Two affordable iPhone 17 Pro accessories worth trying

While my favorite way to use an iPhone is without a case or screen protector, I actually enjoy both on the iPhone 17 Pro and would recommend it. They aren’t cheap enough to try without committing for a year or so.

Five years ago, Apple introduced the Ceramic Shield glass for the iPhone screen. It claimed four times better performance with the promise of fewer broken iPhone screens.

I haven’t cracked the iPhone screen yet, but I always pick up two or three deep scratches after a year of using it.

The front cover of this year’s Ceramic Shield 2 promises three times better scratch resistance. I’m still worried about those deep bruises and want to avoid that for now.

Apple also says that the front panel now has improved anti-glare to reduce reflections, but the difference is nowhere near that of the nano texture that provides the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro.

Make your iPhone 17 Pro display more matte

For those reasons, I use a product that I tried and loved a few years ago. Mothca matte glass screen protector.

The product is not perfect. I would much prefer a nano texture iPhone without the slight rainbow effect and drop in brightness.

Anyway, I recommend you try this if you want to know what a matte display looks like on an iPhone, especially for $9 or $14 for a single or double pack. The product feels more premium than its price would suggest.

It’s just a small case of possible scenarios

Then there’s the matter of the iPhone case. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on one because I don’t plan to use it every day.

I often throw the case on before an activity like kayaking or mounting an iPhone to the handlebars of a motorcycle. I’m also concerned about peeling off the orange aluminum finish from sharp angles on the camera.

I might go with Apple’s clear case for occasional use, but I don’t like the vague design of the Pro version this year. If I were a daily user, I would try Apple’s new TechWoven option, but none of the colors appeal to me yet.

I love black but I find pairing it with cosmic orange to be too Halloween themed for year round use. Instead, I decided that some gray would pair well with orange and create a futuristic space suit look.

I am very happy with a case I found at a thrift store a few days ago.

Spigen’s so-called Thin Fit case comes in black, gunmetal, or green. I’m using the gray version, and it fits the look I envisioned.

It costs $39.99 at Spigen, but Amazon lists the same case for $34.99.

I’ve noticed that most cheap cases don’t include MagSafe, which can limit the functionality of battery packs and magnetic mounts.

The Spigen Thin Fit includes both MagSafe and a Capacitive Camera Control cover instead of just a cutout.

I like that this case covers the camera full “mount width” as that is an area that I worry about for long periods of time.

It also creates a cool “orange circles” look that is very similar to the Digital Crown on the black space of the Apple Watch Ultra.

Cosmic orange also shows up on the button covers, not just the bottom hole, creating the gray look with orange markings that I was going for.

Another advantage is that it does not display an orange aluminum border around the display. The border is fine when it’s part of the phone without the case, but I find it distracting when a small orange border is displayed between the black case and the black screen.

Two low-level recommendations for the iPhone 17 Pro

The Mothca screen protector will save you from deep scratches, and the matte texture is great if you like anti-scratch screens. The Spigen Thin Fit case has a metallic look and a smooth feel that doesn’t add bulk.