Need iPhone SE case advice (again)
2Hey -
So, last time I asked this question, I got an OtterBox Defender, which is a great, rugged case. But, I just activated the phone and will now be carrying it around using it as an actual phone instead of just my in-car music source.
This means I need a case that will fit in my pocket better than the bulky Defender.
Been searching on Amazon for slim cases, but none of them seem to come with screen protection (well, what they call screen protection is just a raised lip).
It’s going to be in the pocket with my keys, so I need something to keep them from gouging up the screen.
I haven’t been able to find any search terms to use that yield what I’m looking for, so if anyone knows what I should search for, that’d be great.
Also if you have specific brand/model recommendations, that’d be great too.
Or, do I buy case and screen protection separately?
I see that you can buy just the thin, clear sheets to cover the screen, but how do I know if they’ll fit with the case?
Sorry for the noob question, there’ll probably be more.
Thanks in advance for any help.
- 11 comments, 50 replies
- Comment
Or, do I buy case and screen protection separately? I think this would be your best bet. Most every screen protector will fit with most every case.
Current front runner (without screen protector) because it’s the cheapest, like me.![:)](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f642.png)
https://www.amazon.com/JETech-iPhone-Protective-Shock-Absorption-Carbon/dp/B072XKHD9P/ref=sr_1_5?crid=PF6SH4WO1PZ6&keywords=iphone+5s+slim+case&qid=1567529760&s=gateway&smid=A3INX5OKDTYMZX&sprefix=iPhone+5+se+slim+%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-5
edit: and, under “frequently bought together” is this two pack of screen protectors from the same brand:
https://www.amazon.com/JETech-Screen-Protector-iPhone-Tempered/dp/B018P3KPNA/ref=pd_bxgy_107_2/138-6737043-5479928?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B018P3KPNA&pd_rd_r=11d2d16e-f65a-4dc2-ac3a-16a4e19d65c0&pd_rd_w=tndFL&pd_rd_wg=kTTP5&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=M50N57HF1BHKFR86FEAV&psc=1&refRID=M50N57HF1BHKFR86FEAV
So, what do you think, should I pull the trigger?
@DennisG2014 yes, get a case you like and a tempered glass screen protector. There usually aren’t issues between the two fitting.
The tempered glass is a consumable item. You will crack it and you will replace it. Unless you’re just super lucky with your phone. It just helps that it cracks before the screen does.
There are also clear vinyl screen protectors, they actually seem to last longer because they don’t crack but I’m not sure they work as well against impact.
Or…maybe not carry your phone in the same pocket as your keys? Just a suggestion.
@therealjrn Exactly. A phone is a prevision electronic device and should be carried on a belt holster, not in a pocket or purse…
… said the Cingular Wireless employee when I came in to the store after my first phone broke.
I complained enough that I ended up going to the back to speak with the manager. During our conversation, she pulled her own phone out of her purse.
@Limewater Are you saying @DennisG2014 should carry the phone in his purse?
@DennisG2014 @Limewater @therealjrn
![$args](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
/image man purse
@therealjrn Honestly, this “issue” is what has kept me from moving beyond the flip phone for so long.
The flip phone is barely bigger than a key fob remote and fits comfortably in a pocket.
Now I gotta figure out how to carry this thing that’s 3 times the size.
If I didn’t care about being mercilessly mocked, I’d absolutely go with a belt clip or man-purse.
As to your suggestion - the other front pocket is where I keep my cash, and I don’t want to have to take out my phone every time I pay for something with cash.
The back pockets aren’t practical for a few reasons, the main one being that I sit on them.
I really don’t want to carry this thing around at all. Unfortunately, society and culture haven’t given me much choice.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DennisG2014 Just use ApplePay everywhere from your phone, no need for cash. TADA
@therealjrn I knew that was coming.
![:smirk:](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f60f.png)
No.
@DennisG2014 @therealjrn Just don’t carry your phone everywhere. That’s what I do.
@Limewater Yeah, I won’t be carrying it everywhere, will leave it behind in a lot of circumstances, same as with the flip phone, but I will need to carry it sometimes.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DennisG2014 In those rare cases, I just use my hand.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in the Four Loko thread.
@Limewater I wonder if there’s such a thing as an iPhone case/pocket-pussy…
![:thinking:](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f914.png)
According to rule 34, it must exist, but this just may be a niche that has yet to be filled (so to speak).
@Limewater Well, no phone cases, but there is an iPad case with handles and a bracket on the underside for attaching your fleshlight…
![:rolling_eyes:](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f644.png)
And now I have to go bleach my search history.
Try a local $1 store? I’ve definitely seen tempered glass protectors there; some may have cases too, since this is an older model.
Thrift stores, I’ve seen even more. One time at a local Habitat for Humanity Restore, cell phone cases were 50 cents each, but if you got 5 or more, they were all free. Alas, that was beyond my budget …
@narfcake that sounds like a business model for Mediocre to experiment with…
@narfcake That’s great advice, thanks!
I will definitely do that before ordering anything from Amazon.
@djslack Perhaps for bath products, even!
@narfcake Well, that was a fun little excursion.
2 dollar stores and 1 giant thrift shop on the main drag in my city.
Didn’t find what I was looking for, but I did find this:
No, I didn’t buy it - but note that, as a non-VMP member, two of these would’ve been $5 cheaper than buying them here.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
edit: forgot about 6.25% sales tax, so subtract whatever that would be from the $5 shipping, and that’s what I would’ve saved.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DennisG2014 @narfcake Plus add in your gas, wear and tear on your car…and your time standing in line with those people who shop at Family Dollar.
@narfcake @therealjrn ~1.5 miles from my house to family dollar. Although, the streets in my city are shit, so there may be a measurable amount of wear and tear in that distance.
Store wasn’t crowded, but I was the minority there - a handful of lovely Latin American and Asian folks.
When you say “those people” I assume you’re thinking about white-trash.
It did smell a bit like piss & b.o. though.
The thrift shop was worse (the smell and the people).
The phone accessories “section” was a bin full of loose parts and empty boxes. Most of the cases looked like they might’ve been found by the side of the road.
I wanted a dollop of hand sanitizer when I left.
@DennisG2014 @narfcake Get triggered much? Maybe I meant " those people who shop at Family Dollar" as a whole set of people, not referring to any particular race. Only a racist would assume I was speaking otherwise.
@therealjrn I didn’t really know what you meant, and I wasn’t “triggered” - you mentioned the people in line, so I told you about the people I encountered.![:man_shrugging_tone1:](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f937-1f3fb-2642.png)
I tried to imagine which “those people who shop at Family Dollar” you might be thinking of and I thought of the “People of Walmart” who are mostly poor white folks.
I wasn’t trying to call you out on anything, which seems like how you took it.
I think that my calling them white-trash is more classist than racist, and I wouldn’t argue with you if you told me it wasn’t a nice thing to say. Nobody’s perfect.
Speaking of triggering - I’ve had the feeling lately that some of your replies to me seemed a bit hostile or antagonistic… Now I’m thinking I wasn’t imagining it or misreading it.
Not sure if or why you have a problem with me. Sorry if I annoy you, you wouldn’t be the first.
If you don’t like reading the things I write, don’t.
I don’t come here intending to piss anyone off or annoy anyone but, like I said, no one’s perfect.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here’s a video I think is funny and relevant. I hope you find it entertaining and not offensive:
@DennisG2014 I don’t use the smiley faces and shit much, but please be assured, I find you to be an interesting person, that’s why I respond to your posts. :smiley_face:
I don’t have any problems with you friend. Well, other than the fact you shop at Family Dollar with those people. I’m a Dollar General man myself.
@DennisG2014 Apologies for the wild goose chase.
This was one of several NIB ones I ran across at a thrift store I frequent.
@narfcake Not at all! It was a nice excuse to get out and take a walk on a nice day.![:)](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f642.png)
The main drag in my city is a really nice place for a stroll.
When I moved here ~20 years ago, it was pretty run down and shabby with a lot of vacant store-fronts. One of the few good and successful things the city has done in that time has been to ‘revitalize’ the area back to its former glory from the '50s, when it was a thriving, modern commercial district.
Times have changed, so the shops there are mostly targeted to lower-income folks (3 dollar stores, thrift shop, a few bodegas, etc.) but upscale eateries have thrived, so there’s always an interesting mix of people from all walks of life hanging around there.
It’s also right on a nice stretch of the Charles river, with well maintained river-walk, boat rental kiosk, a couple of riverside cafes, etc.
Lovely, really.
It’s good to know the military has standards for cell phone cases.![:laughing:](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f606.png)
@DennisG2014 @therealjrn
I’m on Team Dollar General.
(When I’m that desperate).![:sunglasses:](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f60e.png)
Re White Trash/Trailer Trash labeling:
Recently a person I know used those terms in regard to herself and with pride; and I responded with a very sincere total compliment.
Situation:
Very subtle abusive person in a public role always makes difficulties and twists the knife and discovers “greivances”.
All the upper class and middle class people usually just put up with the drama and roll their eyes.
Along comes someone from a slightly more “provocative background”.
She speaks out. Confronts the dramatic person. Calls them on their BS.
Uses office-appropriate language and logical arguments while doing so.
Does not belabor the point; makes her case and completes her tasks.
Result: “Automatic asshole” is nicer for a while.
She (person who confronted) says: “sometimes all you civilized people are too nice for your own good.”.
And she grinned
/giphy grin
![](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Thanks for the help!
I’m sure I’ll have more dumb questions about smart phones in the near future.
/image phone holster
![$args](https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/014/496/163/fec1bd0b1c6af508c21e0f1166d9c6c0_original.jpg?ixlib=rb-2.1.0&crop=faces&w=1552&h=873&fit=crop&v=1483451338&auto=format&frame=1&q=92&s=b9a8f8d630bd85f3e663ee9545553e10)
@medz So there is a sillier looking option than a belt-clip or man-purse.
![:)](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f642.png)
Good to know.
@DennisG2014 I will say I prefer this style of holster when jogging as it keeps my shorts from falling down. Same could be said for phones, I would imagine.
$8.90
https://www.amazon.com/PHEZEN-Shockproof-Coverage-Protection-Protector/dp/B0791BTV1G/ref=sr_1_9
@cinoclav Thank you.
I’m about to head out to the dollar store as suggested by @narfcake.
If I don’t find a better deal there, I’m going to go with the one in the link I posted above.
It’s not only one of the cheapest, but also one of the best reviewed.
I don’t think I’ll actually be able to find a better deal on a known-brand case at the $1 store, but maybe I can save a few bucks on the screen protector.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
/image spigen iphone se
![$args](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
@medz I’m rocking a Spigen case on my pixel 3. Love it except that I’ve worn through the coloring so it is blotchy gunmetal and white on the hard plastic parts.
But the upside to that is it makes my phone look like something not worth taking if I leave it laying somewhere.
@medz I have one that looks just like this but is Incipio. It is great.
Ok, Amazon order placed. Thanks for your help.
Next dumb smartphone question (iPhone specific):
Do you close apps when you’re done using them?
I.e., it’s kind of convoluted to close them - double tap home button, swipe away app - are you meant to just leave them open in the background?
Seems like there’d be a quicker way to quit an app if you were meant to do so.
Also, Siri can’t close apps, which I think is strange - she can open apps and perform tasks within apps; why shouldn’t she be able to close them?
I’m kinda OCD about this stuff, so I always close apps when I’m done using them, but the seemingly unnecessarily complicated way to do so makes me wonder if I’m supposed to just not worry about closing them.
(I know it’s not really complicated, but I thought there would’ve been some kind of single-step way to do it.)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@DennisG2014 I habitually close apps when not in use. I’m not at all familiar with how iOS manages memory (RAM) but I operate on the assumption that apps, even in the background, consume memory and processing cycles until they are quit. Have enough of these in the background and it’s going to affect the overall performance of your device.
@ruouttaurmind Do you find it a bit cumbersome to close them, or is that just me?
@DennisG2014 I guess it’s just a habit with me, so I don’t really notice. Quick double-tap on the home key and up swipe. But if I’m hopping regularly between a couple apps, say between my two email apps and texting, I’ll have all three running and double-tap to switch between them.
@DennisG2014 Nope. They actually recommend not doing it. I will when I have a lot open just for ease of picking the wanted app but overall you don’t have to.
https://www.komando.com/tips/432275/do-you-still-need-to-close-apps
@DennisG2014
Generally you shouldn’t have to if all apps were designed properly… but if an app is ever not doing what it should, force closing it should be the first troubleshooting step. So the closing is more about making an app re-fresh when not working than the phone managing the sleeping apps.
Also see: settings, general, Background app refresh
@cinoclav @DennisG2014
Haha, how do you actually read that shill-overloaded site thru the tiny port hole left underneath all the advertising?![;-)](https://dj5zo597wtsux.cloudfront.net/emojione/assets/3.1/png/64/1f609.png)
‘Stopped paying attention to Kim Komando years ago due to that.
@DennisG2014
Yah, I tend to regularly close them to rid app-swapping of clutter.
Another option that lets you leave them open and cluttered…
From the home screen, wipe right where you’ll see the most frequently used apps in icon form.
@cinoclav Thank you!
I knew there was a reason it felt like I wasn’t meant to be closing them.
@RedOak I’ve never even seen that site before. It just so happened to come up in my search and had the information I knew I had read previously.
@cinoclav she was an early “PC tips/advisor” personality.
A la Leo inflated-ego Laporte.
Sometimes I have 30 or more apps “open” in the background and I don’t notice any difference in performance. (XS running iOS 12.4.1). I only close them all and do a restart before installing the next iOS update.
@miko1 Doesn’t that use up battery thought to leave them all open?
@Kidsandliz @miko1 The article Cincoclav posted above says no.
They ‘freeze’ when in the background.
There’s even quotes from an Apple VP and Steve Jobs himself saying no need to ever close apps.
It even says that closing and reopening apps uses more battery than just leaving them open.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Rokform case
You’re welcome
I see I’m too late for you, but maybe this will help someone else.
@musmagic Rekform looks like it should be something spelled backwards.
@musmagic Rokform prices are very high, but I like the product options they offer. I’ve looked into them a few times, but the lack of a good belt clip option always keeps me from spending the high price.
@ruouttaurmind I asked for it as a Xmas present and had it on my phones for about 4 years…I would still, but they don’t make one for the Pixel 3 XL…only iPhones and Samsungs now…
@musmagic @ruouttaurmind It kind of looks as though the iPhone SE case would be free. I don’t really need another case but that seems like a bargain.
@cf1 @ruouttaurmind The magnet alone will change your life forever…I am probably gonna pay $20 for the universal stick on…it’s driving me crazy not having it.
@musmagic @ruouttaurmind I now have two cases on order. Two separate orders. I wish I had thought to check the price of the black one before I ordered the crystal case. Anyway, two cases for “free” with 6.99 shipping for each. Not bad at all. Thanks for the tip!
@cf1 @ruouttaurmind it comes with a magnet that you can stick anywhere…I put it on the dashboard in my car. Position the logo the way you want in case you’re OCD.
@musmagic @ruouttaurmind The logo will be straight up, thankyouverymuch.
This should solve the whole “can’t mount on the vent” problem. Yay!