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Nexus 4′s Glass Back, the Worst Idea Since the Last Phone With a Glass Back
- nicholassmith 14y agoIt'll be interesting watching how the Android community deals with this, as they poured scorn on the fragile iPhone 4/4S glass back (note, happy, clumsy, ex-iPhone 4 owner, didn't break for me). They're right though, I'm surprised they didn't learn from the example of Apple and how many people did break their back glass. Although glass cracking from a temperature shift is pretty odd, I would have thought it'd have gone through testing to isolate faults like that.
- antihero 14y agoI love Android and want a Nexus 4 but this was goddamn stupid and pointless.
- cowmix 14y agoI'm so glad I spent four hours reloading the Google Play store page for the privilege of buying a Nexus 4. Man, I feel like a jack ass.
- maayank 14y agoI bought knowing the hissing noise problem and plan to watch how that (and now this) develop in the 4 weeks waiting period an cancel if it gets too absurd...
- untog 14y agoI ended up throwing together a script that pressed the "proceed" button repeatedly until it worked. Took around 45 minutes even then.
- sardonicbryan 14y agoThe great thing about Android is that I can use the platform on top of the line hardware without buying this phone if I want. Glad I went Samsung Galaxy S3.
- 51Cards 14y agoI had heard that one upside to the glass back is the RF transparency. How much of a difference this makes however I have no information on. I was one of the people mocking the glass on the iPhone 4, and also sorely disappointed when I saw it on the Nexus 4. Hasn't stopped me from ordering one though... and a silicone full case to put it in. New rule of thumb in mobile... 4th gen, try a glass back, 5th gen... bail on that idea?
- smackfu 14y agoYou need glass or plastic. That's why the iPhone has those glass parts at the top and bottom still.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoAnother easy to correct mistake is the micro-USB cable they included. It doesn't have the USB logo on it to indicate which end is up, which is in violation of the USB spec. Better USB cables emboss the logo so that one can tell which end is the top even in the dark. But the absolute best is Logitech's solution: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Logitech-Micro-USB-Cable-/220831741556 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Logitech-Micro-USB-Cable-/2... Logitech's solution ensures that you always effortlessly plug your cable in correctly on the first try. No need for reversible connectors like lightning, just use a well designed cable. EDIT: it appears most people aren't seeing the innovation. Check out the last picture in the linked set. There's a very large bump on the micro USB end of the cable that ensures that it's pretty much impossible to pick up the cable with the top end down.
- numbnuts 14y agoBut the absolute best is Logitech's solution: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Logitech-Micro-USB-Cable-/2... Which is? It looks like a regular USB cable with an embossed logo.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoOn the USB side, yes, but the micro-USB side has a HUGE bump on it. The pictures make it hard to see. The last picture in the set is the clearest.
- numbnuts 14y agoI see it now. Yup, that's a bump. I hope my picky Nexus 7 likes it.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoThe Nexus 7's connector is upside down so the bump makes it sit on an angle, but it does work.
- Osmium 14y ago
- Osmium 14y agoThe problem isn't with glass, it's with the wrong glass. If anyone hasn't seen the promotional video for Corning's new Gorilla glass, they should: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT8xI4PEU8c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT8xI4PEU8c There is no reason why a glass back needs to be this fragile. Shattering from thermal shock is absurd, and the glass must be under some kind of stress from how it's secured to the phone. You can rightly disagree with the use of glass in an iPhone, because of course it's better if a phone can survive a drop, but at least it's not going to break just from being there.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoI've never seen anybody use an iPhone 4 without a bumper due to AntennaGate. The bumper keeps the glass from coming into full contact with a surface, and that's probably why the iPhone 4 seems to be less affected by this problem. The lesson appears to be to always use a bumper with glass backed phone.
- Osmium 14y agoI don't think you necessarily need a case to benefit: I don't use a case but slipped on a marble floor once and dropped the phone straight onto the floor, causing it to bounce a few times. The rim of the glass dented (what looks to be a thin plastic coating on the side of the glass?) but nothing shattered. In any case, IIRC, speculation is that only the screen side of the iPhone uses Gorilla glass, but I'm not sure if that's changed with recent generations. But even without Gorilla glass, you can still use "standard" toughened glass that, correctly mounted, should never shatter just from the sort of thermal shock described in the article.
- snuze 14y agoI have a 4S that slipped from my pant pocket onto a rough concrete floor from sitting height. The rough surface dented the plastic trim, causing the glass to shatter. I believe they went with the plastic trim due to the problems of joining glass and metal. But the plastic trim is the iPhone 4's Achilles' heel.
- 14y ago
- Tichy 14y agoIsn't the glass back fluff anyway, because there is still plastic underneath? I hate superfluous ornaments on utility devices...
- twism 14y agoI've got a Nexus 4 (with the official bumper on it though), dropped it numerous times, bumper has scuffs and dents in it. I'm in Boston, it's cold outside and room temp indoors. Both front and back glass are still pristine.
- DannyBee 14y agoI always love these stories, because everyone pretends to be a materials science engineer in the comments.
- bryanlarsen 14y agoThe great thing about Hacker News is that usually somebody comes along with a proper schooling, like I did here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4842776 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4842776 Nothing brings out the experts like something being wrong on the internet. http://xkcd.com/386/ http://xkcd.com/386/
- VLM 14y agoYet none of them know the difference between hardness and brittleness. Even a noob (real) machinist knows more metallurgy than that. We have to face facts. Modern american cell phones are basically the same economic era as pre-imports american cars. Much as domestic cars were value engineered to rust out in two years, at least until the Japanese conquered the market, we're going to have to tolerate expensive phones that are designed to fall apart until the (Chinese?) import phones that survive twenty years and everyone else has to catch up to them. A glass back is to cell phones as tail fins are to cars.
- namdnay 14y agoWhat are these "american cell phones"? All Nexuses (Nexii?) have been Korean or Taiwanese.
- endemic 14y agoCan't nobody get nothing right. Plastic is too cheap and flimsy, glass is too heavy and fragile. Maybe the optimal solution is what Apple's doing now with the mostly-aluminum (or should I say, aluminium) back. That being said, seems like the author of this story was just incredibly unlucky. The unfortunate thing is, if your phone had a defect in the glass, you could never convince the manufacturer to replace it under warranty, since they'd just assume you dropped it.
- jscheel 14y agoI have absolutely nothing to back this up, but I feel like the glass back is a emotional and subjective tactile distinction. My iPhone 5 feels cheaper than my iPhone 4. One of the biggest reasons (aside from weight), is the aluminum back. I don't know why, but it just feels cheaper. Maybe because I know glass is fragile, therefore I subconsciously place higher value on it.
- ZeroGravitas 14y agoSomeone needs to rebrand plastic. Is there any actual objective problem that plastic phones have? Is it really impossible to achieve a "premium" feel, or does no-one bother because it's so much easier to brag about using 'diamonds' for cutting (how innovative!) or 'aircraft-grade aluminum' and confuse the average consumer. Those Nokia devices look pretty good to me, even they had to call them "polycarbonate" to avoid the dreaded "plastic" word.
- coopaq 14y agoI've had the Nexus 4 for over a week now. For me the glass shattered where the speaker hole is located. I checked the mall everyday for a Nexus 4 case. Pretty annoying. Aside from that I really love the phone and 4.2. There should be cases available the day you buy a new phone though.