Protecting the iPhone 14 Pro

iPhone 14 Pro, Spigen, Smartish

I haven’t used a case on my phone since wrapping my iPhone 4S in a huge, clunky OtterBox over a decade ago. Apple’s phones were just too slick to hide them in a bulky sweater. But. After accidentally smashing my iPhone X outside of my Apple Care screen replacement window, I started thinking differently. My 12 Pro lived naked and has a couple of barely perceptible imperfections in the screen after 18 months. My 14 Pro got a case and a screen protector.

Spigen Ultra Hybrid Case ($23). A simple one-piece affair that just sort of slips / snaps into place. It’s supposed to have anti-yellowing tech, we’ll see. It has the MagSafe ring in the back, is pretty slim and low profile. Remains to be seen how much protection it provides, but something’s better than nothing (theoretically), and this generally seems to be well reviewed. It’s just thick enough that if I set my phone on my old generic 5W Qi charger stand the phone doesn’t start to charge; if I kind of hold it up and over the stand so the camera bump clears the top, the phone will start charging and I can then set it down on the stand and it will continue to charge. But this isn’t ideal (even without the case on, the camera bump was keeping the phone from sitting flush, so while it was charging, it got hot doing so). I’m looking for a MagSafe solution, like I have at home and in the car (and on the go with the battery pack).

Smartish Tempered Glass Screen Protector (2 for $15). Super easy to install, comes with very clear directions, two individually packaged alcohol wipes, two screen protectors with applicators, etc. Once your screen is scrubbed clean, you put the phone in the provided plastic tray, yank on a tab to remove the adhesive backing, press down, and count to 20. I had two small bubbles that were easy to dispatch, and now my screen is protected - but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’d never be able to tell. Feels just like the original screen, and doesn’t seem to impact responsiveness at all.

So far I’m extremely happy with both of these products (both of which I picked after reading numerous reviews and “best of” round-ups).

Update (November 4th, 2023): Panic at what appeared to be a cracked screen. The Smartish screen protector FTW. (iPhone is intact and pristine. 🥲)

Cracked Smartish screen protector