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Do I really need a case and a screen protector?

Neither is required. Protection should reduce a real risk — not become another source of anxiety.

You're here because the phone is new and expensive, and everyone — the store, the internet, well-meaning friends — says you need a case and a screen protector or you'll regret it. Under that advice is a quieter worry: if I don't protect this phone properly, will I regret it? The question worth answering isn't what everyone else bought. It's what happens to this phone in your real day.

Direct answer: you don't have to use either one, and neither choice is the "correct" one. A case mainly addresses one risk — drops and impacts. A screen protector mainly addresses another — surface scratches. If those risks don't show up in your environment, using neither is a legitimate choice, not a brave one. If they do show up, using both is reasonable, not paranoid. There is no universal protection setup. There is only the amount of protection that makes sense for how you actually live with the phone.

What each one actually does

They address different risks, so the question isn't abstract — it's which risks show up in your day:

A case adds another layer between the phone and an impact. How much it helps depends on its design and on how the phone lands, so its job is to reduce the stakes of a drop — not to guarantee the outcome.
A screen protector gives the surface an additional sacrificial layer against scratches. Grit, keys, and hard edges meet the protector first. It doesn't promise to stop the screen from cracking in a hard impact.

Neither makes the phone indestructible. A case lowers the stakes of an impact; a protector lowers the stakes of a scratch. That's the honest size of what they do.

Think about the moment you are protecting against

Rather than categories of people, picture the actual moments of your day:

The phone slips from a pocket or an unsteady hand onto a hard floor.
It rides in a bag or pocket alongside keys, coins, or grit.
It sits near kitchen counters, bathroom edges, outdoor tables, or other places it can slide or get knocked.
Someone else picks it up — a child, a guest — and it travels in hands you don't control.
It gets used while walking, in cars, on trains, balanced on armrests and counter edges.
It gets set down on car roofs, desks near edges, or other unstable surfaces.

Now ask which of those moments actually happens to you, and which you can picture only in theory. The moments that are real for you are the risks worth covering. The ones that never happen are not — protecting against them is weight you carry for nothing.

Protect the phone, not the fear

If a case makes you afraid to take the phone out — because you're watching for scratches, or the bulk bothers you, or you keep checking on it — the protection has started creating a different problem. The point of protection is to make daily life easier, not to make you think about protecting the phone all day. A setup you resent is a setup you'll take off and leave in a drawer — and protection in a drawer protects nothing.

Ask yourself which regret is bigger

Protection is a trade, and the honest way to choose is to name both sides of it:

Regret A: you added protection and now carry extra bulk and extra attention every day — a case you don't enjoy holding, extra weight in your pocket, a layer over the screen you keep noticing.

Regret B: you chose no protection, and a bad drop or a visible scratch happened, and you keep seeing it.

If Regret B feels heavier, protection has a clear job in your life. If Regret A feels heavier, a lighter setup — or none — is a real choice too. You're choosing which outcome you can live with more easily, and that answer is yours.

You probably don't need to

Buy a case you don't enjoy holding just because it exists. Buy a stack of protection parts out of fear rather than for a named risk. Copy someone else's setup because it works for them. Treat every faint scratch as an emergency. Or trade away the way you actually like using the phone for the sake of an accident that may never happen.

Protection has a job. It doesn't need to become your hobby.

Cleaning doesn't require gear

Whether you use a protector or not, basic cleaning matters. Follow Apple's current guidance: unplug cables and turn the phone off when you can, wipe with a soft, lint-free cloth that is slightly damp with plain water if needed, keep moisture away from openings, and avoid household cleaners, sprays, and abrasives — they can wear the coating and scratch the glass. No special kit is required.

If you choose protection, keep it simple

Match the exact iPhone model.
Choose protection that doesn't interfere with the buttons, the cameras, or charging.
Pick something you'll actually enjoy using — a case you like holding, a protector you don't notice.
Skip features you don't care about. Buy for the risk you named, not for the shelf.

The right protection is protection you will actually keep using.

The lightest setup that covers your real risk

Drop risk is the one that's real for you → a case makes sense.
Scratch risk is the one that's real for you → a screen protector makes sense.
Both are real → both can make sense.
Neither risk shows up in your day → neither is required.

That's the whole framework: the lightest setup that covers the risk you actually face. If keeping the phone looking clean matters to you when you eventually pass it on, that can be another reason to use protection.

A simple way to decide

Your biggest realistic risk is drops → consider a case.

Your biggest realistic risk is scratches → consider a screen protector.

Both matter → both can be worth it.

Neither bothers you → you can skip either or both.

You hate the way protection feels every day → choose less protection rather than protection you resent.

Good protection should disappear into your life.

The goal isn't a phone that can't be damaged — that isn't on the table. The goal is to make the ordinary risks of your life boring enough that you stop thinking about them, and get back to using the phone.

What to do next

Not sure which risk fits your day? Tell us how you carry the phone via Ask Us and we'll suggest the lightest setup that covers it.