Naked iPhone with Bumpies

Less is more at Apple. When I worked there, we joked that Microsoft believed perfection was achieved when there's nothing more to add. At Apple, we believed that perfection was achieved when there's nothing more to take away.

Elegantly simple Bumpies

When I bought the first iPhone, in 2007, I also purchased a third party acrylic case and soon after that I bought a screen protector. I quickly learned I didn't care for either one. In addition to adding weight, the phone case allowed debris from my pocket to get between the case and back of my iPhone, resulting in scratches on the phone. The screen protector didn't offer too much protection that wasn't already there since the iPhone screen is glass, which does not scratch, easily.

I went caseless until the iPhone 4 and Antennagate, when holding the phone the wrong way would drop calls. To solve this issue, Apple gave away beautifully minimalistic bumpers which I happily used.

I tried to go caseless with my iPhone 6, but that only lasted two days. This work of art was simply too slippery to pickup and hold. Also, the camera on the back of the iPhone 6 sticks out such that it supports the phone when laid down making the lens prone to scratching. So, off to the Apple Store I went to buy Apple's leather iPhone 6 case. The case I bought definitely makes the phone easy to grip, plus it doesn't block any of the ports, speakers, or mic. However, it does add a bit of bulk and it makes it difficult to press the volume buttons.

Bumpies, For the Win

Fast forward to last night's Kickstarter meetup when an entrepreneur gave me the fruits of his Kickstarter campaign to try out: Bumpies. This minimalistic iPhone "case" is less intrusive than Apple's bumpers from the iPhone 4 days gone by. These Bumpies are small plastic nobs that attach to the corners of the iPhone using a non-damaging adhesive. The slick packaging includes an alcohol wipe to clean the corner before attaching the Bumpies. What's more is that the packaging is also functional. To install the Bumpies, I slid my iPhone into the packaging, which fit inside it like a Hershey's chocolate bar fits into its wrapper. The corners of the cardboard packaging exposes the corners of the iPhone to make it easy to properly align the Bumpies. The process couldn't be simpler. Another benefit of the Bumpies, besides a lighter phone, is that they slightly raise the phone, when it's laid down, making it easier to pick up and they also keep the phone from resting on its camera lens. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.