It 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 whether the phone uses glass or plastic on its screen.
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.
I use a spigen case with a tempered glass screen protector. Its a level of safety that I consider critical. Wearing shorts, go to sit in a small car, slippery small phone falls out. Leave phone on end table, toddler throws it. Fall off bicycle, etc
My shiny new Pixel 8 just fell off a table after 1 hour that I left it there. It didn't vibrate and I didn't move the table or anything like that. Glass phones are so slippery that they take a life of their own when placed on a flat, smooth surface. I miss plastic phones.
After smashing the glass back on a Nexus about 10 years ago, all the phones I've bought since have been mid-range Android phones with plastic backs. Currently have a OnePlus Nord 2T - excellent phone. I'm probably atypical, but I'm sure I'm not alone.
Design (and fashion) is typically cyclical as well. Typically, fashion cycles seem to be every 20-30 years... meaning plastic backs are due for a resurgence!
Oh 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.
I've never had the desire for wireless charging. I imagine Apple has stats on how many people actually use it, and I'm wondering if it's more valuable as an advertising feature than an actually useful feature. I like to use my phone when it's charging, and I can't do that if it has to be stationary.
They’re not mutually exclusive, and I expect this is something you’ll only notice in practice, but I don’t consciously charge my phone much anymore. Between placing it on the pad on my desk or the MagSafe charger in my car there is no battery deficit left to fill with a cable. I just pick it up, use it and put it back down.
Yeah, I get it. I was mostly joking, but a few things:
I strongly suspect most people buy either the official case from the manufacturer or maybe they go to Amazon or buy one from their local store (Best Buy, Verizon, etc.). They are high markup items and thus readily available in places people shop already.
I find secondary markets that are essentially universal interesting. Imagine selling a TV, but not including a remote control, that seems absurd. What I strongly suspect is happening here is that the market does not favor phones that don't need cases because people want to buy cases. When you're talking about toting around a generic black rectangle everyone else has, there is a desire to make it unique and expressive through the case. I think even with plastic phones, cases would still sell.
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.
Not 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.
I never did like the weight of much glass use in phones. The performance and screen quality of midrange (Android) phones has improved so much that the only reason I have for a premium phone is for the wired audio quality. Even then all I would need is a USB-C DAC accessory. I'm not much into using it for photos, but if I did find such a 3-in-1 device it would be worth the price.
I've been saying this for years. I understand that the aluminum unibody design is an integrated heatsink for thermal performance, but the glass thing has really bugged me. Plastic is by far a better material for this application than glass.
Having 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.
phone in flipcase -> indestructible, replaces wallet as well. I don't even get the aesthetics of fingerprints on rounded corner glass, when did that become beautiful or original?
Or you can be like me, and add a case: +50% thickness, ruins the aesthetic, etc but when my phone went flying the other day the case was trashed and $1000+ phone was fine.
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.
Conversely, I always use Apple's iPhone case and have broken ~2 iPhone 15 Pros and four iPhone 14 Pros, so I would very much appreciate a more durable phone.
I actually used their cases for year until the iPhone 13, when the back glass cracked on day one in their case. Now I just rely on the Apple plastic case for grip and AppleCare for protection.
Similar. Been no case since the iPhone 6. I have no idea how, but I’ve only broken one screen and across our family of four (kids only starting with iPhone X, others preferring cases), we’ve broken 2 iPhone screens and one iPod screen in that time. One iPhone screen was a flex-based breakage where the screen developed a defect while the glass was intact. For all I know, plastic screens might be more subject to that failure.
Each screen replacement cost me around $75 to replace DIY.
In exchange, I have 4 3-6 year old phones that look and function as new. If you hold them just right you can see fine scratches in the light, but at a casual glance, they appear unblemished. That would not be the case if the cases were plastic. I also get the convenience of wireless charging (not possible in metal cases).
Latest glass screen I've broken I did it while sleeping... fell asleep while reading reddit, woke up with the sound of the phone hitting ground.
And that's one of the best outcomes I've had while falling asleep while using the phone. Worst ones have been sharing a link of whatever I was reading/watching to random people, liking random whatsapp statuses of people I didn't talk to since years and other similarly embarassing stuff.
Maybe I should stop using a phone before bed.
I'm not clumsy at all, but pixel 7 is so slippery, that if you put it on a table/laptop with little aderence and maybe a bit of inclination, it can fell off.
Meanwhile my older pixel 5 is the total opposite - it feels good in the hand and the grip is not slippery at all
My even older pixel 3 is betweenn p5 and p7, it has a glass back but it's not that bad compared to p7.
There are other advantages to plastic backs too: cheap, easy to replace, (usually) lighter compared to glass
I am pretty damn careful with my phones, and still managed to break 3 in the last 20 odd years (which I think is good going!) - one was knocked out my hands when someone bumped into me in the street, one slipped when I was showing a friend something, and my latest - I've no idea when the back glass smashed - it was in a case and one day when I cleaned the case I found the back was smashed.
I usually have both a screen protector and a case, but accidents happen.
Sometimes things just fall out of your hand. You could be distracted by someone suddenly talking to you, bump into something, and lose your grip. Or have you never dropped a fork in your life either? Some people just get unlucky and it happens to their phones.
I've probably dropped mine at home 3 or 4 times, usually when trying to pick it up or set it down - but I got a nice soft case around it so nothing ever cracked. The real mystery is why people don't put a basic protective case on their expensive handheld devices.
And yet, people purchase new phones...some will be fashion-choices, some lost, most dropped.
And then (for the last two) it's a rush to get a replacement.
I regularly keep an eye on 'adequate' phones...just in case i fall in a river again and have to get a new-to-me one.