If only there was some way to put a plastic or silicone layer on a phone, a "case" if you will.
Maybe combine plastice and silicone layers in a "case". You could give it a military grade rating. Hmmmm.
Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
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Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#42If only there was some way to put a plastic or silicone layer on a phone, a "case" if you will.
Exactly. Why make more durable phones when you can make an extra $30 by selling a case, too?
I go through several cases and screen protectors during the lifetime of a phone. If the phone was made of the same materials as the cases, I'd either be looking at a new phone each of those times, or putting a case on it anyway.
Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#43Oh god I wish someone from Apple would read this; I only buy iPhones for the software, I couldn't care less what the case looks like and would take rugged over fancy any day. My favourite ever iphone was the plastic-bodied 5C, never felt the need for a case on that thing and it felt indestructible.
The all-metal iPod case was a masterpiece of ruggedness. I remember seeing friends' that were dinged to hell, but still worked perfectly fine.
That worked great for iPods, but wireless charging doesn't work with all-metal cases. Brain fart: Let's put the coil behind the screen!
Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#44Having used many phones, my impression is that texture matters a great deal more than material. Polished phones feel slippery and greasy. Brushed or otherwise matte phones feel really good.
Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#45Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#46This argument would've made sense a decade ago. But smart phones are an established product line where lots of experiments have already happened. Including using cheaper, more robust materials. The outcome ? People just think your phone is cheap and don't buy it.
Tastes change. This isn't some engineering or logistics constraint; if plastic phones have a real advantage, adoption is simply a matter of marketing.
Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#47Not only does glass feel premium, it's also relatively scratch-resistant, which means our devices look new for longer — as long as we don't drop them.
I’m firmly on the glass side, but I’m willing to listen if there was a material as scratch resistant as glass and had better shock resistance. The word “scratch” was only used once in the article so I guess there isn’t a material improvement to polymer over amorphous silica.
Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#48I actually like my current phone (Zenfone 9) due to this reason and the fact that it's pretty small compared to all the flagships.
The back is some variant of plastic but it feels like paper. Dropped it a couple of times without a case and no scratches at all.
Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#49It always bothered me that manufacturers use an expensive design just for the users to hide it in a case. Almost 20 years ago there were phones with exchangable bodies. That was ideal, and I wish Apple would offer something like that. An alternative could be a plastic screen on the phone, as many people are using tempered-glass protectors anyway. One you have a glass protector, it shouldn't make any difference whethe…
Personally I never use a case on my iPhone precisely because I want to enjoy the premium feel. I don't know if I'm luckier than the average person, but I've never broken or seriously damaged a phone by dropping it (and I have dropped my phone on various occasions). Especially with modern iPhones, they really seem pretty robust. The most fragile part is the screen, and that's not covered anyway.
Re: Ditch the glass: It's time to bring back less-fragile plastic smartphones
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
metal blocks RF
The iPhone 7 and earlier all had an aluminium back no issue. Changed to glass from the 8/X onwards for wireless charging.
iPhone 7 placed the antenna on the rim, the area where there is a bit of plastic. For years iPhone wireless & wifi connections are somewhat weaker than other phones, I suspect it's because the metal back.
Wireless charging is also RF btw.