Phone Cases & Screen Protectors: Essential Investments for Your Smartphone

A couple of days ago I happened to notice that the case on my mate’s iPhone had an exposed bottom. I looked at the bottom of his phone, and sure enough, it was damaged just below the ‘home’ button. I asked him why he even bothered putting on such a case that didn’t completely protect his phone in the event of a fall, and he claimed that it was an original Apple case, which doesn’t change the fact that it sucks and it doesn’t protect the phone as it should. He then admitted that he broke his screen and paid a few hundred bucks to have it replaced.

All of this made me wonder why people even get cases for their phones? Are they doing it for the looks or for the actual protection? Some people, like my girlfriend, are careless, and they don’t like the look and feel of cases. She actually prefers the natural feel of glass and metal, her Samsung 8 is a classic of a contemporary design, after all. And guess what? Her phone is messed up – battered around the edges from constant falls, and although it’s just one year old, it looks like a war-torn artifact.

Then, there are people like myself, who actually research the cases they’re looking at, and make informed buying decisions. I’ve had my iPhone for a little over 3 years, and it’s unscratched and spotless. I use a Griffin Survivor smartphone case that’s extremely rugged and absorbs shock. The design is slim and tapered, and it features a pebbled texture. Granted, a Griffin Survivor smartphone case is more expensive than most others, but you know what’s even more expensive than these cases? Paying hundreds of dollars for a cracked screen and a new phone.

Having a phone case is pretty damn important. Long gone are the days of Nokia phones that were specifically designed to break apart and have the battery fly off instead of everything crushing on the spot. The modern smartphone is delicate and needs optimum protection. So, get a phone case that’s non-intrusive like those flip cases I see many people with. Get a screen protector while you’re at it as well. Even though I’m extremely careful with my phone, I’m not immune to the carelessness of others. My girlfriend accidentally knocked my phone off the table a few months ago and it dropped screen-first. Luckily, only the screen protector broke, which was an affordable replacement. If it weren’t for the screen protector and the sturdy phone case, I would have probably been looking for a new phone now and be a couple of hundred dollars poorer.