[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by kkdeep

I am buying a new Iphone 16 pro max base version. Getting it from US. Cost me about 1,06,000 with taxes and currency conversion charges on my Indian credit card. So close to 40K saving on Indian price. Does anybody have recommendation for screen guard and case for this phone which is available in India. Amazon seems to have a lot of options so i am confused.

Like others have recommended, go with the Spigen screen guard / case. I have been using the Spigen Thin Fit for all my phones for the past 2-3 years, and its always my preferred option due to the relatively thin profile, without compromising on the protection part. And it looks quite good on the iPhone.

Just to note that the Spigen Thin Fit comes with a cut-out for the famed camera control.

There's another case called Spigen Ultra Hybrid T (not sure if available in India), which has a nice button for the camera control, but I found the case overall quite bulky and glossy, hence returned after trying for a couple of days and moved back to the trusted Thin Fit.

[kkdeep]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Buy a Spigen brand guard/case from the US itself

I had a bad experience with a Spigen case for Pixel pro 7. The clear case started to turn yellow within few months. Reached out to customer care and they wanted to ship the product to their Delhi centre at customer cost for inspection before replacement. The defect was very clear from the photos. Perhaps Spigen USA is better.

[harry10]

Yesterday I dropped my 15 plus from chest height while going down the stairs. A loud thud came and it flipped over couple of stairs more. Needless to say my heartbeat skipped and I was sure something has happened to the screen. Thankfully tempered glass was shattered and not a scratch on the screen. It was also in a phone cover so that must have helped as well.

Don't know how anyone uses phone without case cos they are going to fell one point or another.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by harry10

Don't know how anyone uses phone without case cos they are going to fell one point or another.

I’ve never used a case or a protector ever since I’ve used iPhones, from 3GS all the way back in 2009. To me it’s sacrilege, it just ruins my overall user experience by adding unnecessary thickness and covering up the beautiful stainless steel body. The screen protector also never aligns perfectly and your fingers can feel the edges, ruining the touch experience.

Now until iPhone 12 there was some utility for those who were prone to dropping their phones as the screen cracked with even moderate impact. But from 12 and above, the glass is very difficult to break.

I’ve seen my mums 12 pro get dropped repeatedly from over 5ft on hard tiled floor, tarmac in one case, cement, and the only evidence of such extreme drops is a dented body, no cracking or frame warping. You will eventually mess up your speakers but this takes dozens of hard drops over many years. Glass is still intact though.

Coming to my phone, the last I dropped my phone was back in 2016 when a friend bumped into me. My 13 pro max is over 3 years old now and I’ve never used any protection on it and it still looks flawless like day 1, despite very heavy usage. You don’t need cases/screen guards if you’re careful.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by AJ56

Coming to my phone, the last I dropped my phone was back in 2016 when a friend bumped into me. My 13 pro max is over 3 years old now and I’ve never used any protection on it and it still looks flawless like day 1, despite very heavy usage. You don’t need cases/screen guards if you’re careful.

This is interesting, initially during 2014-2016, during iPhone 6/7 days, I was very careful and dropped my phones on multiple occasions, even with screen guard and cover on the screen, got it shattered on multiple occasions. Then 2020 from 12pro onwards, got quite casual and never dropped the phone even once, and yeah I don’t use the screen guard anymore, however, non slip cover I still use.

What I learnt is, the more careful you are, the more you end up dropping it at least that’s what happened in my case.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

This is interesting, initially during 2014-2016, during iPhone 6/7 days, I was very careful and dropped my phones on multiple occasions, even with screen guard and cover on the screen, got it shattered on multiple occasions. Then 2020 from 12pro onwards, got quite casual and never dropped the phone even once, and yeah I don’t use the screen guard anymore, however, non slip cover I still use.

What I learnt is, the more careful you are, the more you end up dropping it at least that’s what happened in my case.

Interesting, I too dropped my 6s twice within a year back in 2015, shattering the screen.

I’ve not changed or become more careful, I believe with the 12 redesign with sharper edges, it just locks into your hand much better than the rounded edges on 11 and earlier iPhones.

Now with 15 and up they’ve again smoothened the edges so it remains to be seen if those phones are more prone to drops. Safe to say until I get glossy finishes back I’m keeping my 13 pro max.

Of course, if you’re like my mom then you’ll drop any phone and all the logic above is out the window

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

For the 16 Series however, definitely substantial savings if ordered from USA. UAE Prices are not as attractive this time.

True that. iPhone prices have increased considerably in UAE. The depreciation of ₹ has further worsened this.

For reference I had purchased my 12 Pro back in Jan 2021 for ~ 82k INR , after conversion. The 16 Pro now comes to ~ 96k INR. Both 128gb.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by harry10

Don't know how anyone uses phone without case cos they are going to fell one point or another.

Originally Posted by AJ56

I’ve never used a case or a protector ever since I’ve used iPhones, from 3GS all the way back in 2009. To me it’s sacrilege, it just ruins my overall user experience by adding unnecessary thickness and covering up the beautiful stainless steel body. The screen protector also never aligns perfectly and your fingers can feel the edges, ruining the touch experience

Agree that covering up an iPhone is like masking a beautiful object with cloth.

I took the middle ground. I use a transparent cover so I can still see the beauty of the phone and around half of the time, I remove the cover and use.

When I remove the cover and use it for a few days in a month, that really feels like using an iPhone compared to when its back in the cover.

On a side note, As much as I try not to look at the battery degradation, this is shocking that my iPhone 15 Promax battery has dropped to 92% in just 10 months.

Looks like even though I didn't want to, I might have to upgrade to iPhone 16 promax soon.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by mobike008

On a side note, As much as I try not to look at the battery degradation, this is shocking that my iPhone 15 Promax battery has dropped to 92% in just 10 months.

That is definitely high, sadly Apple won’t help under warranty until it drops below 80% within 500 cycles. My 13 Pro Max just dipped under 80% last week, I’ve got 1300 cycles at 79% health completing 3 years of use this month.

I checked my records, at 92% my phone was 1.5 years old with 613 cycles.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by kkdeep

I am buying a new Iphone 16 pro max base version. Getting it from US. Cost me about 1,06,000 with taxes and currency conversion charges on my Indian credit card. So close to 40K saving on Indian price. Does anybody have recommendation for screen guard and case for this phone which is available in India. Amazon seems to have a lot of options so i am confused.

Originally Posted by vb-saan

There's another case called Spigen Ultra Hybrid T (not sure if available in India), which has a nice button for the camera control, but I found the case overall quite bulky and glossy, hence returned after trying for a couple of days and moved back to the trusted Thin Fit.

Spigen Ultra Hybrid T is available in India. It's priced at around ₹2.5-₹2.6k while in US it's around ₹2k. I am planning to get this along with the phone from US . Planned the Ultra Hybrid Frosted case initially. Thin fit is hard case and offers less protection right?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Spigen Ultra Hybrid T is available in India. It's priced at around ₹2.5-₹2.6k while in US it's around ₹2k. I am planning to get this along with the phone from US . Planned the Ultra Hybrid Frosted case initially. Thin fit is hard case and offers less protection right?

Thin fit doesn’t add to the bulk but the protection is really good. The sides have enough flex to bounce/absorb the impact in case of a drop. I tripped and dropped my 15 Pro a couple of months back (from around 4 ft height) and it was all good, except for a ding on tempered glass protector. The Hybrid T is a good case but I absolutely did not like the super glossy finish on the sides and it really adds to the bulk (more so for the Pro Max). On the plus side, it got a proper touch sensitive button for the ‘camera control’.

Can’t really go wrong with either of these cases. It you are looking at a clear case, Rhinoshield is a good option. Unlike other clear ones you get on Amazon (including Spigen), this one doesn’t turn yellow.

16 Pro with Spigen Thin Fit

[dragonfire]

Originally Posted by mobike008

On a side note, As much as I try not to look at the battery degradation, this is shocking that my iPhone 15 Promax battery has dropped to 92% in just 10 months.

That's a lot. My 15 pro is still holding 100% battery health after 10 months and 200+ charging cycles. I limit charge at 80% and never lets it fall below 20%.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

That's a lot. My 15 pro is still holding 100% battery health after 10 months and 200+ charging cycles. I limit charge at 80% and never lets it fall below 20%.

I would think this is something of a 15 Pro Max specialty. At around a cycle count of 250, my wife’s phone got to 91% (in August), and we sold it off pretty soon. If the battery health gets below 90%, the resale value takes a big hit (here in Singapore). In comparison, my 15 Pro is doing better – on 97% now with similar cycle count.

15 Pro Max



15 Pro

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

That's a lot. My 15 pro is still holding 100% battery health after 10 months and 200+ charging cycles. I limit charge at 80% and never lets it fall below 20%.

Originally Posted by vb-saan

I would think this is something of a 15 Pro Max specialty. At around a cycle count of 250, my wife’s phone got to 91% (in August), and we sold it off pretty soon. If the battery health gets below 90%, the resale value takes a big hit (here in Singapore). In comparison, my 15 Pro is doing better – on 97% now with similar cycle count.

Darn. This indeed looks like a iPhone 15 Promax issue. Do you guys think that it makes sense to approach the Apple Store and try to get a replacement either of a 15 Promax or 16 Promax (if they give it for a small upgrade fee)?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Darn. This indeed looks like a iPhone 15 Promax issue. Do you guys think that it makes sense to approach the Apple Store and try to get a replacement either of a 15 Promax or 16 Promax (if they give it for a small upgrade fee)?

Getting the 16 Pro / Pro Max will be ideal. Being in the US, you will have a lot of buy back/upgrade options by the carrier I guess.