3 Prime reasons for not using cases on iPhone!
They are best when used, Naked!
Talking about cases/covers, for iPhones — it’s a crime to case one of your priciest possession.
iPhones in their raw form feels the best in hands and is the way to go about keeping your iPhones. Putting some cheap case to safeguard your iPhone — is a myth.
I am using iPhones since 2012 and I have tried an infinite number of cases and protection. Spending some $800 (~ INR 60,000) in the span of 8 years (2012–2020) gave me one good insight — cases can damage your iPhone.
2018, I chose to use my iPhones semi-naked (cases/covers being used for some use cases). 2020, was the year — I decided to keep my iPhone naked without any exception.
It took $800 (INR 60,000) + 8 years to get to the above conclusion.
I have been very possessive and cynical about my iPhones. For me — there are 2 things for an iPhone to look more awesome in terms of feel.
- They wear good clothes or no clothes (Latter being my choice).
- They have some awesome wallpaper (This can enhance the looks of an iPhone to any level).
I have tried all kinds of cases from OtterBox to Apple leather cases to Apple silicon cases to local ultra-thin plastic transparent breathable non-yellowish clear textured cases.
All cases/covers companies (no offense to any company) sell anything in the name of fear.
Putting a case on your multi Benjamin investment has the following issues to it.
1. Heat dissipation — a process of becoming cooler.
As our iPhones do have strong processors — they heat and they don’t have fans (Like MacBooks), so they need heat to move out.
Cases do block this dissipation i.e. slows down the process of cooling.
Hence, the heat of the phone can — 1) Slow down phone 2) Reduce life span of the battery 3) Slow down battery charging of the phone.
The best thing to do — Don’t use a case.
The good thing to do —
1) Avoid using cases when playing games or doing any heavy-duty work on your iPhone which requires huge processing power.
2) Remove cases while charging iPhone.
2. Design and Aesthetics
Steve Jobs has quoted one great thing about the design.
“Design is not just what it looks like or how it feels. Design is how it works?”
Not putting case: it feels awesome in hand with all curves and material used. Talking about how it works — awesomely well. The buttons are so crisp to use. The feedback you get is nothing compared after putting a hefty case on it.
Also, this reason can be personal — but designers have put months, maybe years in designing great curves. I am sure: there will be good/bad/ugly/sad/happy stories behind every curve that is decided to be launched.
We shall value those efforts, acknowledge it, and use it in the raw naked form.
3. Interference with internal antenna — loss in signals
Well, this is not so strong point as most cases are of plastic or some soft material. The interference by such materials is quite less.
But all metal cases have an impact on your signal strength for sure. Do not use metal cases.
I remember long back (~3 years), I have seen multiple videos/read multiple blogs to convince me — not to use cases on iPhones.
I did come across many of them, but one which actually clicked me was a video on YouTube- wherein someone was interviewing Neil deGrasse Tyson (the Famous American astrophysicist) and he told an awesome phenomenon.
He compared his iPhone with army personnel’s arms. During training — Army personnel is actually trained to play with their arms. They keep on fidgeting it in their hand.
The reason is simple — they cannot drop their arms during the war.
The logic — they get very well acquainted with the weapons, its aesthetic, design, material, etc.
This was the reason explained by Neil — for not using a case on his iPhone.
It might be a powerful tool for someone, who drops his/her iPhone a lot. They can play/fidget/jiggle/juggle a lot in a safer environment.
Final Verdict
To be very clear and precise in the verdict — Don’t use cases on your iPhones. They are such an awesome piece of art that you have purchased. Covering it with something, which is cheap compared to it — doesn’t make any sense.
There are few use cases that come to my mind, where cases/covers can play an important role.
- Trekking/Mountaineering.
- Mounting on a 2-wheeler
- Playing outdoor sport
The other important advice is — What Neil told, play/fidget/jiggle/juggle with your iPhone in a safer environment, and get too much acquainted with it.
Below are some good cases/covers options to go for iPhones.
- Original Apple Silicone case
- Original Apple Leather case
- OtterBox Commuter series
This was my very first article on Medium.
Please comment on any questions regarding anything about Apple (iPhone, iPad, iOS, MacOS, Macs, AirPods, etc…).
