I never use a case for my phones. Honestly, I kinda like the way phones "wear down". It's mine, and I scratched it up a bit, no problem.

Same. It reminds me of the "brassing" you see on well-used cameras that have a black finish over metal. The coating wears off in a distinctive way with heavy use.

Example: http://leicaphilia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/BP-M3-5414...

LOVE IT!

I put an Apple case on my iPhone 6 when I got it and recently took it off and the side screen swipes work a lot better. It was clearly designed to be used without a case, so it's strange that they sell them. Oh yeah, they make 20,000% profit on each one :P

I just worry about scratches though because I always sell my phones when I'm done with them.

Unfortunately mine don't so much "wear down" as "fail catastrophically and suddenly."

I used to take that approach, then I shattered a Galaxy S, then a Galaxy S4 (twice!), a Sony Xperia Z3, and an iPhone 6. I now accept the bulk and hope it will preserve the contents of my credit card better.

If you plan to resell it (either as an upgrade program, or as used pre-owned) then a case helps you retain resale value.

Used to be I could just gift to my relatives, but they're pretty happy with their iPhone5's.

So keeping it in a case for two years is worth the extra $20 when it's time to sell it?

Spread between "like new" and "good" condition can be much more than $20, esp. on eBay.

I don't know about the iPhone Upgrade Program, but T-Mobile's JUMP plan doesn't give a crap about the condition of the body of the phone as it is usually replaced when refurbished for sale as a pre-owned device or use as a Like-New Replacement. As long as it powers on, doesn't have a cracked screen and has no water damage they'll happily take it (replacing the body is cheap in most cases, so why care).

Agreed. The case for having a case is when you want to keep resale value as high as possible, but even now that's not such an issue if you do the upgrade program where you automatically get a new phone every year and basically lease it.

What are you doing where it's unusable with a single charge? Most days I get by fine or mostly fine with my phone and I'm a pretty heavy user (music, web browsing, fb/twitter/instagram).

I had to get an external usb battery but only use that when I know I'll be busy a full day with more than usual usage (which is still quite a bit). Example being a full day of work (commute in and out) plus a sportsball game at night or similar where I'm seriously out all day.

This, IMHO phones are not supposed to be jewelry.

I break my screen far too often not to use a case with a raised edge, so it can't survive a fall. I'm too clumsy to not have one. Nothing to do with jewelry.

This is strange: you buy a jet-black phone so that it looks slick. Then you buy a case and change its appearance because scratches might show? Weird logic.

It's aluminum.

The "9 step polishing process" is pretty much how you'd polish anodized aluminum to that level anyway.

(I do a large amount of machining).

Anodizing does not make it actually stronger. The layer it generates is slightly harder, but still do not have great wear resistance

There's not much you can do about this as long as you use anodized aluminum.

Reminds me of the first iPod Touch generations with the mirror finish metallic backs. They would get scratched the moment you took the device out of the box.