Do you put a case on your phone? If you do, you’re in the majority – after all, most of us peasants can’t afford to replace our expensive phone every time we drop it and the screen explodes. Not so for the 15 percent of smartphone users who go choose to go case-free.
In a recent article for Mashable, writer Yelena Shuster spoke to a number of Jony Ive-worshipping Apple fans who explained the appeal of leaving one’s smartphone exposed to the hazards of everyday use. (Of course, there are probably tons of non-Apple folks who forgo the case for similar reasons, but they weren’t profiled in the article.) As you might expect, the answers are hilariously pretentious.
Here’s a taste of what you can find in the article:
“Great product design deserves to be experienced as is — not with a bumper and boundaries around it,” says Brian Kalma, president at high-tech business wear startup Ministry of Supply. “I’m not buying a phone so it doesn’t break. I’m buying a phone because I want to use it; I want to feel it; I want to experience the product. That’s what’s so special particularly about Apple products.”
“Obviously the iPhone is much cheaper than my two-door Mercedes, but they’re in the same class in regards to innovative, interesting design and technology,” he says. “I’m going to take my car out of the garage even if it’s going to get a dent. I’d like to experience my phone in a similar manner.”
Self-described “alpha geek” Kane Hsieh says the iPhone is a masterpiece. “Apple’s design is led by Jony Ive, who’s almost worshiped as a visionary,” says the computer science Harvard grad, who’s also an analyst at early-stage venture capital firm RRE Ventures. “Buying a beautiful iPhone and putting a case on it is like buying a piece of art, putting it on your wall, and then putting a sheet over it so it doesn’t get dusty. Without a case, you can appreciate the aluminum backing, the sapphire lens, and the way the buttons are laser cut.”
“Ultimately, breakage is a risk I’m willing to take,” Hsieh says. “That’s the cost of being able to hold the phone in my hand — it’s hard to say this without sounding sexual — and to run my hands over the aluminum backing and all over the phone. It’s a beautiful piece of industrial design.”
(via Mashable)
