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What are the most popular ways to protect in iPhone?

D

Denis54

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 24, 2011
101
0
My daughter was one of the last persons of her age without a smartphone. She works long hours and has no interest or time to shop. She has asked me to shop an iPhone and a plan for her. That is done. Now I would like to know how to protect it.

What are the most popular ways of protecting the physical appearance of an iPhone? She usually takes good care of her stuff but she will want to protect it somehow. I do not know much about phones so your guidance would be appreciated.
 
I use a ballistic jewel case. Doesn't add much bulk but offers good protection. I've had them on multiple phones, multiple drops and knocks, no issues.
 
Don't use it. Keep it in the box.
Well, if you plan on using it, get a good case from a reputable manufacturer. Otter box and life proof are two high protection popular ones.
 
AppleCare or carrier insurance. A good case and a screen protector. What phone and color did you get? If you got the gold i6, I recommend the Tech 21 clear Evo Mesh case that you can get from Apple. It protects and you can still see the gold and the white sides look good too. I use a Spigen clear plastic screen protector that I got from Amazon.com in a 3 pack.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Stuff can get in the case and cause scratches and more often than not, it's too late. If you screen the ebay listings for used iPhone 5s, quite a bit of them claim the said scratches were caused by the case.
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Cases on all of my iPhone's., and never had an issue as you mention. When I traded my 5s in for my 6,, the sales rep said my phone was the best he has seen to date.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Stuff can get in the case and cause scratches and more often than not, it's too late. If you screen the ebay listings for used iPhone 5s, quite a bit of them claim the said scratches were caused by the case.
Click to expand...
I had a Lifeproof case on my iP5 almost the entire two years I owned it. Never removed it to clean it out or clean the phone, and it was exposed to plenty of dust, dirt and sand. When I took the phone out of the case at the Apple store to trade it in, I gave it a quick wipedown with my t-shirt and it looked just as immaculate as it did the day I got it. Not a scratch on it anywhere.

As to the OP - I've used a protective case of some sort on every one of my iPhones. In fact, I've never left the Apple store with any of my four iPhones without at least a temporary case of some kind on them to hold me over until I could find one I really wanted to stick with. I don't like the idea of using a "naked" phone because it's just too vulnerable to drops, water exposure, dirt/dust, etc. My phone goes a lot of places with me that are "dangerous" to electronic devices (off-roading, boating, beaches, etc.), so I prefer a sturdy waterproof case. Even if my lifestyle was less active/outdoorsy, I'd still at least use a silicone case of some kind with some protection against scratches, drops and inadvertent water exposure (spilled drinks, splashes, etc.).
 
marshallbedsaul said:
Cases on all of my iPhone's., and never had an issue as you mention. When I traded my 5s in for my 6,, the sales rep said my phone was the best he has seen to date.
Click to expand...

If the sales rep has to say your phone is the best he has seen to date, yours is most certainly the exception as most people use a case and so they get scratched :cool:
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Naked, as cases do more harm than good (I'm serious about this).
Click to expand...

While I fully understand where you're coming from, this is going to vary largely based on how the phone is treated. If you drop the phone even once in a hard material, such as concrete or asphalt, chances are the cases prevented far more damage than it could ever cause. Women also tend to keep their phones in purses with various abrasive objects. I know my wife's ohones come out looking mich better with cases on than without.

For those that never had an sccident with their device, always keep it in a pocket with nothing else, but also decide never to remove the case, I can certainly see the inevitable debris causing some light scuffing.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
If the sales rep has to say your phone is the best he has seen to date, yours is most certainly the exception as most people use a case and so they get scratched :cool:
Click to expand...


I've used a case on all 4 of my iPhone's and the only one to ever have any scratches was my iPhone 4.

I certainly don't understand how you can claim that 'most' people who use a case end up with scratched phones. I certainly wouldn't use eBay as a measure.
 
A good case and screen protector go a long way to providing a secure environment for your phone. A cheap silicone wrap around your phone is not going to do a good job. Buying a well made case will. So spend the little extra money.

Yes I have heard of people complaining of their phones becoming scratched in the case, but it is not very common, they probably have a cheap case and these people are most likely to treat their phone poorly in the first place.
 
I prefer the following
Ghost armor for the front and back of the phone - protects against scratches.

A case, just because it makes this slippery phone less likely to fall.

Safe phone habits, i.e., not flaunting it when out in public or suspect areas. Keeping it close to your body or pocketbook. Not leaving it around for someone else to pick up.

Find my phone, so if it is stolen, it won't work and the data is protected.

Touchid to make it that much more secure.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
If the sales rep has to say your phone is the best he has seen to date, yours is most certainly the exception as most people use a case and so they get scratched :cool:
Click to expand...

Not true for me. Had my Black Slate i5 in a case with a screen protector on it for two years and it doesn't have one scratch on it.
 
lordofthereef said:
While I fully understand where you're coming from, this is going to vary largely based on how the phone is treated. If you drop the phone even once in a hard material, such as concrete or asphalt, chances are the cases prevented far more damage than it could ever cause. Women also tend to keep their phones in purses with various abrasive objects. I know my wife's ohones come out looking mich better with cases on than without.

For those that never had an sccident with their device, always keep it in a pocket with nothing else, but also decide never to remove the case, I can certainly see the inevitable debris causing some light scuffing.
Click to expand...

You've hit the nail on the head. Those light scuffing are what people blame on the case in ebay listings.
 
firedept said:
A good case and screen protector go a long way to providing a secure environment for your phone. A cheap silicone wrap around your phone is not going to do a good job. Buying a well made case will. So spend the little extra money.

Yes I have heard of people complaining of their phones becoming scratched in the case, but it is not very common, they probably have a cheap case and these people are most likely to treat their phone poorly in the first place.
Click to expand...

When I had an iPhone 4 my apple bunoer actually out some pretty good gouged into the phone. It was pretty clear that it was the bunoer itself, not even the dirt.

I've also had speck cases add some light marks to the phone. Admittedly I don't take cases off as much as I should, though no case maker rally recommends routine removal as far as I know. I've used other cases too, but not for a long enough time that I feel it's a fair comparison.

The last two years I've been using apple leather cases and have been happiest with these. My wife has had good exoeriences with various otter boxes; she also drops her phone rather frequently, throws it in her purse with jeys and the rest of the world, and sets it down just about anywhere when her needs to. Now that I have a one year old I tend to treat my phone rougher than I ever did in the past. I think that it's just too hard to generalize either way. The best thing, imo, is to tell the op about the potential damages a case may cause and allow him or her to go from there.
 
Denis54 said:
What are the most popular ways of protecting the physical appearance of an iPhone?
Click to expand...
Popular is irrelevant. She needs to take whatever precautions she feels is necessary. For some nothing is the solution. Others may use multiple solutions (e.g. case and screen protector and insurance).
 
I would say getting a case and a screen protector would be more than enough. Get something pink, though, since she's a girl
 
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