6 ms·

>excellent build quality I keep hearing this, also for phones, and people usually associate it with certain materials. Why? I'd rather have a light plastic la

>excellent build quality I keep hearing this, also for phones, and people usually associate it with certain materials. Why? I'd rather have a light plastic laptop/phone that works well, is light, and survives a few hits than an overpriced piece of fashion. Bonus points for phones with cracked backs because glass "feels more valuable". Of course I understand the value of e.g. good hinges, keyboards etc., but pretty sure that's not what people are generally referring to.

marcellus23 3y ago
> pretty sure that's not what people are generally referring to. What makes you think that? That's what I (and I assume others) are referring to. I.E. actual practical quality of the build.
_ea1k 3y ago
I agree. TBH, I've been really happy with the build quality of the Lenovo P1. It isn't the prettiest design, but it is solid.
chazeon 3y ago
One good plastic build that people praise about is Valve's Steamdeck
- 6D794163636F756 3y ago
  But that's also a more niche audience. The people who've bought a steam deck (myself included) are more likely to care about, and know about, hardware. When selling to an audience that can't evaluate the build quality as easily you have to rely on shorthand. One common shorthand is that plastic things are bad build quality
- mey 3y ago
  While the Steamdeck has a plastic shell (which is nice but not a luxury, expected at it's price target) it has a magnesium subframe. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4T0RZ6ustKQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4T0RZ6ustKQ
grecy 3y ago
I bought my current MacBook Pro, used, in 2016. I drove it 54,000 miles around Africa on the worst roads in the world, using it every day in the heat, humidity, dust and sun. I drove it 30,000+ miles around North America using it heavily. I drove it 36,000 miles around Australia, using it at least 30 hours a week in the dust, heat, sun, etc. It's had many dings and bashes and a few drops. It still works great, and I've never repaired a thing on it. The charger has duct tape on the worn cables, and battery life is down to about 3 hours with light use and less than an hour editing HD video. That's what I'm looking for.
- slingnow 3y ago
  Since when is "miles driven around" a good indicator of build quality for a laptop? Your laptop isn't a car. There's no odometer on it.
  - grecy 3y ago
    I was using that to show how beat up it has been, the conditions it has had to endure and the amount of use it has had. I think it's safe to say a laptop has to be pretty tough to handle what mine has been through, compared to one that sits on a desk, or commutes to/from work in a backpack.
  - pmontra 3y ago
    Not all miles are created equal. Surviving the vibrations of some African and Australian roads is testament to a solid build. Of cars too.
- getpokedagain 3y ago
  Exactly. I don't care how it's built I care that it survives some daily use that is not sitting on a desk. My job many years ago provided me a Lenovo x220. I used to haul that thing from NJ to Arkansas with me twice a year and all over. It was not pretty but it literally took anything I could give it. My current M1 MacBook Air goes with me on my bicycle daily, goes camping and goes everywhere with no issues. My Starlabs linux "star lite" laptop had screws back out of it the first time I took it on my bicycle. After replacing screws over and over and eventually taping them in place to avoid the hassle the display stopped working. After fixing the cable for this eventually my keyboard began acting up and now the machine is just a desktop. Mind you this was in about 1.5 years.
jerf 3y ago
"Why?" I'd suspect it is related to the thinness push. I share with the author a lack of need for my laptop to shave every last millimeter off, and I've had sturdy plastic laptops in the past... but those laptops are from many years ago now. Shaving every millimeter and still feeling solid requires non-plastic. chazeon observes the Steam Deck feels quite solid, and I'd agree, but it is also definitely a device that isn't shaving millimeters. Compared to the Switch it is quite the chonk. But it also feels solid. So does the Switch, but the Switch does it with metal.
- Shawnj2 3y ago
  Odd example but the Nintendo 3DS/DS/Wii U are also good examples of string devices built out of plastic because they needed to both be extremely durable and relatively cheap. It’s completely doable if you make it a design goal
paxys 3y ago
> Of course I understand the value of e.g. good hinges, keyboards etc., but pretty sure that's not what people are generally referring to. When people say good build quality what else do you think they are referring to?
karaterobot 3y ago
It looks to me like you're thinking of "build quality" as mostly esthetic rather than functional. I think when most people describe build quality, they are talking about good hinges, keyboards, and the ability to survive a few hits.
- fragmede 3y ago
  Yes, good hinges are probably the second most important thing when looking at build quality, second only to the keyboard. Do I have to gingerly baby the laptop when I pick it up to move it in order for it to last me 5-10 years, or can I man-handle the thing, and just pick it up by the screen, and still have a laptop that can open and stay open at a specific angle, and that will still close all the way without creaking and threatening to break 5-10 years down the line.
jwells89 3y ago
When it comes to laptops, plastic exteriors are often a signal that the machine is lower end with as minimal of an internal frame as the manufacturer can get away with, which means that it’ll have extreme body flex which is bad for motherboard longevity. It also means that the laptop will probably squeak and creak when picked up and handled which subjectively feels cheap, and doesn’t bode well for the laptop being able to take a tumble. There are exceptions like the older ThinkPads which had robust frames under their plastic, but this is not typical.

marcellus23 3y ago

> pretty sure that's not what people are generally referring to. What makes you think that? That's what I (and I assume others) are referring to. I.E. actual practical quality of the build.

_ea1k 3y ago

I agree. TBH, I've been really happy with the build quality of the Lenovo P1. It isn't the prettiest design, but it is solid.

chazeon 3y ago

One good plastic build that people praise about is Valve's Steamdeck

6D794163636F756 3y ago
But that's also a more niche audience. The people who've bought a steam deck (myself included) are more likely to care about, and know about, hardware. When selling to an audience that can't evaluate the build quality as easily you have to rely on shorthand. One common shorthand is that plastic things are bad build quality
mey 3y ago
While the Steamdeck has a plastic shell (which is nice but not a luxury, expected at it's price target) it has a magnesium subframe. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4T0RZ6ustKQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4T0RZ6ustKQ

grecy 3y ago

I bought my current MacBook Pro, used, in 2016. I drove it 54,000 miles around Africa on the worst roads in the world, using it every day in the heat, humidity, dust and sun. I drove it 30,000+ miles around North America using it heavily. I drove it 36,000 miles around Australia, using it at least 30 hours a week in the dust, heat, sun, etc. It's had many dings and bashes and a few drops. It still works great, and I've never repaired a thing on it. The charger has duct tape on the worn cables, and battery life is down to about 3 hours with light use and less than an hour editing HD video. That's what I'm looking for.

slingnow 3y ago
Since when is "miles driven around" a good indicator of build quality for a laptop? Your laptop isn't a car. There's no odometer on it.
- grecy 3y ago
  I was using that to show how beat up it has been, the conditions it has had to endure and the amount of use it has had. I think it's safe to say a laptop has to be pretty tough to handle what mine has been through, compared to one that sits on a desk, or commutes to/from work in a backpack.
- pmontra 3y ago
  Not all miles are created equal. Surviving the vibrations of some African and Australian roads is testament to a solid build. Of cars too.
getpokedagain 3y ago
Exactly. I don't care how it's built I care that it survives some daily use that is not sitting on a desk. My job many years ago provided me a Lenovo x220. I used to haul that thing from NJ to Arkansas with me twice a year and all over. It was not pretty but it literally took anything I could give it. My current M1 MacBook Air goes with me on my bicycle daily, goes camping and goes everywhere with no issues. My Starlabs linux "star lite" laptop had screws back out of it the first time I took it on my bicycle. After replacing screws over and over and eventually taping them in place to avoid the hassle the display stopped working. After fixing the cable for this eventually my keyboard began acting up and now the machine is just a desktop. Mind you this was in about 1.5 years.

jerf 3y ago

"Why?" I'd suspect it is related to the thinness push. I share with the author a lack of need for my laptop to shave every last millimeter off, and I've had sturdy plastic laptops in the past... but those laptops are from many years ago now. Shaving every millimeter and still feeling solid requires non-plastic. chazeon observes the Steam Deck feels quite solid, and I'd agree, but it is also definitely a device that isn't shaving millimeters. Compared to the Switch it is quite the chonk. But it also feels solid. So does the Switch, but the Switch does it with metal.

Shawnj2 3y ago
Odd example but the Nintendo 3DS/DS/Wii U are also good examples of string devices built out of plastic because they needed to both be extremely durable and relatively cheap. It’s completely doable if you make it a design goal

paxys 3y ago

> Of course I understand the value of e.g. good hinges, keyboards etc., but pretty sure that's not what people are generally referring to. When people say good build quality what else do you think they are referring to?

karaterobot 3y ago

It looks to me like you're thinking of "build quality" as mostly esthetic rather than functional. I think when most people describe build quality, they are talking about good hinges, keyboards, and the ability to survive a few hits.

fragmede 3y ago
Yes, good hinges are probably the second most important thing when looking at build quality, second only to the keyboard. Do I have to gingerly baby the laptop when I pick it up to move it in order for it to last me 5-10 years, or can I man-handle the thing, and just pick it up by the screen, and still have a laptop that can open and stay open at a specific angle, and that will still close all the way without creaking and threatening to break 5-10 years down the line.

jwells89 3y ago

When it comes to laptops, plastic exteriors are often a signal that the machine is lower end with as minimal of an internal frame as the manufacturer can get away with, which means that it’ll have extreme body flex which is bad for motherboard longevity. It also means that the laptop will probably squeak and creak when picked up and handled which subjectively feels cheap, and doesn’t bode well for the laptop being able to take a tumble. There are exceptions like the older ThinkPads which had robust frames under their plastic, but this is not typical.