Why you'll be forced to buy a case for your iPhone X
Today is iPhone launch day. No, not for the highly-anticipated iPhone X (that's not coming until Nov. 3), but for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Some people think it's stupid to buy an outdated-looking iPhone even though there's many valid reasons to buy it instead of the X.
I'm not buying the 8, but its release has reminded me of something that fills me with dread for the X which I will get: I'm going to have to buy a case and cover its naked glass and stainless steel body, even though I vehemently hate using cases.
Yeah, I'm that guy who doesn't have a case on his iPhone. It was a tough decision to make, but I did it because I'm courageous, bold, and live dangerously. Yeah, I'm LOLing at myself, too.
I look at my scuffed and scratched up Jet Black iPhone 7 that I paid $924.35 for and sometimes want to cry because it's so ruined. The fine "micro-abrasions" are everywhere and I can now see the dulled aluminum peeking out from underneath the glossy finish.
There are a few small dents in the corners from some late nights where I stumbled into my bed or onto my couch only to find it with a boo-boo the next morning.
My iPhone 7 has many scars... love scars
Even the display is marred with nicks and scratches that have ruined the pixels.
But I don't have any regrets for not covering my iPhone up with an ugly case. Every bruise gives it character and makes it all the more mine. Nobody else has an iPhone like mine; it's uniquely special because of all the cosmetic wear and tear it has sustained.
Every scratch is a memorable battle scar. It's the love, respect (and disrespect) that I have given since I unboxed it and threw it into my linty and dusty pockets.
For most people, my decision to use my iPhone naked is foolish. I wiped out its resale value. I risk smashing its screen every time I use it on a crowded subway or run down the street where it could fly out of my hand.
(Oh, and BTW, I don't have AppleCare or any kind of protection plan for it. Like I said, I live dangerously!)
Why wouldn't I just spend $1 on a cheap-ass case to protect my pricey investment? Everybody else does.
Because I appreciate the design, the materials, the sleepless nights and weekends Jony Ive's team spent making it beautiful to look at and hold in my hands. Covering up an iPhone in a dinky piece of plastic goes against everything that an iPhone is. I might as well just buy a budget Android if I didn't care about industrial design.
But the iPhone X is going to be different. It has a new edge-to-edge OLED display that stretches from corner to corner. The fat bezels on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus and older iPhones are there for an important reason: They house important components underneath like the Home button and the earpiece, selfie camera, and proximity sensor. They also serve another purpose people don't often realize: they absorb a lot of impact whenever you drop your phone.
The bezels are the unsung heroes saving your phone's screen from cracking or shattering when you don't drop it face-down. On the iPhone X, these safeguards are gone. Its screen is completely exposed on the front and the sides. One drop on the corner and there's an even greater chance it'll create a fracture that'll expand across your screen.
And fixing it won't be cheap. The iPhone X's screen is connected to the new TrueDepth cameras housed in the "notch". With more advanced sensors inside, repairing a screen that's likely attached to it will be much more difficult.
The iPhone X's glass back will also be another easy point for damage. Even though Apple says it's using the strongest glass for the back, you know a lot of people are gonna sit on their iPhone X, or drop it badly, and it's gonna shatter. It happened with the iPhone 4 and 4S, and it'll happen again with the X. Glass is glass. It's not unbreakable.
This shouldn't be a surprise to iPhone users. iFixit has been cracking iPhones open for years and the repairability score has only worsened with each new device. More difficult repairs are just the natural result of more custom-designed devices with tighter design tolerances.
So, yes, I'm going to reluctantly buy a case for my iPhone X, even if it's one from the $0.99 store (I'll probably just end up paying way too much for a leather one from Apple). And you'd better buy one, too, if you plan on getting the X.
A $1 case to protect your $1,000+ iPhone X seems absolutely absurd, but it's practically a necessity, unless you plan to just leave it at home and baby the shit out of it. And who the hell is gonna do that?
Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.
