There are few that provide protection around lenses area

while others keep the area around lens exposed

Common sense dictate that the one with protection around the lenses area should be better, but still I would like to know your views.

1. I need the toughest case possible because I drop my phone at all angles and I don’t trust the small raised bumps around the camera.

2. Also—what’s the best strong-but-slim option?

This is more of a public service announcement. The iPhones 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are made out of aluminum. It is scientifically known that aluminum is softer than steel and titanium. Therefore, minimalist cases that were adequate for iPhones X to 16 Pro are no longer protective enough for the 17 Pro.

Another relevant fact is that the 17 Pro is the heaviest standard-size Pro phone since the steel 14 Pro. The 17 Pro Max is a little lighter than the steel 14 PM, but it still weighs more than half a pound. My previous aluminum-body phone was the iPhone 7 carried in a thin Spigen Liquid Air case. It was ok because the phone only weighted 4.87 ounces, or a little over half the weight of a 17 PM. It means the 17 PM would hit the ground with almost double the kinetic energy as the 7.

I’ve seen several people with dented phones in an Apple TechWoven case, which is a standard thin case. Any case of that thickness class should be avoided.

This is a short (but not exhaustive) list of stronger / thicker cases:

• Mous Limitless

• Rebel GEN7

• Beats Rugged

• Pelican

• Otterbox

• Speck

• Urban Armor Gear

• Bellroy Venture

Yes, you can get the invisible case costing $140/year a.k.a. AppleCare. Bear in mind that it doesn’t cover cosmetic defects, like simple scratches and dents.