Being on the upgrade program makes me much more likely to go bareback with the X. I don’t have to sell it myself, so I’m not as worried about minor damage.
This will be my first iPhone without a case. I've always used a very thin, minimal case, to protect against scratches and to make it grippier. With the glass back, I'm hopeful that I won't need a case for either of those purposes.
I always just slap one of these on my phones which is as close to naked as you can possibly get. I hate cases and while this doesn't protect against hard falls it does protect me from scratches. I've been able to sell my last 4 phones in immaculate condition.
They just suction cup the glass off, and the main wire they could potentially break (if they do) by doing that wrong is the display one, which they'd be swapping out anyway.
I guess it's similar to a car repair shop. You can go to the dealership 100% of the time and pay 40% more for the same service, but if you do go third party, you have to check more often to make sure things were done right.
I just see it as a tool and I'm going to use it the way it was intended to be used (without a case). I've dropped by 7 Plus many times and it's developed some battle scars (couple chips, glass cracked in corner) but nothing to prevent me from using the phone to its full capacity. If the damages get in the way of my use of the device, I'll just get it repaired (which so far I've never had to do for any iPhone I've owned). No point in being precious about it unless you plan on reselling.