Several months ago, one of my worst tech fears was realized: I cracked my iPhone screen.

In three years of owning iPhones, I've never cracked my screen or significantly damaged my phone in any way. So when my iPhone 6S broke my fall on the subway steps recently — an embarrassing and slightly painful way to crack my screen — I was bummed to say the least.

As I contemplated the future of my phone (to repair or not to repair?) I figured it was as good a time as any to test out the iPhone 8 Plus.

I ended up using the phone for about a week, swapping in my own SIM card and using the phone as my full-time device. When the week was up and it was time to switch back to my own phone, I figured I'd feel a bit sad giving up a gorgeous, flawless device and going back to my older, damaged one. Instead, I felt the opposite.

Here's why: