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Comment by elzbardico | Hacker News Reader

I never trusted/liked protective cases. Modern phones are already too big, and I feel like the added bulk makes it more likely that I will drop it. Having been using the same IPhone 12 Pro Max for a few years now without a case. It has survived quite a few falls from a table by now, no screen cracked, only some dents and scratches on the chassis.

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Apple’s SE series is actually really nice if you don’t like the trend of bigger phones - it’s the same (or similar) internals as the new ones but in a small form factor (4.9 inches? Whatever the 6s had). I don’t want a large phone that barely fits in my pocket, but I want decent internals, so I have one. Apple is by no means a perfect company but I think the SE was one of their correct decisions.

Yeah, as I see myself using my phone less and less I feel that an SE form factor would be a lot more convenient to me.

Because of remote work I am almost always close to my MBP, my Air, or a tablet. Car infotainment screens are good enough nowadays, and I don't need a giant screen to hail an Uber or paying something.

Giant screens are for me an habit I got when I used to commute hours everyday in a car or bus, it doesn't make too much sense nowadays if I really think about it.

Edit - never mind, had dates wrong.

You must be thinking of something else. Maybe the Mini? iPhone 13 Mini was discontinued last September.

1st generation SE had been discontinued long before the 2nd was released, but the 2nd was directly superseded by the 3rd, and you can still get the 3rd new, directly from Apple.

It's still being sold, although we are getting to the end of the two year interval in which it has gotten recent hardware updates. The last two updates occurred in early 2020 and 2022.

The new glass back phones have made themselves unusable without a back cover that offers some grip.

I find it impossible to hold the phone with one hand unless I add a cover.

That's one thing I find crazy with these phones. The entire point of a glass back is to look good. But 90% of the times, we never see it because people use back covers.

Seriously, I have yet to find something better than polycarbonate for the phone body. It is durable, lightweight, can make removable covers, and let radio waves go though. So sure, it looks cheap, because it is cheap, which is great because it helps make for lower priced phones. And if you are going to put that phone in a case anyways, who cares about how it looks, you won't even see it.

Metal is nice too, I still prefer that cheap plastic, but at least, it is a durable material. But glass is just stupid.

Now I understand the premium feel. But why not go for fancy composites instead. Carbon fiber, graphene maybe. These are both premium and technically good.

I’d be fine with the glass back if the phone had a thin rubber band wrapped around it and bouncy corners, but that wouldn’t look sexy in marketing photos.

I adapted by using the phone with two hands for anything more than a quick peek at notifications. While I have somewhat long fingers, the sheer weight of the thing makes it uncomfortable to use with a single hand for typing.

I use magnetic pop socket instead - works great, and easy to remove if needed. Unlike case, doesn’t add bulk on the sides.

Many decent cases are relatively thin and don't add more than a few millimeters in my experience. It's only when you start getting into stuff like Otterboxes or similar that cases have a very chunky factor.

I find that even something like the 15 Pro is borderline too big. It’s already quite hard to use one handed, adding a few mm from a case makes it noticeably worse - for me at least.

I have a 12 mini which is a little large, but sadly they've got rid of that line. A 15 pro is massive. The only current phone which seems to be a reasonable size is the SE.

The silicone cases provice protection to 5 sides of the phone + create a "frame" around the edges of the screen. Wont help you when the screen hits something sharp, but it is still nice protection.

I can see the point behind likeness but why no trust? I’ve been using otterbox since my last two phones and it’s been an absolute blessing.

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