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The division between “glass fans” and “glass foes” is very interesting though. If you read the comments on HN it would look like glass is one of the worst choic
by close04 3y ago
The division between “glass fans” and “glass foes” is very interesting though. If you read the comments on HN it would look like glass is one of the worst choices for such a device because it cracks easily. But the comments on the original Ars article on a cursory read are leaning very heavily towards glass being the best choice because it doesn’t scratch easily.
When even ostensibly tech inclined people can’t agree what’s more important under the inevitable phone case, unscratched glass or uncracked glass, I can understand why Apple goes for the option that might provide a notable revenue source - repairs.
- bluescrn 3y agoHow many people actually use a 'naked' iPhone, I wonder? A case of some kind is almost mandatory, not just for scratch/drop protection, but to add some grip, and so it can lie flat and not rest on the sticky-out cameras.
- jwells89 3y agoBeen running caseless for the past 4-5 years and it’s not been an issue, even with the larger models in my decidedly average sized hands. In my case at least it’s been a matter of making a habit of paying attention to grip so it happens subconsciously (no mental effort) and favoring pockets where risk of falling out is nearly nonexistent (e.g. front jeans pocket instead of hoodie front pocket). It’s been nice to not have to deal with the bulk added by even thin and light cases.
- jeroenhd 3y agoGlass is a pretty solid building material for phones. You have to pick a good hardness for your use case, though. The harder the glass, the easier it cracks, but the harder it is to scratch the phone. In my opinion, cracks are worse than scratches, because scratches don't compromise any water resistant properties on your phone. On the other hand, customers the super expensive poser versions of the iPhone probably care more about the looks than I do.
- close04 3y agoA scratch is at most an eyesore. A crack is at least an eyesore. Most people I know have their phones permanently in a case and half also have a glass screen protector. Together they’re guaranteed to protect from scratches but still not from cracks. Thinking of the impact and likelihood of either, in the real life usage as described above, I would have imagined people focused more on impact resistance rather than hardness. Was still surprised to read the comments on the original Ars article. If people who understand tech better than the average put that much wight into aesthetics, why would any of the majority of regular buyers think past “glass must be premium and good”?
- jeroenhd 3y agoI don't think this has much to do with tech at all. This is a combination of design and materials science, with a bit of product development sprinkled in. You can design CPUs all you want, or write kernels for Mars rovers in your spare time, your opinions on what should be on the back of a phone are no more or less valid than the average consumer. In the end, someone with more experience in this field weighed different options, and came to the decision to use this type of glass for this phone. My phone has a glass back as well and honestly I don't really care either way. I haven't cracked it by accident, but perhaps my phone is less hard than the new iPhone? I do prefer the feel of glass or ceramic over the feel of most phone plastics, though. The Oneplus One did something special with their plastic back which I appreciated, but the bendable plastic of previous phones felt a lot more like cheap, disposable devices. Other people swear by their plastics and power to them, it's just a matter of opinion anyway. Plastics have the same crack-versus-scratch problem when it comes to design, most plastics are just optimised to scratch much quicker so they don't crack.