this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2023
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[–] [email protected] 74 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I agree with the message that most of it doesn't matter since I'll slap a thick case on my phone, but the sheer amount of broken unprotected screens you'll see in the wild makes you think.

[–] Imgonnatrythis 66 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Makes Me think when are phone manufacturers going to focus less on a few more pixels on the camera and make a phone rugged enough that for routine daily use it doesn't need a damn case? I've never liked cases but now so many phones have Cameras that stick out such that the only way to get them to even sit flat is to level them off with a case. Just make the battery a little bigger and thicken the backing of the actual phone! Also raise the titanium bezel just 1mm and the glass is much less likely to ever make direct impact.

[–] [email protected] 67 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But if the phones don't break every 2 years then slightly fewer people will buy the latest phone! Won't somebody please think of the shareholders?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Frankly, if people are shelling out for higher end phones that break that easily, that's at least partly on them.

Like, I've been buying mid-tier Androids for about 10 years now, and I can't recall the last time I've had one shatter, and I'm clumsy as all hell. I've accidentally punted this thing across the office once, not a scratch. And as I'm so routinely told by the iPhone and more elitist Android spaces, this thing is supposedly a cheap plastic piece of shit.

It's so weird they settle for something more expensive but also more breakable. Makes sense if you're buying glass wear or something, I guess, but a device you keep in your pocket or hand all day? Shouldn't it be nigh indestructible at that price point?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

True, I've been using the same mid-tier Samsung for 5 years now. It looks a bit rough but it still works just fine and I'll continue to use it until it breaks

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

They tried that already with the samsung s7 active. It was a pretty rugged phone by itself but people still insisted on putting a case on it. They then complained about the phone being too big and it didn't sell well.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Those still broke too easily. I tried out a couple models of the actives, and they would still break. One time I was sitting on the ground and my phone slipped out of my hoodie pocket and it shattered. It fell maybe 3-5 inches tops.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Thanks, I never knew.

[–] Imgonnatrythis 1 points 11 months ago

Face-palm. We can't have nice things.

[–] OneWomanCreamTeam 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I mean, phones are already designed to be obsolete pretty quickly to keep you buying more often. Longevity isn't really a high priority in modern phone design.

[–] Imgonnatrythis 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah but you could still screw with the software, limit updates, use cheap chips, and shame customers to make sure we all continue to throw our phones in the landfill every couple of years, but I would buy the phone that at least I won't worry about breaking tomorrow. Phone case culture just seems so silly to me.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (2 children)

i've had my current phone for 3 years and it's been getting maddeningly slow lately. 2 weeks ago i took the case off and it legitimately feels sleeker and newer and somehow faster? or at least i'm better able to put up with the slowness cause it feels new? it's very odd and i'm frightened at the psychology

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The only way to explain it's faster could be because the case was making the phone overheat. The chipset is made to protect itself by lowering the clockspeed (calculations per second) to avoid damage by heat resulting in being slower at performing tasks.

So maybe the case was isolating the phone so much it overheated constantly and after removing the case it could breath again and keep its original speed.

If you had a chunky case then maybe a sleeker design could offer enough cooling and still some protection. Best of both worlds :)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

So this summer it was like 30°C / 85°F at home and whenever I used TikTok or YouTube on my phone it would get really hot so I took off the case whenever I used it. My phone fell down one time (I'm not used to it being so slick!) and that's why it's now broken. In the back. Because for some stupid reason it's made of glass or something.

Note to myself: my next phone should be one of these unbreakable military grade phones.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Your first mistake was using tiktok.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Lol, kinda dumb to use a heavily insulating material such as glass to slap on both sides of the phone.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Inductive charging doesn’t work very well (if at all) through metal.

And plastic is apparently a dirty word (one-time use plastic should be, mind you), even though most iPhone owners are also buying I plenty of Patagonia micro plastic fleeces.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

I miss the times where plastic was used in phones. Glass cracks and feels clumsy and insulates. Metal transfers energy from impact to the components inside. Plastic just cracks but at least absorbs some of the energy. And is easily replaceable and feels way better.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't feel like a premium material and it accumulates scratches and imperfections faster. Glass is either fine... or completely broken. Not a good heat conductor either.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'd disagree. My pixel 3a feels really nice, when I got it I honestly wasn't sure for a moment whether it's plastic. It did get a few nicks and scratches, but it looks pretty alright for beeing used every day for three years without case, and me dropping it twice. Can't say the same about the screen glass

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Yeah, I really liked the feel of the Pixel 3. Turns out that to make a plastic coat not feel cheap all you have to do is to not use cheap plastic

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

How many people actually use wireless charging?

[–] Imgonnatrythis 5 points 11 months ago

I bet if I stopped wearing my helmet at work people would assume I'm faster too, but they probably wouldn't be as nice to me.