No, because even cheap smart phones are often expensive and difficult to repair. My current phone is an s10 ive had since 2020 and even today it would cost me £50 to replace the screen myself.

I refuse to treat my phone as disposable so when i very rarely buy a new phone, ill buy one that i could repair myself and with internals that will last a long time.

Budget phones are usually out for me because they usually become annoyingly slow after only a few years which means i usually end up spending more for a mid range which means repairs cost more if i need them. Therefore putting a decent case on it makes sense.

I refuse to use a case on principle. The idea that you need a case to protect a phone from everyday use is so ass-backwards it hurts my brain. (and was not always the situation!)

It would be so much more space, weight, and cost efficient to simply engineer in the durability provided by a case through the use of proper materials and construction. But apparently marketing thinks nobody would buy a phone that looks and feels out of the box the way a phone with a case feels. So we end up with these thin, elegant, glass and polished aluminum devices... that most of the population has to immediately hide inside a bulky plastic/rubber case to have a chance of surviving 6 months.

Imagine if a carmaker sold a premium vehicle with a polished metal and glass exterior that you had to protect under a vinyl wrap to keep it from rusting and chipping under normal use... they'd be a laughing stock!

I would likely go case-less if it wasn’t for my dry hands, and the occasional need to have my phone sit on my leg (while I am driving) so I can go hands-free with it.

My problem is that any phone without a case (and about 99.999% of cases out there) has the phone being as slippery as an enraged hagfish. It literally leaps out of my hands with most operations, which is why I need a case -- to grip it effectively.

And now with my iPhone 15 pro max, I have been in a desperate search for any case which is sticky enough. As in: with the phone in the case, place it face-up on your open palm without gripping it and tilt your palm 30-45°. If it slides off, the case is too slippery. I’ve had sticky cases before, but it seems that everyone suddenly stopped making them some time after the iPhone X.

Made the mistake of buying an iPhone 15, it's so thin and boxy that it's uncomfortable to hold without a case and the stupid camera array sticks out so much it does not lie flat on a surface when put down, even with a case

Yes. No case. Why would I? I specifically got the phone because it's quite small, and feels nice in the hand. A case would ruin that.

I also have not dropped any of my phones once in the past ~10 years.

My phone is cheap and old as hell. I absolutely do not care of I drop it and it stops working. Actually it already did that, but unfortunately the disassembly and repair only took about an hour so it's gonna remain usable for a while. It is also a tank. Cannot fathom people who take care of their phones. It's so much easier to just not give a fuck.

Redmi 9T.

Yes. Never had one, never needed one, never cracked my screen.

Just makes the phone unnecessarily bigger and uncomfortable to put in your pocket.

I used to use a case and protective screen, but never broke a phone from dropping or anything. So one day I just got tired of my phone feeling all huge and janky and stripped it down. Never went back.

I tried to use my phone without a cover, but it's so thin that I don't like the feeling. So I went back to my cover only for the added thickness.

Not using one with my fairphone, it's bulky enough already, the entire back is replaceable for cheap and the frame looks solid. I dropped it quite a lot, including on some hard surfaces, and it's only made a few superficial marks, like it scraped the frame's shiny coating in that spot, but that's about it.

I do use screen protectors though. They're cheap and are not as intrusive as cases. Just changed it after years of service actually, the thing was all fucked up with scratches and missing glass everywhere, and the actual screen under was absolutely spotless.

I was initially in the minimalist camp of just getting coverage for it and going naked.

Then someone stepped on it and I had to go through the whole ordeal of scheduling and getting it fixed.

After that I started applying screen protectors and using a case.

I always use a case and I never spend £1k on a phone. More like £300

Yep, I hate cases. Naked phone all the way 🤘

case and glass screen protector

i once removed the case to clean it, and the slippery phone fell and cracked the back glass

also, in the period that i didnt have the screen protector, it got all rigged up by the house keys, and eventually cracked from a 50cm fall.

never again.

Case for nonslip surface, and a wrist strap.

A wrist strap on your phone will change your life.

• you can dangle the phone from your wrist
• you can attach the phone to a sling like a photo grapher
• you can hang the phone from a hook or door knob
• you can hold the phone vertically on your hand without Gripping it (tension pyramid)
• on airplanes you can hang the phone from the tray table in front of you
• easy to grab the phone when your blindly groping for it

I had a case for a little while. I don’t remember the phone/model, but I hated how it felt. Anyway, haven’t had a phone case in like 15+ years.

E: I usually keep my phones for 5-6 years. The phones have been fine. Perhaps I’m just more careful with them.

I haven't ever broken a phone when I've dropped it, so no case or cover. It goes in my pocket with keys sometimes but has no notable scratches after 2 years

Typically buy a phone for $100 and immediately put it in a cheap $5 TPU case with a $5 tempered glass screen cover.

The case usually outlasts the phone. The screen cover gets replaced every few years.

I use a case and usually a screen protector. They get broken pretty frequently anyway.

Work phone is not in a case because IDGAF. Personal phone, always Spigen or go home.

I've got a pixel 8 and it's honestly way too thin and slippery without the case.

Hell no. Case and screen protector always. The glass screen protector is also a privacy screen, I've cracked one so far in like 5 years. My case also holds my card.

When phones were made of plastic, yes

Like the Google Nexus 5X (with a vinyl on the back because they chose the shittiest rubbery coating that get sticky with permanent fingerprints)

I use a case. And every phone I've owned over the last 15+ years has looked like new years after buying them.

Not only do they keep their value (if sold), but if given as a hand-me-down, they are "like new".

Worth it, IMO.

I use a case because I need somewhere to keep my cards.

I don't use cases. Don't like how they feel in my hand. I also don't drop my phone, because I don't do multiple things at a time.

Yes, I am childless, why do you ask?

Yep, same iphone for six years now.

These are already large and big enough to hate them... last thing I want is extravolume/weight. Also, I paid for the neat experience and I am going to enjoy it till the end...

SM-A50 for ~2 years now w/o a case, dropped multiple times onto carpeted concrete from ~3 feet and a couple times on tiled floor from ~3-5 feet and worst it got was a scratch about an inch long that you can only see if you're looking for it. Last month fumbled it onto parking lot asphalt which finally gave it a proper crack but it's only on the bottom where there isn't any touchscreen so decently lucky I guess. I've seen so many cased phones with screens looking far worse. If you're a clutz you probably should have one but if you treat it right and it's not a piece of junk then it should last.

I'm just so clumsy, I need the protection. I personally like my phone naked (it's a pretty green 💚), but clear covers are usually flimsy so it's covered for safety. I can't afford a new phone, and cracks irritate me too much. 😔

Been using my Pixel 4a for almost 5 years now - had a case from day 1, which started to disintegrate somewhere during year 4. Figured the phone would crap out well before a second case, so took the Ivan Drago attitude ("if he dies, he dies"). Never dropped it, barely losing any charging capacity, and a better user experience with a (relatively) small, light phone.

I don’t use a case. I like my phone to be small (have an iPhone 13 mini) and a case would somewhat negate that advantage. I also haven’t really seen a case that I like the look of.

I do have a vinyl sticker on the back but it’s more for looks than for protection.

Modern phones are surprisingly durable. I mean, of course, over the time I have my phone it collected a few small nicks on the frame and a few minor scratches on the display but it’s a device I use daily after all.

I’ve only ever had two phones break on me and one of them (my iphone 4S) was accidentally flung across the room by the neighbour‘s boy and even it only needed a new back glass, which I fixed myself.

I've never used a case and never broken a screen. I've only replaced my last several phones due to swollen batteries. Although, I've definitely dropped my phone a couple times where I thought for sure that my streak would be over, but I've just been lucky.