With annual updates to flagships like iPhones and the Samsung Galaxy lineup becoming a consistent practice, many consumers have taken a short-term view of their phones, upgrading every other year even when it’s not strictly necessary.
The consequence?
Most of us tend to overlook the importance of actually protecting our hardware, distracted as we are by the marketing onslaught touting new, seemingly indestructible devices.
The Threats
“Try to bend it,” was Apple exec Greg Joswiak’s challenge to buyers and reviewers as he showed off the new iPhone Air. The confidence is, admittedly, earned. However, bend tests are far from the only threats our phones face today.
Physical Threats
Advancements in Gorilla Glass (for iPhones), aluminum, and even titanium frames introduced across other flagships have undoubtedly resulted in more durable phones. However, they’re still susceptible to permanent damage from even moderate drops if they fall onto the wrong surface.
That’s a real problem. A set of deep scratches on the surface of your phone can render the screen virtually useless, making an expensive screen replacement or buying a new phone altogether the only remedies.
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Environmental Threats
Environmental threats often go unnoticed, yet they can cause significant damage over time. This includes:
- Excessive heat
- Excessive cold
- Repeated variations in temperature
Any combination of these factors can strain your phone’s lithium-ion batteries, accelerating battery degradation and significantly harming its overall longevity. Even something as seemingly benign as humidity can cause problems to crop up if compounded over time.
Obsolescence
Planned obsolescence is an open secret at this point. Companies like Apple and Samsung have a massive incentive not to go all-in on creating incredibly durable and fast phones.
In fact, they’ve admitted to slowing down software over time, and more affordable phones like the base iPhone 17 still don’t feature stronger titanium frames despite the technology being widely available.
As a consumer, that means you need to do absolutely everything you can to maximize your phone’s longevity and win the race to obsolescence.
Protecting Your Hardware: Protective Accessories
Screen Protectors
There have been massive leaps in innovation over the past decade when it comes to protective phone accessories. Modern screen protectors do so much more than just shield your phone from a key scratch. They now incorporate privacy screens to block out intrusive peeks in public, blue-light filtration to lower eye strain, and even antimicrobial coatings.
Screen protectors aren’t just multifaceted; they’re also so much easier to use in general. Gone are the days when you had to fret over manually aligning the protector with your phone screen. Now, even the most affordable screen protectors come with alignment trays to make the whole process a cakewalk.
All-in-One Phone Cases
A great phone case is the end-all-be-all for most power users who don’t even bother with a screen protector, and it’s easy to see why. Advancements in technology, such as graphene fortification, have helped eliminate the age-old tradeoff between a bulky but rugged case and a lighter one that offers limited protection.
These advancements have also translated to eco-friendliness. Innovations in mobile accessories enable the use of recycled plastics and biodegradable materials more efficiently in case creation.
Best Practices For Optimal Protection
Regular Cleaning
Regularly cleaning your phone should go without saying, and yet most phones never see the surface of a microfiber cloth before ending up in a landfill. If you’re living in an urban environment with high PM levels, you’ll want to:
- Use a microfiber cloth to wipe down your phone after applying distilled water or a trusted cleaning solution.
- Clean out your phone’s ports/vents (if any) with compressed air. You can use any small, affordable compressed air can to do this. If you run into any stubborn debris, use an old toothbrush!
Temperature Management
Considering the overwhelming impact that extreme temperatures can have on phone batteries, you should always try to keep your phone in a well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight. Phones do come with built-in protections against overheating, but they’ll only go so far if you leave your phone out on a hot, sunny day.
Cycling Out Old Accessories
It’s only natural for even the best screen protectors to crack over time. If you’re running with a damaged screen protector, you’re only opening yourself up to potentially permanent product display damage if your phone drops at the wrong angle. Swap that old protector out for a new one and you’re good to go.
Phone cases can keep going a lot longer than screen protectors. However, if you notice the bumper buttons on your screen protector have stopped being as responsive, or if there’s a noticeable crack in the corners, it might be time to switch that case out.
Optimal Charging Habits
If possible, try to charge your phone before it drops below 20% and unplug when it hits 80%. This is the sweet spot that maximizes your phone battery’s longevity.
Protection in a Fast-Changing World
The rapid pace of innovation across phone manufacturing, accessories, and even charging technology has significantly boosted longevity. However, you can take that longevity even further by following a few best practices and investing in the right accessories. The best part? You don’t have to worry about learning how to remove air bubbles from screen protectors!
