A handful of more rugged phones exist, including those in Samsung's Galaxy Active line . And Samsung's standard Galaxy S5 could withstand a full dunk underwater, a feature the company decided to leave off the S6 and S6 Edge (perhaps a theoretical "S6 Active" will have it). However, a lot of these "tough" models are only marginally more rugged than their non-rugged siblings (and to be clear, Samsung doesn't describe its Active line as "rugged"). Who knows what we can expect from the future? Apple's rumored Sapphire-screen iPhone didn't materialize (yet), but Corning is launching its Project Phire Gorilla Glass by the end of 2015. Whether it will be truly unbreakable or not under normal wear and tear is anybody's guess.

The typical high-end smartphone is supposed to have enough battery life to get you through a full day -- at least with moderate use, But over time a lot of people find their phones want to take a siesta by mid afternoon, Perhaps the biggest frustration is that battery life actually seems succulove iphone case to be getting worse, not better, with successive generations, As smartphones get superfast processors, ultra-high-res screens and app multitasking, manufacturers are struggling to maintain power efficiency, The Genuises at your local Apple Bar sometimes chalk that up to human error, Battery life can be reduced by the way you operate your phone, Some people are able to run it more efficiently than others, There are apps you can turn off, settings to tweak, tricks you can learn..

And that's not the only battery suck. Introduce streaming video, gaming or excessive camera use, and you might not even last a few hours. Which leaves you with a few choices: charge your phone the old-fashioned way (use a wall charger); charge it with an external battery option; or keep your phone in a battery case that gives you extra juice on demand, in many cases doubling the battery life you'd normally get. For those who use a Mophie or any number of other battery cases, I don't have to tell you that these accessories start at around $80 and go up from there. But at least you're killing two flaws with one case.

And if you really want to take it to the next level, you can buy a waterproof case with a built-in battery, Both Mophie ( Juice Pack H2Pro) and Lifeproof (Fre Power) have such cases arriving this month for the iPhone 6; the ultimate premium cases for the ultimate premium succulove iphone case phones, Where "premium phone" means a device that can't survive a sidewalk fall, and can't last more than a day on a charge, Commentary: Today's smartphones are incredibly sleek, well-designed electronic devices except for two glaring issues, Maybe someday that will change..

The other day CNET's Jessica Dolcourt, who isn't a fan of smartphone cases, wrote an article about her favorite cases for protecting the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, Samsung's sleek new flagship smartphones. The irony of the piece wasn't lost on our readers. "Samsung updates the Galaxy to 'premium' materials, (CNET) shows you how to cover it with plastic," a user named supersoulfly quipped with the first comment out of the gate. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.