Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Modern smartphones are expensive, with the best models commonly asking buyers to spend over $1,000. Even if you aren’t shopping for new form factors or cutting-edge features, relatively safe bets are still pretty pricey. Naturally, it makes sense to protect that investment from physical damage, right? Well, sometimes, we can drag our feet and battle decision inertia when it comes to purchasing a device case or screen protector.
Just look at my colleague Joe Maring, who recently lamented his decision to forego both protective shrouds on his Pixel 10 Pro. The result? Tangible scratches and plenty of regret.
As we quite enjoy hearing from our readership, we wanted to see if you’ve found yourself in similar predicaments in your smartphone journey. In a recent poll, we asked if you use a case, a screen protector, both, or take the risk and go without either. The results are great news for case manufacturers.
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Do you use a case and/or screen protector on your phone? The poll received over 5,200 votes over the past week, highlighting just how much of a hot topic smartphone protection really is.
It appears that our readers prefer to play it safe, with just under 60% of respondents shrouding their smartphones in a protective case and a screen protector. 28.3% of readers don’t use a screen protector but do use a case — I found myself in this portion of the vote. What’s particularly interesting is that a larger share of readers (7.8%) don’t use any protection whatsoever, compared to those who only rely on screen protectors (4.6%).
Joe’s article highlights how a single moment can cause problems for the lifetime of a device, a point echoed by several readers in the comments as well.
“I brought my Pixel 7 Pro to the beach ONCE and ended up with a couple of deep gouges on the screen from a bit of sand in my pocket,” writes reader tomdauriaff. “Needless to say, I’ll be using a screen protector on my next phone.”
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