched up enough do you help it commit self-recycling?

 

[vincenz]

Completely naked for 8 months. Normal scratches on the back, nothing on the front. I'll never use a screen protector again after fondling the oleophobic screen.

 

[Legion93]

Completely naked for 8 months. Normal scratches on the back, nothing on the front. I'll never use a screen protector again after fondling the oleophobic screen.

Yes but when your phone does get scratched or have any cosmetic marks it reduces the resell value of the device. Also, it gives an unpleasant aesthetic look.

 

[MultiFinder17]

Yes but when your phone does get scratched or have any cosmetic marks it reduces the resell value of the device. Also, it gives an unpleasant aesthetic look.

One does occasionally find a person that buys a phone with plans to keep it for its natural life

I've had my 4 since launch day, and it has a smattering of tiny hairline scratches on the back, nothing on the camera lens, and nothing on the screen. I scoop a little clod of dust out of the dock connector every month or so, but other than that, the little bugger's in really great shape. No case, no protectors, just using it like a regular phone.

Incidentally, this is my second iPhone - I upgraded to it from my 4GB 2G that I got back in 2007. Nearly three years that little guy lasted me with no case. It had its share of little scratches, the plastic bottom of the back had been polished smooth by my pocket, and it had a couple of little spots where I had dropped it a few times, but it too still looks pretty good for three years of being toted around and used.

It's always the first scratch that hurts a bit, the thing that ruins the 'perfection' of the device. After that though, you don't feel so bad about the subsequent ones. And really, with a device like the iPhone, it's made to be touched, to be felt, and to feel *good* in your hand. Putting cases, covers, and protectors on it takes away that feeling. It always seemed a little silly to protect the feel of a device like that by never touching it.