No, they don’t force the option, but they make it so you have to provide fixed payment “prices.” So I can do like $10 annually, $10 one time, $1,000 one-time, $1 per month, etc. I didn’t want to present a bunch of confusing options, and I figured $10 per year seemed reasonable because if six people sign up for that, that covers site expenses.
Maybe. It’s still a lousy practice.
I see it as a really personal choice where a one-size-fits-all piece of advice just doesn’t work. Some people are more klutzy and are always dropping their phone – sure, those folks would be better served with a more rugged case.
For me personally, I have a good track record over the years of not damaging my phone (knock on wood) so I search out the most minimalist slimmest case I can find; and I never use a screen protector. After all, what’s that gorilla glass for, anyway? The case I’m using now is transparent so the color of the phone (red) can actually be seen. I like devices that are a bright enough color that they’re easy to find in a dimly lit room. I HATE black stuff for that reason!
Exactly my approach to cases. I want something that gives me better grip but still allows the phone to fit in my jeans pocket. I use the RhineShield bumper style case. Protects against drops and it keeps the screen and back from touching the surface when laid down. My wife wants a screen protector but has moved to a slimmer case. She has broken 3 or 4 screen protectors but hard to say if its absence would have meant a broken screen. Son did an around the world deployment on a carrier carrying an iPhone 6s with no case. Lots of wear on the case but no screen damage.
I too have a clear screen for my iPhone 11 so I can see the color, which matches the color of my iPad mini and a Hydroflask. (When I was feeling squirrelly stuck at home during the first year of the pandemic, I also bought a mask that matched as well.)
I’ve been considering going without a case in the future, but I may start using screen protectors. My phone, I’ve noticed, has a few scratches on the screen. It seems like the glass Apple uses is more scratch prone than in the past, but it could just be my imagination.