this post was submitted on 15 May 2024
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My old $200 Motorola G9 Power phone lasted almost 4 years with only very minor scratches. Obviously in that period I have dropped it a few times getting out of the car, where the phone sometimes work itself out of my pant pocket while I drive, and then it slips out when I get out of the car. But no problem on my previous phones, despite the Moto had cheap Panda glass front.

Then I bought my $800 glass back Xiaomi 13T Pro in January, and I loved the phone for the camera and good specs. But alas after only 4 months, and single drop of just 30 cm while sitting on the porch, the glass back immediately cracked! The back now looks like an ugly mess, and the high water resistance is very likely gone too.

For sure the last time I buy a phone with a glass back!!!

I wonder why glass back is so popular, and I curse the media for reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S2 as "feeling a bit cheap", because the back was synthetic, and drop tests showed it was 10 times as durable as the iPhone with its glass back.

Samsung did it right in the beginning, glass backs are a curse.

PS: I don't use condoms for my phones, if they need that for daily use, it's an obvious design flaw!!!

The glass back is supposedly there to give a premium feel to the phone. But because it's fragile, people have to use a cover, but with the cover, the premium feel of a glass back is gone anyways?
How is glass back not a design flaw?

EDIT FOR CLARIFICATION:

I am not clumsy, that's why I believe the phone should be able to last without cover. This was the first time the phone slid out of my packet, and I've NEVER dropped it out of my hands. One 30 cm slip and it's broken. Where for instance my Moto had maybe 4-6 in all over the years, and remained unscathed, apart from some tiny scratches.
The sliding out of pocket does occur maybe a couple of times per year, but it's a low drop, and the phone should absolutely be able to handle that tiny drop, as it's an item for everyday use.
I've also never had problems with scratches on my screen on any phone, which is the reason people use screen protectors I guess, which I don't either, because they are ugly, for instance they create a tiny ring around the camera, and they feel awful IMO, my phone came with it, and it took exactly 10 seconds for me to decide to remove it, because I could feel the edge of the screen protector when using the phone.
But please stop with the dropping my phone regularly comments! Just because I dropped my Moto a few times (slid out of pocket) over almost 4 years! Always from low height, which it should be able to handle a few times.

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[–] entropicshart@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Searching in google

why do phones have glass backs And all the top results explain why in a single sentence: wireless charging.

You can’t have wireless charging with metal backplates, hence the glass, which is often not your ordinary glass but things like gorilla glass which is much harder to crack.

I know it still sucks; I have an iPhone 12 that was still in great condition after 4yrs, never used a case on it; but one day at the pool of my son recording a video and dropping it just right, cracked the back. I just stuck a dbrand sticker onto the back to hold the glass in place and it continues to work without issue!

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

That's a bullshit Google result, because my phone doesn't have wireless charging, and glass backs were used before wireless charging even existed.
Also you can easily have either synthetic like plastic or vegan leather. And my Phone is made with Gorilla glass, and it cracked anyways with a drop of 30cm!
So nothing in that explanation holds water.

[–] ji59@kbin.social 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Wireless charging and contactless payments are the main reason manufactures switched from metal covers to glass.
The only reasons people use glass are scratch resistance and because plastic "feels cheap". I also hate this transition to glass and am glad my Fairphone doesn't have one.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Wireless charging and contactless payments

I bet both wireless charging and NFC can work through the screen glass.

plastic “feels cheap”.

You know what both "feels cheap" and looks cheap? Answer A bulky case and a broken glass back.

[–] ji59@kbin.social 2 points 5 months ago

Interesting idea to put wireless devices under the screen, but I don't think it would be easy to implement. There would be a lot of interference with screen circuits. Also no phone usage while charging. I think it's better if they stay on the back.

[–] unknowing8343@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

This is fake. Glass is not the only material that can do wireless charging. There exist plastic phones that can wirelessly charge. In fact. Your wireless charger is very much probably plastic, not glass.

Also, my current phone (Unihertz Jelly Star) is plastic and has NFC... So it's also not related to NFC either.