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Other Pristine or Practical: which camp are you in?

A bit of both for me.

I use a skin instead of a case; it provides good scratch resistance without the bulk of a phone case.
The downside being little to no fall protection...which is fine with me as I'm yet to crack the rear glass or front screen.

Coupled with a screen protector, I've got all the protection I need.
 
I'm in the Pristine camp, always look after them, i dont baby them, i just dont be careless. Always worth more too if in excellent condition on recycling sites.
 
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I haven't seriously damaged an iPhone since the 3G I dropped on a tile floor, screen down. I started using cases with my 5, but still spent a decent amount of time caseless until my 11. It was slightly damaged (small scuff on the curved edge of the screen) in the first week or so before I had a chance to buy a screen protector, so now I use those on all my phones, too.

That said, I consider my approach practical in that not having to get my phone repaired and just replacing a cracked screen protector is much less costly. I don't care that much about it looking great, but protecting your phone tends to have that effect nonetheless.
 
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Pristine. I keep my devices and I like them to be as close to like-new as possible.

My iPhone Xʀ was my main iPhone for 5 years and 7 months. I installed a screen protector on day one and never replaced it, it has no dents and it is not scratched. Like-new.

Perhaps I’m a bit obsessive but nothing too ridiculous. I’m very careful though, and some people would consider it excessive (I place my iPhone in the middle of a table and nowhere near the edges, for example).

I had to replace two screen protectors on an iPhone 5c, and I dropped a power bank on an iPhone 5s. That’s all. The 5s was destroyed, sadly. It works, but a 2kg Power Bank went through the screen protector as if it had nothing. Tough luck. I have it, but it obviously hasn’t been booted in years. Replacing the screen is pointless even though it’s on iOS 8, it’s a paperweight at this point, of course.
 
I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max in purple and only protect it with a tempered glass screen protector (very common) and use the Apple Eggplant MagSafe Wallet. No case. It is over 2 years old and other than scratches on the screen protector that I have changed a couple times, the phone is essentially flawless. I do not baby it particularly. It has been dropped. It is my all the time every day everything device. Not sure why it can't be both. Pristine and practical.
 
I definitely shoot for pristine, but I use them as I want to use them. I can't stand a screen protector that isn't on perfect and in perfect condition, so I go through them pretty quickly and if they mess up at all, I take them off. I currently don't have one on because the last one got a bubble under it and I took it off immediately.
 
I definitely side on practical. The only practical reason to care about a pristine phone is for resale, but I keep my phones forever so it doesn’t really matter. (I’ve only had a few phones because I keep them so long)

Also I never used a case during the one-hand phone era and never broke them except tiny unnoticeable damage. I got away with no case with the tad larger SE3, but that felt more dangerous. Recently I switched to a Pro Max and definitely need a case on it. Initially I put a case on it because I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep it so I thought I might need to resell it, but after deciding to keep it I left the case on because the large size makes it very prone to dropping.
 
There is some thing about Apple that brings this kind of mind about our iPhones. Strange how it is so widely common. I always obsess about the pristiness of my iPhone. I do not use cases never have. The object is pure beauty. I find as time goes on. (Usually keep my iPhones for 4 years) is that first chip? The first hairline crack after a drop? I feel loss for 2 weeks but every single time I find my self falling in love with that crack. Loving that ding. And it makes the object the iPhone mine. And I fall in love. I think it's the extreme dispartity of obsessing over keeping it pristine that you literally connect with that object and it becomes you. Idk it's weird I guess. But I now look forward to the damages that come to my devices. And accept them with open arms. I get excited even. Is that weird? Lol
 
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I'm somewhere in between. I don't use a case, but I'm not reckless with it. I definitely would be pissed about a cracked screen. I have a couple very minor nicks and scratches on my 13PM after 4 years and honestly I have to look for them.
 
I just stick a case and screen protector on my iPhone and don't give it another thought tbh. I wouldn't obsess over it as I have more important things to worry about in life. I wouldn't go case-less either, as I'd be replacing a phone every week and I don't have time for that rubbish, or the inclination to use a phone without a case anyway.
 
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Practical. I don’t care about minor scuffs, scratches, etc. They add wabi-sabi.

That said, the new iPhones (I really noticed this from my 11 Pro Max* onward) are really pretty resilient and with a modicum of care, can be paraded around in the nude** with abandon. I still put a UAG Monarch case on mine, though, for a couple of reasons. I’m a clumsy oaf and it’ll save the phone from the inevitable drop onto concrete. The case also lets it sit flat, which is nice. You do need big male-clothes-sized pockets though. The 16PM with the UAG on it is a chonker. It definitely had three shredded wheat for breakfast.

On the other hand, you could, quite literally, eat your dinner off the (a little scuffed and scratched) lid of my MacBook Pro. It’s that clean.

Worn devices? Fine. Dirty devices? No thanks!

*Midnight green; the best colour for an iPhone: past, present or future
**The phone, not the owner, you dreadful perverts
 
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Pristine! I put a case and screen protector on as soon as I can after purchase. Dents and scratches would greatly upset me (I am the same way with my possessions generally).
 
I like to go with Pristine and heartbroken to announce I some how have the tiniest chip on my space black m3 Pro...
This post felt the appropriate place to vent! I believe the wife or child are to blame and it can't possibly be me ha
 
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Flowstates said:
I used to chase the bleeding edge which meant keeping the resale values high and devices pristine.

Now that the markets and myself and maturing. I hold my devices long enough for depreciation to behave as @BeatCrazy describes.

Once you start actually using your devices, your attention is steered away from their objectness.
Click to expand...
it's interesting: because my needs have shifted and I primarily use a desktop mac, my new MBA is very much dedicated to off-site business and travel. But, since it's on my desk, I find that I do see it more like an object to admire than the workhorse my 2015 MBP was. That Pro was never an object--it was a tool.
 
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Practical here. Service industry, and the phone is another tool on the belt.

The phone also gets dropped onto concrete on almost a daily basis. Use Otter cases, which make a terrible smack! when the phone hits, but otherwise a non-event. Dust it off and back in business.
 
I put a nice screen protector and an Apple case with my iPhone but beyond that I don't obsess over it. It's more enjoyable to me to have an iPhone in good condition as long as possible as I never know when I will be able to upgrade again--especially now with so much uncertainty.

I totally get folks who don't like cases and screen protectors but I feel that's often based on the assumption that you'll be able to get a new one in a year or two and it doesn't matter--and perhaps it won't. I dunno.
 
iObama said:
I'm somewhere in between. I don't use a case, but I'm not reckless with it. I definitely would be pissed about a cracked screen. I have a couple very minor nicks and scratches on my 13PM after 4 years and honestly I have to look for them.
Click to expand...
I’d say you’re practical. A cracked screen is more than just an aesthetic blemish, just like a cracked windshield or glasses!
 
I think I started using cases when we were forced to use a bumper or case with an iPhone 4. My 3GS is in rough shape, my 4 was almost as good as new except with a scratch on the back glass (I sent it in for recycling when the battery started expanding).

I really can’t remember using a case with my 5/5S/SE(16)s, but I know I had to use on my 6 and everything since then because they were too dang slippery and hard for me to hold.

I don’t believe it was until my iPhone X that I really cared about how it looked. That was when I started using a screen protector. It was the first time I spent $1000+ on an iPhone and I wanted to keep it in good shape.

I’m now on a 13 mini, with a thin Peel case and a screen protector with AppleCare+. I'd much rather use the iPhone without a case, but again it's too slippery for me, unfortunately. My iPad is in the MKB with a screen protector and AC+. And my MacBook Air is only protected with AC+.
 
I’m in the pristine camp. I hate blemishes, scratches and dents on my devices. I use screen protectors on my iPhones and iPads and was using cases on my iPhones until this year, when I noticed the paint missing in several spots from being inside a case. I recently stopped using cases on my iPhone 15PM and resorted to using skins and a screen protector. I am more aware of where I sit my phone down and I make sure it’s in its own pocket by itself. With my job title, I’ve still manage to keep my iPhone undamaged even though I have AppleCare+ as backup.

I’ve moved onto upgrading every 2 years and keep my devices as backup, so I still hate looking at dents and scratches. Over the last couple of months, I’ve realized I much rather not use a case and stick to skins and screen protectors.
 
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