29
votes
Are modern iPhones unusable without a case?
I usually have a decently thick and protective case on my iPhone 15 Pro. But occasionally I use it without the case to see how it’s “intended” to be used. To be honest it doesn’t seem very usable. I constantly find my palm or fingers activate the screen on the lower right edge - which is surprising as MacBook touch pads have excellent palm rejection. I would have expected the same attention to detail and quality on the company’s flagship product.
Maybe I’m just not used to it and I’m “holding it wrong”.
YMMV but I just use a skin to give some more friction to the back and haven’t had any issues with accidental touches without a case.
I’m so surprised to see so many folks caseless.
Are you guys using pop sockets? If not, how the heck are y’all holding onto your phone?
My thumb physically can’t reach all the buttons to type on newer sized phones and my palm is too small to comfortably hold it.
I actually used to drop my phone daily because it would slip out of my grip! With the pop socket I haven’t dropped my phone in years, though.
Am I missing a secret phone holding technique or something??
Here's how I personally use my phone. In "default", one handed operation, my pinkie is below the phone, supporting it. My ring and middle finger wrap around it. My index finger usually just kinda sits perpendicular to the phone, although sometimes I also wrap it around if I need extra support. From here, my thumb can reach anything on the bottom half without much issue. For anything on the top 1/3rd, I can also reach it if I stretch, as long as it's not on the opposite corner as well.
If something is on the opposite corner, on the top, then what I sometimes do is move the phone over to the side, so that it's basically resting in landscape on my palm. My pinkie is no longer below it, but around it, and from here my thumb can touch anything on the top half.
Alternatively, I just two hand it at that point.
This is pretty close to what I do too, though my index finger is closer to diagonal most of the time (probably just a difference in size ratio of hand to phone). It gives me a pretty decent grip on a Pro Max, which while not the biggest phone out there isn’t exactly small.
Sounds like hand size might be a limiting factor.
Thank you for this, I very much enjoyed trying to mimic your hand placement. The way I hold my phone is very similar!
Sadly this seems like more of an anatomical issue for me and changing my form won’t increase my success. I guess I will not get to enjoy the pleasures of naked phone handling in the near future 😔
Not sure if you have an iPhone, but if you swipe down on the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, it will bring down the UI & make the upper half of the screen accessible to your thumb. There’s also the option of turning the keyboard to one handed mode: tap & hold the globe icon on the bottom left, and select either of the 3 keyboard layout icons.
I personally avoid big-ass phones because I find they are typically unusable with one hand. Currently I use an iPhone 12 Mini without a case and have zero issues even though I have tiny clown hands. I wish more manufacturers would embrace sub-6” screens—I don’t need an iPad in my pocket.
I loved my 12 mini. Fantastic phone. I wish they kept it around. I almost bought the purple mid cycle refresh since purple is my favorite color. I’m on the 14 pro now, and I love the purple and 120 hz display, but I could do with it being slightly smaller.
I was recently given a Samsung A16 for work and I regret not asking how big it was (my options were that or an iPhone 14). I still use a Pixel 4 as a personal device and I love the smaller size of it. I don't consider myself to have small hands but the Samsung is just massive! It's impossible for my thumb to move from the bottom to the top of the phone from my default holding position, who even is the target audience anymore? Just general consensus that bigger is better?
I have a 12 Mini. I used it with a case for a while but removed it a year ago. My only real gripes with the form factor are the notch and the fact that the camera juts out about 2 mm outside the rest of the phone. The latter seems stupidly designed to me, and in a way that definitely makes more sense if you have a case, but overall I prefer the smaller profile without it.
...my mini is so much more-useable with apple's silicone case that i think it's an integral component of the chassis design: ergonomics, grip, screen/lens protection, and impact resistance are all addressed as a complete minimal system, frame + case...
...most third-party cases are just bulky encumbrance which compromise usability, wear poorly, and often fail to protect the screen and lenses, to boot...
I haven't used a case since I bought my 15 pro about a year and a half ago. People comment on it being scary, but I've dropped it, I regularly take it climbing, and I've yet to see more than some scratches on the side. I have friends with cases and the front glass smashed, I'd be intrigued to see if there's data on how much a case helps in that regard. I don't have much issue with accidental touches either.
My original iPhone case (60€) let so much dust in that my iPhone is scratched all over the sides. Good chance it would’ve looked better without the case
Is that an official case? Those are pretty bad in my experience.
Yes it’s the official case. The transparent one
I personally don’t drop my phone and haven’t ever broken a phone screen. I’m kinda shocked with how common it seems to be. Besides grip I have a case to prevent scratches which makes it easier to sell when I eventually upgrade.
I’ve been running mostly caseless since the iPhone 11 generation after getting tired of the significant bulk that even “thin” cases add. The only exception is when I’m traveling, during which I use a somewhat rugged case with a wrist strap attached because in that situation between pulling it in/out of pockets/backpacks/etc with high frequency and taking photos, the chances I’ll drop it are much much higher (otherwise I might drop my phone like 1-2 times per year tops, and it’s usually a short fall onto carpet).
I’m currently on a 16 Pro Max and I’ll occasionally trigger things on the edges/corners but it’s not too bad. It just takes some time to adjust.
I will say that I kinda miss the rounded edges of the my 11 Pro Max or the rounded back of the 3GS, which felt a bit nicer to hold.
I’ve been using an iPhone caseless for a long time. Only dropped twice - once while discovering I had a hole in my pocket, and once when my running pouch failed. I typically use phones like I use cars, take good care of em but run them until they’re near death, so while I have only a few minor scratches, resale value is not a concern to me.
Anyway, for holding, I like the pinky rest hold. No need for friction or gripping around the phone, so fingertips and palms aren’t needed close to the screen. It also lets me hit almost the entire screen top to bottom with my thumb.
I would never put a case on my iPhone 16 Pro. The device & screen feel so nice to the touch and overall it is a beautiful brick of glass & titanium. I would not want to cover it. Sometimes I just relax by looking at it, resting on the table.
I also don’t have the issue you’re describing. I usually hold the phone by resting it on the index/middle/ring finger, with the pinkie over the charging port, supporting the bottom. So the only part of my hand touching the screen is the tip of the thumb.
Doesn’t the 16 specifically have a button that’d require at least a case cutout anyways? Due to it being touch-sensitive?
Yes, the camera control button. I believe there are cases without a cutout for it, but instead some capacitive surface, but it’s a very useless button anyway.
(Steering off topic, but)
Ooh, interesting. If you don’t mind, what makes you say that?
I’m asking since I found out about this button existing literally four days ago when browsing the Apple website for something unrelated. (Usually I’d have read about the new features when the phones released, but this year was my first with a recent iPhone myself, so I didn’t feel the need to do so anymore, lol. I had previously been waiting for the USB-C iPhone since 2020…)
I just never use it. It doesn’t even launch the camera properly from the lock screen, often I need to push it two times. It is finicky to control the camera app with, and the position of the button is also inconvenient - awkward to use both in vertical & landscape orientation. Honestly feels like an afterthought.
My iPhone 14 has been caseless since I bought it. My first iPhone was a SE second gen, and while it did have a case, that was just for magnetic car mounts.
To be honest, I've dropped it more than any phone I've owned in my adulthood. But I don't think that it's specific to this phone. The most common reason I drop it is because it falls out of my shirt pocket, so I blame my current clothes. Naturally, it doesn't fall far when it does fall out because it only happens when I am leaning down to begin with.
Actually, there was a time where I accidentally chucked it against the concrete. It has a few scuffs and a very minor dent on the aluminum from it, but it's perfectly workable and is barely even noticable even though it's on a fairly prominent spot.
I hate to be the guy who says this, but... maybe you really are holding it wrong? The only case I've ever used that stopped those side presses was gigantic.
But I wouldn't say using the phone without a case is the way it's meant to be used. Apple does make their own cases, after all.
Thanks for reminding me to remove my case. I didn't use a case for several generations of iphone. I cased up last fall when I was going to be traveling a lot and wanted to reduce the risk of replacing my phone overseas.
I much prefer my 15 pro without a case.
I always wanted to go caseless, but old iPhones just weren’t grippy enough. Then I got the 16 Pro. Something about the titanium and glass provides just the right amount of grip for me. I don’t love how the thin bezel tends to pick up phantom touches, but I love how light it is. Now I’m always caseless. YMMV, of course.
As someone who does not use a case, there’s a reason why basically the only thing I check when deciding whether to buy a newer iPhone is the weight and dimensions. I won’t even consider it if it’s any heavier or wider/taller than my current phone.
(I missed the boat on the 13 mini, sadly)
i’ve been using my iphone 14 pro since release without a case. first time doing so and it’s been great. i have also dropped it more times than i can count and some really bad falls but zero scratches to the screen or back, just little dings on the sides.
i used to use these ultra thin cases but i had problems with dust getting caught in the lip of it and scratching the rim of the phone or the cases getting loose after a while. plus they’re so expensive now…
14 pro here, no case. No issues with accidental touches. I even had a case for a few months, but I prefer it without a case.
Depends on the app and my hand. If I'm using my left hand in the News+ app, the bottom tab navigation is annoyingly easy for my hand to trigger accidentally. The bottom left corner of my phone basically digs into the center of my palm and as I reach my thumb towards the right side of the screen, some skin touches. Most of the time, no issues.
I can't stand how much bulkier a case makes my phone feel. I make the mistake of trying one on every couple of years or so.
I have no case on my 15 Pro and haven't had any problems.