I’ve had many apple iPhone cases and they always seem to come apart within a year. I’ve owned 3 leather cases always started showing the plastic underneath in about 6 months and my clear iPhone 11 pro max case is barely holding on (the back is detached near the bottom, some pieces fell off). I’m considering going caseless for the 12… that’s what insurance is for, right? nervous laugh
Seriously though, I might try it without a case and then get a case if I end up having to get an apple care replacement.
Odd, I have my current Apple leather case (brown) on my iPhone XS Max since I bought it two years ago and still looks perfect - just beautifully aged. Same with the leather cases before which all lasted easily two or more years for me.
I had the same problem with my last Apple iPhone silicone case. It got really slippery after the silicone wore off. For me it took more like two years.
I can’t remember having a third party case fail before I’ve passed the phone on.
I’ve had the iPhone leather cases for the past few phones and it has always held up very well for me. The only issues have been places where the case has protected the phone from a drop¹ onto, say, a concrete garage floor.
¹ Ahem. Theoretically, obviously. I would clearly never actually do this.
I used a BookBook case for a couple of years (when I used to go out into the world), and it held up well. I switched back to the Apple clear case, and haven’t had any problems with it. I do leave it on all the time, so it is not stressed by taking it on and off much.
Your proposal to go case-less sounds a bit like during WWII when they were trying to figure out how to reinforce planes that came back with bullet holes. They missed the fact that these planes came back. They needed to reinforce where the bullet holes weren’t, as those were the planes that were shot down. Which is a long winded way of saying that perhaps your cases, in your instance, are sacrificial, and in fact are protecting your phones from significant damage.
I’ve owned multiple Apple leather and silicon cases and they have all worn well. My 6S leather case was a bit chewed up after 3 years, mainly from being used in a clamp style car mount. But the best leather case I have every owned is the Totallee case on my current iPhone 11. Unfortunately it appears they no longer offer leather, but I will definitely consider their cases in the future.
As far as an going caseless, I carried my original 2007 iPhone w/o a case for 4 years and only used a bumper on my 4S & 5S. However, now the out of warranty cost of repairing an iPhone 12 (non-Pro) front glass is $279 and the back can be $449 ($599 pro max) I’ll be purchasing Apple Care+ and a good case the next time I upgrade.
My Apple leather case has been fine for three years now. It’s a bit scuffed here and there, but that gives it a “living” look. The leather itself is still completely whole, no holes or damage at all.
(And yes @tjluoma I have also dropped mine on a concrete floor…)
The one Apple leather case I had was on my iPhone 6 Plus and it didn’t last me the three years I kept that phone, having split near the bottom, I presume as a result of any time I removed it and put it back on but probably mostly, as it loosened a bit over time, my propensity to pop that corner off, on, off, on, off, on as a kind nervous twitch.
I think some people are just harder on cases than others. That’s not a criticism at all, it’s just that people lead different lives. I also hear people complain about how weak Apple’s Lightning cables are but I’ve only ever had one break on me in 12 years (including 30-pin cables) and that was because of a single dumb action. My kids, on the other hand… well they don’t get to use MY cables!
No offense taken. I guess it was me. It’s funny that you mention popping the corners off and on. I do that exact same thing with the plastic case (not sure if I did that with the leather case). I need to find another habit that doesn’t ruin my cases.
But it was sooooo satisfying! I guess an iPhone 12 might solve the problem though. No smooth rounded edges to slide that case off, on, off, on, off, on…
