I use a case mainly for getting a good grip on the thing - find the edges and back to be less comfortable to hold than the silicone case. Considering getting a “bumper” style one for my next phone, as that back IS very pretty (while the silicone case isn’t).
Protecting the phone from scratches is a weird objective if you always keep it in a case and never see the back, isn’t it? (Re-sale/second hand value being one reason I can think of.)
My iPhones have been protected by the Apple Leather Case with a Spigen Glas Protector for the display for years.
When I get a new iPhone, I am able to sell the old one in pristine condition or to give it to somebody in the family in this condition.
I have to admit that it is a pity that the iPhone’s design is being hidden in a case. I have caught myself several times thinking how gorgeous the iPhone is looking without a case when I sell it…
So, let’s just get rid of the cases and the screen protectors? Well, I can’t.
Designed by Apple in California…It shows. A caseless iPhone in rainy and snowy conditions is slippery. Picking up an iPhone with gloves? Yeah… My tail-wagging Golden Retriever sending the caseless iPhone from the couch table to the tiles? It won’t happen with the leather case. It will happen with the caseless iPhone that becomes a puck on the hockey field when sitting on the couch table (the ad is showing it perfectly, triggered just by the built-in vibration motor). Is the iPhone broken afterwards? Well, no. At least most of the times. Is the iPhone still in pristine shape after that? I doubt it. Does the iPhone need to be in pristine shape? Well, no, but I like it to be in pristine shape. I do not like scratches, I hate dents.
I have dropped my iPhones on concrete from a height of about 4 to 5 feet several times over the years. You may be lucky at times that you may not end up with a shattered screen after that, but … well …
I have a friend who is a farmer. He always uses cheap Android phones (because smartphones are not exactly rock solid and he just wants to have a phone). Without a case. Eventually the screen will be shattered. He does not care. As long as he is able to see what is being shown on the display, everything is fine… And as soon as he can’t he will get the next cheap phone. 
For sure, I am a case showing the extreme trying to keep my iPhone in pristine condition as long as I can. My two cents: I am confident that the iPhone will survive normal use, but it definitely is not immune towards wear and tear - and shattered glass depening on the circumstances… And that is true for every smartphone. Some are more prone to it than others…
So, I will keep throwing money at cases and screen protectors. 
There is the BIG problem on that!
If it not became damaged, this was pure luck, and not a proof that it will not be damaged doing a 1-storey-drop onto concrete.
My wife damaged her phones edges of the front side glass, while it fall down from our coffee-table onto a wooden floor.
So there is no guarantee which drops causing a damage, and which do not.
Am I the only one, wondering why they did not show the phone in that commercial after the drop…?
I found the tone of that article pretty condescending, to be honest. I have a case around my iPhone SE 2020 not just to protect it but also to make it mine. You don’t like rainbows and sparkles? Deal with it. 
I’m sure Apple considers it beautiful already, but that’s perhaps because they also put a big logo on the back so people will know you’re using one of their phones. I feel no need to advertise for Apple, or to thieves for that matter.
And I want to protect this phone as much as I can because I want it to last. I bought it as a refurb so it’s already lived a good life, I intend to ensure that it continues for many more years to come.
I bought a big rubber case for my iPad Mini 4 that’s designed to make it child-proof. It may not look pretty, in fact it sticks out like a sore thumb, but that’s the point. I can find it easily, prop it up as and when required, and be certain that it won’t move from where I left it.
I use a case because screen repairs are TOO EXPENSIVE!
Off they want to use it without case.
In short I wear clothes my iPhone wears it too. (Case)
Depends on what I’m doing. If I’m working in my garage and using my phone to listen to a podcast, I want the case one so I can put the phone anywhere (like the hood of my bug) and know it’s not going to slip off and fall to it’s death. But, if I’m going about my business inside my house, I don’t mind if the case is not on.
So, the case is situation-dependent.
I am exactly the same; in fact, I am like this regarding everything I own.
Those all may be true but I’m a little less cynical–or more naive 
. I believe they genuinely want to show off the aesthetics. They obviously put great care in how the phone looks (intersection of art and technology). My white, gold trimmed iPhone is beautiful but covered in a leather case. I wish I could go caseless but the minute I do, I’ll drop it, scratch, and dent it; it will then no longer be so beautiful. 
@Bmosbacker I agree with you. Its indeed very fine design. Only if it did have some threaded grip on the sides so accidental slips (being excessively smooth) can be minimized.
If aftermarket value increases for scars it will go caseless
I used to not use a case. I do now though my wife insists and we have joint plan for internet and iPhone so I comply with her wishes. I do think the design and look matter, like a car or macbook it is more than ‘just a tool’ as somebody here says. Well really I think there is a connection between function and aesthetics but let’s not get too complicated and Johnny Ives ‘Bauhaus’ shall we!? I have sometimes wondered if cases cause phones to overheat. I never heard anybody else talk about that? Maybe Apple know something on those lines?
The case I have is transparent and in my view improves the look as it sort of smooths out the camera projections which I thought spoilt that look of the last phone I had. In my own use I couldn’t care less about camera quality as it happens and the cameras they had ten years ago were good enough for my use.
I do think the issue of the case is an important aesthetic decision for an item one uses all the time. My last phone did crack after a drop I think, however it was due for replacement.
Would one buy a lambroghini, if that is one’s wont, and tie used rubber Tyres all around it for ‘protection’…? (edit) I wrote this before reading the article which makes the same analogy.
No, but I do park my new SUV away from other cars wherever I go to avoid scratches and dings. 
ha ha. I did, when I didn’t use a case, tend to put the phone in pockets and so on without keys and so on in them.
This makes me think about those people buying nice boats and then keep sailing around with all the fenders out all the time 
:
I always have a case on my phone, it give better grip, especially when using it single handed.
When parking is scarce I prefer parking next to older, well cared for cars. My theory is if they take care of their property odds are better that they will respect mine. 
Or I park next to the most expensive one I can find. The other day I parked next to RR in the grocery parking lot. Just for the record, there are not a lot of RRs in my neighborhood!
I don’t like cases, but I also don’t like my phone randomly sliding around (sometimes it falls off my standing desk while I’m typing away), so I got the thinnest clear case I could find. On my next phone I might get one of those adhesive skins instead.
So, I got the scratch from you!? 
