I'm currently using a Pixel 7 without a case, so as someone with the opposite perspective let me share how I got here.

You might assume that not using a case means I'm a careless or laissez faire sort of person, but that really isn't true. I like to take care of my possessions, and for much of my android-using history I actually did use cases.

The time I decided to change was when, after several years of use, I took the case off my oneplus x and put it back in the original factory box for retirement. It was still pristine - naturally - and taking the case off made it feel like a whole new phone, really svelte and such a nice feel to my fingers on the back glass. And I realised I experienced that only twice in all the years having it - the moment I first took it out of the box, and the moment I put it back in.

And I thought then, what's the use of all my old phones pristine in their boxes? Phones don't last forever. They aren't collector's items. They are devices meant to be used and handled. Cared for, yes - but not in a precious way that interferes with enjoying it.

So I stopped using cases - although I do still always use a glass screen protector.

In the near-decade since then I have not majorly fumbled a single device - there has been wear and tear and some scratches on the sides, but nothing catastrophic.

Maybe that's entirely luck. Maybe it's because my fingers stick to the back glass rather than sliding. Maybe it's because not having a case makes me consciously more careful. I don't know. But I've enjoyed using my phones this way, and I don't have any immediate desire to go back to using cases.